According to this article, and to many other pertinent studies, assessments and evaluations, immigrants are quickly becoming a large part of our work force and school environments! Diverse populations continue to rise and grow exponentially as many people from all over the globe flock to the United States due to a multitude of factors. Some of these people may be escaping hardship in their home countries, and have no other choice but to uproot their lives, families and leave the comfort of where they call home to pursue a life of safety, dignity and opportunity. 

No matter the exact reason, there are countless numbers of students from diverse populations, who are all seeking their opportunity to pursue their dreams and flourish, socially, academically, financially and culturally.

Perhaps one of the hardest plights facing this group is the loss of identify as they are forced to leave a place that, in many cases, provides a sense of purpose and cultural stability. Often, immigrants must make the extremely difficult choice of leaving loved ones behind and this loss can splinter a cohesive family unit and cause a sense of grief and loss that can feel unsurmountable. 

As educators, we are left with the task of ensuring we are ready to educate students from all kinds of cultures, backgrounds and who may be dealing with the effects of loss as they adjust to a new kind of living situation and a slew of often contradictory and confusing cultural identity dysphoria. 

First and foremost, I believe that informed practice is of the utmost importance when working with students who have recently immigrated to the country. We must understand the feelings and hardships each of these students might be facing. Additionally, we must differentiate our practice and implementation to best support these populations of students. 

This includes multiple factors of engagement and is something that should be cultivated and developed over time. For example, a first step in creating a responsive classroom environment is to provide diverse resources and media within the classroom. From the visuals to the classroom books, these should be vetted to include diverse and non-stereotyped representations of all people and cultures. This should be done so that all students, no matter their background, can feel safe and valued in the classroom environment. 

Educators should take care not to perpetuate a westernized view of the world and should also make sure they aren’t teaching from a eurocentric lens. The world is far more vast and all people and cultures should be represented to ensure an optimal learning environment for all. 

These are just a few steps we can take as educators to try and provide support to our students who have immigrated, and to all of our students as they are presented with a non-biased global-lens approach to learning.