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A25_05-29-2010Set: 18:12:32Sent by: jrushOpinionBLACK
The Dallas Morning News
dallas
news
.com
_Saturday,May29, 2010
25A
Tu Anh Dinh
Student, Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine
Background:
Iwas born inSouthern Vietnam. My family and I immigrated when I was 3,after my uncle, who was already naturalized, filed papers on our behalf. I’ve lived most of my lifein Texas and became a citizen at the age of 11. Idistinctly recall missing school to take my Oathof Allegiance, and though I did not receiveperfect attendance that year, I got a passportinstead. That was more than a fair trade.
How do you think being an immigrant makesyour view of those sacrifices different frompeople born in the U.S.?
The sacrifices made by American veterans are not personal to me in afamilial sense (since I have no veterans in my family), but they are personal to me in a patrioticsense. Veterans who had no tie to me whatsoeverfought for me and my freedoms, and it is this bravery on behalf of a stranger that inspiresgratitude in me more than anything else.
How do you feel about the way manyAmericans view Memorial Day as the start ofsummer more than as a somber holiday?
Ithinkit’s OK that Memorial Day has become a holiday devoted to outdoor picnics. In the grand schemeof things, these outdoor barbecues are a luxury afforded to us by the men and women who havefought on our behalf. Though it is important toremember their sacrifices, it is equally importantto go forth and live our lives fully, to celebrate what it means to be American, carefree andsecure in our own nation.
Margaret Lucyk
Bilingual education, Irving ISD
Background:
Iam originally from Gdansk,Poland. I immigrated when I was 9.
Do you think Americanshave lost sight of the meaningof the day?
Memorial Day is very special to my heart because one of my great aunts was in a Nazi work camp that was liberated by American soldiers. My stepfather, Frank J. Swita, fought bravely in World War II. He was the president of thePolish-Veterans in Cleveland, Ohio, in the ’60s. Ithink people who have no ties to wars usually don’t apply Memorial Day as well to their lives.But the memory of those who have fought needsto be kept alive in the hearts of all Americans.
Marilyn Bland
Teacher, North Garland High School
Background:
Iam from South Africa, whichis not the place it used to be. When faced with achoice of wanting to live or die, I chose living andtook an opportunity to begin a new life in Dallas.Becoming a U.S. citizen was a very proud moment in my life.
Do you do anything specialto commemorate the day?
Ilight a candle and havemoments of silenceperiodically throughout the day. I make a point of having a moment at dusk. Learning aboutMemorial Day as an immigrant, instead of growing up with it, imparts a unique perspective because you don’t take the day for granted.Enjoying the day is all good and well, but notpausing to remember why it has become a day of leisure almost makes it seem that the pastsuffering was in vain.
Visakha Suresh
Junior, Shepton High School, Plano
Background:
Iwas born inIndia and, shortly thereafter, Imoved to Wales. After four years, I moved to the UnitedStates.
How do you think being animmigrant makes your view of those sacrificesdifferent from people born in the U.S.?
Iamconstantly amazed by the sheer possibilities thatthis, the land of the free and the home of the brave, present to me. And having studied American history, I have come to greatly admirethe magnitude and meaning behind thesacrifices of the men and women who have diedto protect this country.
Ruchi Minocha
Plano homemaker
Background:
Iwas born inIndia and married my collegesweetheart. About a year intoour marriage, the travel bug hitus. Both of us had master’sdegrees in computer science,and in the early 1990s, it was not difficult to findan IT job in the U.S.
How do you think being an immigrant makesyour view of those sacrifices different frompeople born in the U.S.?
Unfortunately, thetiming of the holiday presents a distorted view of the Memorial Day to a newcomer. It took meawhile to realize there was more to it than barbeque and the beginning of summer.Eventually I came to realize that the only difference is that, as an immigrant, I don’t have agrandpa who went to war. I don’t have thosefamily stories, but I do have the respect andempathy for those who do.
How do you feel about the way manyAmericans view Memorial Day as the start ofsummer more than as a somber holiday?
To me,it is the American way to turn something somberinto a celebration. If that’s what it takes to pay your respects, then it is OK with me.
Nedal Ahmed
University of North Texas student
Background:
My family and I came here in 2000through the U.N.’s refugeeresettlement program afterliving in several MiddleEastern countries: Libya,Egypt and Yemen. We are Sudanese, but my dadhas been in exile since 1989 due to thefundamentalist regime.
Who comes to mind in your own life — whodo you remember on Memorial Day?
MemorialDay is about lost lives, but in a sense, I feel my dad has suffered a huge loss by being in exile. Iknow how much Sudan means to him, and to beforced away from his home country is somethinghe has been coping with for nearly 21 years.
How do you think being an immigrant makesyour view of those sacrifices different frompeople born in the U.S.?
Iam very appreciativeof everything that has made America what it is.Since Memorial Day was born out of the Civil War, I think being able to unite openly and fightnonviolently for a cause within your own country isatremendous freedom. Many other countriesin the world, including mine, squash all efforts atresistance immediately.
Sandy Kulkarni
Teacher, Allen High School
Background:
Pursuit of higher education brought us tothese shores. My husband andIcame to this country with ourlittle son to pursue our dream. Although our move fromMumbai, India, was initially a roller coaster of emotional and financial struggle, we successfully made it through graduate school. With our songrowing up here, and both of us engrossed in ourresearch jobs, we never realized how quickly thisland became our new home.
How does Memorial Day make you feel as anAmerican?
