The Newcomers by Helen Thorpe
Ten of us met on a cold and wet Fall day to discuss the book The Newcomers: Finding Friendship, Refuge and Hope in and American Classroom. In this book, Helen Thorpe follows 22 immigrant teenagers (ages 14 - 19 years) in an ELL (English Language Learner) classroom in South High in Denver as they adjust to life in America. Remarkably, the author achieves this by attending school every day for well over a year. In doing so, she observes the students, interacts with them, interviews them (with the help of interpreters), and visits with families. She does this during the 2014-2015 school year. With immigration becoming such a touchpoint issue, this book was especially timely.
Everyone had lots to share about their thoughts, feelings, reflections, and politics in regards to this book. There seemed to be 2 major areas of discussion: the writing style and great appreciation for the book.
It was a unanimous sentiment that the style of writing was a thorn in everyone's side. Comments were made that is was overly simplistic, repetitive, uneven, and confusing (the inclusion of the visit to the Congo). It was pointed out that it was written in the style of a reporter: very organized, and very detailed. Libby felt it read like a L-O-N-G New Yorker article. Yet within our critique of writing style, we did recognize that Helen Thorp's writing style revealed her to be a very sensitive person, a apt listener and someone who possessed good instincts with her interviewing process.
Aside from the writing style, there was nothing but praise for this book. Linda felt it was "an important" book and we all agreed. By the end of the book the reader had acquired a clear understanding of all that is involved in the process of learning to live a new life in a new country. It was necessary to overcome enormous obstacles. Many of these families had come directly from refugee camps. Some had lost family members. These were children and adults who were dealing with extremely catastrophic and traumatic events in their lives prior to coming to the US. It was also necessary to access an enormous amount of resources to successfully transition to a life in the USA. A query was made about how sustainable that is for a country and there was some conversation about the amount of resources devoted to an underprivileged demographic vs the amount devoted to a mainstream demographic. And at the same time there was acknowledgement of gratitude that there was so much faith-based involvement to provide the necessary resources.
There was surprise and appreciation to know that a school such as South High existed. We marveled at how successful this school was and how it has changed over time. Libby recounted that Mike had student taught there when students were being bussed in and she remarked that it was very tense time. Now it is a sought after school of choice for non-immigrant families! We admired and applauded the talents and skills of the teachers in South High.
This was a book that provided an opportunity for learning about so many topics: acquisition of a second language; the process of acquiring refugee status; how different languages are connected to each other; the impact of politics on individual lives; the struggles and incredible accomplishments that are possible; the impact of quality education; and the importance of belonging. Additionally, this proved to be and inspiring book that did provide hope.
Interestingly, Libby learned of a clothing drive to acquire winter clothing for CO refugees. Consequently she coordinated a very successful mini clothing drive with our group. Look at the results:
