WATCH: Caldwell School’s ‘Immigration Day’ Fosters Empathy, Pride

CALDWELL, NJ — The “Immigration Day” project at Grover Cleveland Middle School has been going strong for a decade now, but in the current political climate, the lessons it teaches about empathy, cultural pride and family heritage are all the more relevant, school administrators say.

Patch asked 6th grade teacher Michael Teshkoyan to explain more about the project and its goals. His reply follows.

“We have been doing Immigration Day for 10 years. It started with just my class in a low-key manner, but with the help of the administration and 6th grade staff, we expanded it into celebrating each child's heritage with the whole 6th grade, including more than 200 students.

“This simulation allows students to connect with their family history and experience what it was like to be part of what we are studying in social studies. Students worked on creating a profile for themselves, getting dressed up, doing their family tree, researching famous immigrants, creating a virtual suitcase on what to pack and creating their own passport.

“The main objectives are to study the wave of immigrants who came to America in the early twenties and entered through Ellis Island and the process they went through to become American. Secondly, and probably the most important part of the unit, is to get students to understand their family's heritage and path to becoming American citizens by having them engage in dialogue with parents and grandparents about these experiences.

“Having the students put themselves in the role of actual immigrants allows them to experience history in a way that can be much more engaging and memorable than a ‘normal’ classroom lesson.

“Many students drew connections between experiences which immigrants have had throughout history and the current conflicts about immigration in our country so all in all it was a good learning experience both past and present.”

Grover Cleveland Middle School administrators recently posted a video and photos of the 2017 Immigration Day project, which can be seen below.

Photo: Caldwell-West Caldwell Public Schools

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