Ifirmly believe that regardless of your nationality, you must honor those whosacrificed their lives for their country. As a child, Iremember ceremonies in India likeIndependence Day and Republic Day, when wepaid our tribute to the fallen soldiers. I was gladto see similar traditions here and felt moreconnected to this place.
How do you think being an immigrant makesyour view of those sacrifices different frompeople born in the U.S.?
Honestly, I do not seeany difference. India stands for freedom,democracy and secularism. Brave Indians died todefend those values. Same with America. Every soldier fought and died for the same principle,and not for any dictator or for a religiousrepublic. These are the values that we share andhold dear to our hearts. This is what makes us all American.
How do you feel about the way manyAmericans view Memorial Day as the start ofsummer more than as a somber holiday?
Thesignificance of Memorial Day is slowly fading inour community. The holiday has becomecommercialized. Super sales and deals come tomind when we think of Memorial Day.
Viviana Cruz
Junior, Newman Smith High School, Carrollton
Background:
Iimmigratedto the United States fromOaxaca, Mexico, with my family when I was 3, in 1997.
How does Memorial Daymake you feel as anAmerican?
Ifeel proud to be in a country whereits soldiers are not forgotten and their service nottaken for granted. Memorial Day makes me feelcloser to the U.S. because everybody observes it.There are no prerequisites but gratitude. By now,the number of non-native servicemen and women is so large that all the communities feel asif they, too, are contributing to protecting ournation.
How do you think being an immigrant makesyour view of those sacrifices different frompeople born in the U.S.?
Knowing thatdemocracy and true freedom are not easily wonmakes this day a little more significant to me.Knowing what it is like to live under a corruptgovernment only adds to my gratitude and awefor the soldiers who died for this great nation andits principles.
Agrateful nationof immigrants
You don’t have to be born an American to honor the sacrifices that have made this country endure, say our
Voices volunteers
TIM BRINTON/NewsArt.com
These responses
were shared by current andformer Voices columnists, regularcontributors to
The Dallas Morning News
.Since it began in 2002, the Voices programhas featured dozens of first-generation andimmigrant voices.
dallasnews.com/voices
VIEWPOINTS
T
oput it mildly, a lot has happenedat DISD since I retired as Area 1superintendent nearly five yearsago. Michael Hinojosa, the currentsuperintendent, was coming in just as I was going out.Hinojosa’s successes and failures overthe five years he’s served as DISD’s CEOhave been well-documented by the localnews media. Sure, he’s made some mis-takes, but no one has ever questioned his work ethic, integrity and advocacy forstudents.So, to discover for myself just howmuch a difference he has made in thetrenches, I visited two high schools I wasintimately familiar with because they were part of the area I supervised for five years before I retired. W.W. Samuell and H. Grady Sprucehigh schools have been the subject of much public scrutiny because of theirdifficulties in meeting state or federalacademic performance standards. ThesePleasant Grove schools and many of theirfeeder middle and elementary schools were already experiencing serious aca-demic problems when I became Area 1 superin-tendent in 2000.Most inner-city neighbor-hoods in Dallasare dominated by one ethnic orracial group, butthis area consists of significant numbersofAfrican-Americans and Latinos. Be-cause these groups are so different cultur-ally and linguistically, the challenges inproviding appropriate instruction don’tincrease proportionally; they increaseexponentially.Thus, it came as no surprise thatSamuell and Spruce kept appearing onthe “low performing” list, forcing Hinojo-sa to take bold steps to avoid closure. Newprincipals were brought in at bothschools. The Spruce faculty was gutted,and students in grades 10-11 were shippedoff to other schools. Exemplary teachersfrom other district schools were offered a$10,000 annual bonus to transfer toeither school.Samuell, in 2009, achieved the rank-ing of “academically acceptable” for thefirst time in a number of years, andSpruce’s ninth-graders produced double-digit gains on both the reading and math-ematics TAKS tests.During my visits, I noticed that bothschools were virtually spotless and well-maintained. Students were where they were supposed to be: in the classroom.Ispent some quality time with theseschools’ principals, Israel Cordero andLucy Davila Hakemack. Both principalsare very much hands-on, spending a greatdeal of time walking the halls and mon-itoring classrooms. They greet teachersand are greeted enthusiastically in return—an obvious sign that much time andenergy has been devoted to recruiting and building professional relationships basedon mutual respect.They address students by their firstnames, and, as evidenced by the nature of their dialogues, demonstrate familiarity with and interest in their academic prog-ress and personal lives. And most impor-tant, to better prepare students for themandated high-stakes tests, the staffshave devised unique ways of providingtutoring to reinforce the instruction intheir regular classes. Are these schools out of the woods? Farfrom it. Although they should be awardedgold stars for the progress they have madein such a short period of time, Hakemackand Cordero will be the first to admit thatmuch remains to be done. But no one candispute that these schools are better off now than they were five years ago.Hinojosa has walked his talk when hesaid he was going to significantly improvestudent achievement by focusing on better training for teachers and adminis-trators and providing them with quality instructional resources. Obviously, thislesson “took” with Cordero, Hakemackand their courageous faculties.
Edward Baca of East Dallas is a retired school administrator and aCommunity Voicesvolunteer columnist. Hise-mail address is jandebaca@sbcglobal .net.
BRIDGING DALLAS’NORTH-SOUTH GAP
Hinojosa’sprogresson display
Pleasant Grove high schools have improved under his watch, says
Edward Baca
READ
previouscom-mentaryonDallas’north-south gap.
dallasnews.com/ opinion/northsouth
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