Beautiful piece in The Hill by my colleague, Dr. Rebecca Callahan.  It dovetails perfectly with my earlier post on how to combat hate like what we witnessed recently in Pittsburgh.  Key quote:

 [C]hildren of immigrant parents have demonstrated higher than average participation in America’s democracy.

Research also suggests that bilinguals and children of immigrant parents show significantly higher levels of empathy than monolinguals. As colleagues and I have argued elsewhere, this empathy is a critical step toward civic investment. By definition, children of immigrants, who comprise one in four children in our public schools today, have grown up navigating two perspectives: that of their parents, and that of larger society, including their school and teachers. This ability to recognize others’ perspectives is essential to becoming an active, engaged citizen. A true democracy thrives when it embraces diverse perspectives and experiences.

Let's also remember that vast numbers of recent immigrants emanate from Latin American countries with strong democratic traditions. 
 
We should therefore not only not scapegoat the immigrant community, but we should actually have an asset-based approach.  In the classroom, this should translate into inclusive, equity-based, and culturally sustaining pedagogy and curriculum.

Great job, Dr. Callahan! Keep up the great work!

Angela Valenzuela

Immigrants and their children can save our democracy and revive our country; they always have

 

BY REBECCA CALLAHAN, OPINION CONTRIBUTOR — 10/30/18 01:30 PM EDT

THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY CONTRIBUTORS ARE THEIR OWN AND NOT THE VIEW OF THE HILL

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With the November midterms quickly approaching, many Americans believe 

that our democracy is under siege. Yet it may just be the children of 

immigrants, those young people whose parents are so frequently maligned 

in public discourse and in the press, who can save it. It is these young 

bilingual citizens, the children of immigrant parents, who are one of 

democracy’s greatest social assets — future voters, civic organizers, and 

political leaders.  

A half century ago, in the midst of the War on Poverty, President Lyndon 

Baines Johnson signed the Bilingual Education Act into legislation. 1968 

marked the federal government’s first attempt to address equity through 

language instruction in the schools, and bilingual education emerged as a  

weapon in the war on poverty, enabling bilingual, biliterate students, 

primarily the children of immigrant parents, to become contributing 

members of Johnson’s “Great Society.”

Continue reading here.