parents

You are truly Welcome

/ Julie Nariman / 2 Comments

20180623_075134.jpgMy school is a school for newcomer immigrant English Language Learners.  With recent events at the Mexican border, I have been thinking about the parents of my students and their journeys in coming to the United States with their children.  This past week, I had the opportunity to speak with the father of Marcos. * Marcos is a student from Peru who came to the U.S. when he was in the 9th grade.

This past week, Marcos won an award for graduating seniors from the Bronx United Federation of Teachers.  Marcos and 30 other students each won a laptop, a wireless printer and a backpack full of supplies, all to set them up for success in their first year of college.  At the awards ceremony, I sat next to Marcos’s father and learned more about him. Continue reading →

Contained Curiosity

/ Julie Nariman / 2 Comments
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After-school drumming class.

A month ago, our school transformed at lunchtime.  Our noisy, boisterous cafeteria became almost quiet.  Half of the tables were empty.

It was the beginning of Ramadan and a large number of our students were fasting.  Some fasting students still chose to go to the cafeteria.  Many more stayed in classrooms supervised by teachers, away from the smell of food, playing chess, using computers, doing homework, or just sitting and chatting with one another.

About 40% of our students are Muslim.  Continue reading →

The parent at school, the teacher at home

/ Julie Nariman / 2 Comments

Rafael Nariman in Class of 1955

My dad attended a school vastly different from mine.  He grew up in Spain and learned multiplication tables by singing them in a classroom chorus led by a priest.  I learned my multiplication tables by using flashcards.

As a kid, I remember arguing with my dad about math homework.  Specifically, it was about problem-solving in algebra: my teacher had taught me one way to solve problems, and my dad wanted to show me an easier way.  I would listen to my dad (probably not for long) and then, frustrated, huff and puff that I was going to “do it the teacher’s way” because his way was confusing. Continue reading →