Journey Stories

Students in Deb Smith and Stephanie MacDonald’s English 7 classes are elevating their storytelling skills as they retell the inspiring and often profoundly moving experiences of first- and second-generation immigrants to the United States. Students have been reading short stories from Come On In, an anthology of immigration stories from well-known YA authors. Through the lens of these works, seventh graders have explored the unique challenges immigrants face in finding and creating a new home in a place where the culture and language are often unfamiliar. 

To wrap up the unit, students were asked to interview a family member, friend, or acquaintance who immigrated to the U.S. Some students interviewed grandparents, while others chose Fay faculty members or family friends. Students were asked to discover why the person came to the U.S., the challenges they faced, how they maintained ties to their home country, and whether they were happy with their choice. Students retold the story in writing and then compared it to one of the characters in the immigration stories they read and discussed in class.

When presenting their stories to the class, Deb encouraged her students to be storytellers rather than just readers. “Hopefully you know the person’s story well enough so that you don’t have to read it,” she suggested. Katie U. told the story of her grandfather, who emigrated from Berlin to the U.S. in 1936, fleeing the Nazi persecution of Jewish families. He settled in New York City with his parents, and he remembers marvelling at the height of the buildings and the electric trolley cars on Broadway. However, even though he understood that moving to America likely saved his life, he missed his old life and speaking German with family and friends. Katie compared her grandfather’s experience to a character in “The Curandera and the Alchemist” by Maria E. Andreu, who feels stuck between two worlds, not yet comfortable where he is, but unable to return home. Evelyn C. told the story of her father, Hongsong, who came to the U.S with a full scholarship to attend university. He came on his own, speaking very little English. His first impression of America came when he lost his wallet at Chicago O’Hare Airport and strangers stepped in to help him find it. “Although they might not have understood his poor English, they helped him when he was distraught,” recounted Evelyn, “ and made his first impressions of America pleasant and safe.” She compares her father’s experience to a character in “Family Over Everything” by Yamile Saied Mendez, who also arrives in the U.S. to start college feeling nervous and uncertain, and how those early connections and impressions are particularly meaningful. 

 The experiences that students heard and retold in their immigrant stories project highlighted many of the same themes from the short stories they had read: the logistical challenges of navigating a new culture without a job, missing family members, longing for familiar foods, missing the traditions of home, and the feeling of being pulled between two cultures and worlds. However, the stories were also overwhelmingly positive as most people who had immigrated to the U.S. noted that, despite difficulties, they were happy they had made the choice.