You have a student named Paola who is fourteen years old and in the eighth grade. She is from Brazil but has been in the United States for six years. She was an ESOL student when she arrived at Sugarloaf School in the second grade but is now proficient in English. Paola only spoke Portuguese when she arrived but now speaks broken Portuguese. She does not read or write Portuguese very well. Her primary language is now English and remembers very little about her life in Brazil.
Paola's parents have decided to move back to Brazil in December. They want to be close to their family and have never really been able to adapt to life outside of their native Brazil. They will be moving at winter break.
Paola does not want to go back to Brazil. She loves Sugarloaf School, her friends, and her life. She does not feel comfortable in Portuguese anymore, she loves everything about the U.S.
As Paola's teacher, she comes to talk to you. She is devastated. What do you say? What would you recommend or not recommend?
Next I would speak to Paola. Like Christy above I would remind her of the time she first came to school here. She might have been nervous or afraid but she did so well and has made so many new friends. She might do just as great when she goes back. I would also assure her that we would keep in touch via email or letters. We could even start a blog! ;)
I would point out to her that because of her age and proficiency in the acquired language, she will be able to keep up her English and say that she might be able to return to the U.S. to attend college if she wanted to. I would definitely tell her that I will miss her, and I would offer my e-mail address, so we could stay in touch, and I could offer her help if she had questions or needed contacts for college applications in the future.
Then I would take another tack: I would "promote" Brasil a little, nothing too obvious though. I would say how great it is in Brasil, because you can get "Guess" jeans for a fraction of the price you pay for them here. If she took that hook I would go on a little about how interesting Brasil is for people her age (the movies, the malls, etc). I would then turn the conversation to where I support her parents in their decision, and help the student understand that parents make decisions they believe are in their children's best interest.
Lastly I would tell her something about my own life: I grew up not knowing my extended family, which was a loss to me, and then I would point out to her that she is lucky that she will get to know her family, because "blood is thicker than water." I would then finish with a "joke" (humor being always helpful, in my opinion) and say something like "Hey, if I didn't have my family here, I'd ask you if I could hide in your luggage and go to Brasil with you! Do you think you have a suitcase big enough for me to fit in?"
I would give her a big hug and assure her that my door, and e-mail, are always open to her.
I also would have the class do a project on Brazil. This way they would be able to help Pacia reconnect with the culture and ways in her native country. Maybe hosting a multicultural fair and inviting people from the communities would help her. I also agree with the classmates setting up a blog so they can stay in touch would be great.
I would have her do some research projects and readings about her country. In that way she could share with her friends and classmates information about where she is going. I would have her start a blog that she could continue to add to once she moved away. Students could add their comments and it would begin an exchange of ideas. I would also discuss what a small world it has become with email.
Finally, I would talk about the choices that she will have when she turns 18. Having traveled and lived in many places; I would try and get her to see how lucky she is to experience two different cultures at a young age.
This is always tough when kids come confide in you. I have had several students confide lots of different information to me and have had to make decisions on what to do. My decision always has to do with many factors. How well do I know the student and parents? What is the situation and how will the situation affect the student. Is the situation dangerous?
In this situation I would listen to what the student had to say about not wanting to leave. I would be very understanding and sympathetic to the situation. Sometimes listening is all the student needs. I might contact the parents and get more information on the move. I would want to have the facts as to why and where they are going to be before I give the student any advise.
There are lots of possible options in this situation. One being to try and emerse the child in the culture she is going to return to. Remind her she adjusted to our culture and will adjust to the new /old culture again. She may have to go with her parents back to Brazil but can always return to the States later when she is an adult. Depending on the family and situation there is always the possibility of finding a host family for her to live with while she finishes school. She could travel to visit family on school vacations and summer.
All of these are possible solutions and only through communication with the family and student would I know what the best solution would be. I am very open about communication and would not have a problem contacting the family and setting up a meeting to talk about all the possible solutions.
I would also try to incorporate a class project about Brazil into our curriculum so that all the students could become more familiar with Brazil. I’m sure that as the other students saw good or interesting things about the country, they would share it, and Paola might start to look forward to those things.
Finally, I’d be sure to tell Paola how lucky I thought she was to have the opportunity to be bilingual and live in another country. I’d remind her that I am an email or phone call away, and so are her friends. I’d also ask if they have a guest room in her new home. Just in case there’s an airfare special. . .
I would also follow the example of my classmates who said they would remind her of how well she adjusted to life in the U.S.
Personally, Brazil is my favorite country, so in this scenario, it would be easy for me to tell her all the wonderful things that I miss about her country- but even if I was not familiar with her home country, I would try to find interesting cultural traditions or cool places that I could show her pictures of and help her to get excited about the new phase in her life.
I think a great start to helping this student to develop a positive attitude toward this major change in her life is to talk to the parents for suggestions. I think a teacher needs to proceed with caution and take care not to over react to the situation.
What kind of individual is this student? shy? out-going? I think the student needs to know from the teacher that she will be supported and missed by the class and a great adventure awaits her.
My biggest guess is that Paola isn’t worried about the academic switch, more so the social switch. But like many have already said, the technology offered today is a definite way to stay in constant contact with friends. I can just see her on a webcam in Brazil talking to her classmates at Sugarloaf. In the classroom, I would find a way to have all students research Brazil. I would also remind Paola that while we all learn about the cool stuff Brazil has to offer, she is probably the only one who will be able to experience those things in the near future.
I too would have the class do some projects about Brasil. Maybe she could bring in some pictures of her family that live there too.She could do a powerpoint for the class with pictures/slides of the town she will be living in and explain the sights to her classmates.
I would also have her do some research on how many famous people live in 2 countries. For instance Madonna has a home in London. Angelina Jollie had her children in France or Africa. Sting has a home in England. It is very cool to be able to live in different countries. I would play this up.
Then I would encourage her to stay in touch via blogging and e-mail. It is a small world and the US will always be here when she gets older.
When she moves back to Brazil she will be surrounded by family that loves her and she will make new friends.
I would look into getting some Portuguese language tapes (ex. Rosetta Stone). I would help Paola before or after school, to the best of my ability, to help her read, write, and or speak in her native language. I would also see if there was a Portuguese tutor that could help her. We could research Brazil on line so she could become reaccustomed to the area.
Paula's parents are entiled and should be the only people who can decide where Paula should be. It is not anyone else's business.
When Paola comes to talk to me I would be very concerned about her feeling of moving and discuss all of the positive aspects of living in her native land. We would talk about family, school, meeting new friends,ect... This will alow me to put a positive spin on the situation. Also I would make a Her the class penpal where we would write letter comparing and contrasting the students countries.
The final thing would be to make her last days at the school the most memorable time for her. She should be the center of attention in many activities and clasroom exercise, to keep her interest in school.