At HHS our school prides itself on the diversity amongst the students. There are many students from different backgrounds who attend and add to our school’s community. One group in particular are students who have immigrated from Afghanistan, a country in central Asia.
Many students who have immigrated from Afghanistan came to school without either knowing anyone or understanding anyone. They’ve had to navigate their way through the differences from their home country and America.
“School in my county was not good because there at school, there is no lunch and you get to stay in the same classroom for the whole day,” said Freshman Zaitoona Sakhi. “ And I used to come to school at 8 and come home at 1, that’s not good you’re not going to learn that much and there was no school supplies.”
Junior Roqia Qayumi also noticed that the times school occurred on school days were different from Afghanistan and America.
“I’m from Afghanistan and the state im from Kabul in Afghanistan, I was going to school from 7 to 11,” she said. “In here I go from 7:40 to 2:40 and my school treats me well.”
Many immigrant students have felt like the language barrier was a big set back when starting school at HHS.
“First when I came to America, my English wasn’t good at all until I learned it,” said Zaitoona.
Sophrome Hazrat Nasirkhail also faced this challenge.
“I started as a freshman in high school because I didn’t speak English and that is where I started, the high school is pretty good and it helps us [the students] that don’t know the language,” he said. “I want to succeed in life even though I’m currently struggling.”
Immigrant students have said they believe being an immigrant in a new school is harder due to the culture changes they have to go through such as how they look and how their education looks.
“I would say for immigrants, it’s a lot harder to fit in because for me personally, because I look a lot different than others,” Junior Salma Safi stated. “Not in a bad way but because I wear hijab, I wear my scarf so basically I feel like I look different than others.” She also says how education is harder for immigrant students. “Also like studies, I would say like studying because you don’t really know the language and you have to really work harder than Americans to know what they’re talking about.”
Although students face language barriers at school there are teachers in HPSD who teach ELL (English Language Learner) which is a great resource for students who don’t know english well coming into school.
Kari Brand, middle school ELL teacher who teaches level 1 ELL students said, “I help students build confidence with their english by giving them opportunities to speak authenticity in a safe environment.”
ELL teachers are crucial for students who don’t know English well or have parents who don’t know the language well. Almira Halilovic (also known as Mrs. Kordic) helps students daily with their English and makes them feel comfortable in her classroom.
“The teacher that helped me the most is Mrs. Kordic, she helped me with my final form because my parents don’t know English,” Freshman Benafsha Sahki says. “And the only class I’m more confident in is her class because I get to speak up whenever I want.”
ELL teachers work hard all the time to make sure their students get where they need to be academic wise and social wise but they also face problems of their own.
“My biggest thing is helping them [her students] get acceptance from and meeting their needs in other areas cause I feel like there’s only so much I can do in my classroom,” Kordic stated. “And I can’t follow them around all day and sit with them in math, and social studies, and things like that so my biggest struggle I guess is there’s only one of me.”
Even when students have their struggles in social acceptance and language, they continue to learn and grow through the challenges they face to open up their own doors even with limited opportunities.
“My only goal is to succeed and embrace and improve my life and learn the language,” Nasirkhail said.
