Migration to the cities is an universal phenomenon. While there are a number of reasons for this movement from native areas into the cities, inmigrants from Puerto Rico have left the island neither for political nor religious reasons, but because of economic causes. Life in the island for many young adults, especially in rural areas, may seem to them intolerable. Thus, migration to the U.S.A. becomes the last stop in a process that may include moving first from the rural areas into the island’s cities, and from there north to the mainland.
Our Hispanic students are caught between two worlds. One is that of his parents and family, sometimes left behind in the island. The other is the strange world of the great American city with its new language and culture. The students and their families see the large eastern city as the promised land where a better life can be attained. But since they have no prior urban experience the reality of the city, its deteriorating housing, shortage of jobs for the un-skilled and the urban atmosphere soon discourage the most hopeful.
Can these families succeed in the urban setting? What is required of an individual, or group, to “make it” in the American city? This unit will try to explore these questions. This is a five to six week unit designed to introduce Hispanic students to the urban environment and the opportunities such a setting provides. The active urban environment provides many opportunities for the student to develop alertness and observation skills that thay will be able to use in their everyday encounters with life in the city. Some of the objectives of this unit are:
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1. To increase the student’s knowledge and expertential background of the city.
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2. To help his language development in English.
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3. To aid and encourage a higher level of thinking skills.
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4. To explore and expose the student to a variety of enrichment activities.
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5. To allow for the expression of the student’s creativity, as expressed in their own writings and drawings.
This unit will be taught to advanced students in the Bilingual Program, within the English as a Second Language component. These classes meet once a day for forty-five minutes. In order to accomplish these objectives as they relate to the city experience, students will engage in selected readings, class discussions, trips, films and lectures.
Another outcome of this unit will be the student’s increased awareness of their immediate environment: the city of New Haven. Many students rarely learn their section of the city, limiting their exposure to the neighborhood where they live. I would like to expose them to the many activities and services a city like New Haven has to offer, as well as to its historical and cultural aspects. Different activities will familiarize the students with their city and bring a higher level of appreciation for the different ethnic groups that inhabit the area. It is my belief that identifying these characteristics and traits of the urban environment will help the Hispanic student deal with this urban world many of them are encountering for the first time in their lives. The influence (positive as well as negative) that the American city has exercised upon the Hispanic population will be explored through literature produced by authors who have experienced the city in America.
This unit can be divided into five general areas on a weekly basis:
First Week: The city: characteristics of the urban setting.
Second Week: Migration to the cities.
Third Week: Conflict between new land and homeland.
Fourth Week: Living in New Haven.
Fifth Week: Conclusions, projects by students based on materials presented.
The areas to be explored include literature, writing, class discussions, films, research. Each of these will be part of the weekly activities revolving around the theme of the city. Under literature the students will read assigned stories from Jesus Colon’s
A Puerto Rican in New York
. Students will write their own stories, based on their experiences in the city. Discussions in class will revolve around the material presented and the assigned readings. Films and filmstrips will be viewed and research assignements will be carried out by the students in the form of surveys and questions to ask their families and friends. Students will apply their language skills to these tasks and be able to improve on their second language abilities.
