‘It’s a New Country, New Culture; They Have to Learn a Lot’ : Immigrant Students’ First Hurdles Are Hardest

He’s a bright and engaging 7-year-old with a winning smile and a little secret.

“I have to tell you something,” the boy, recently arrived from South America, confided to a reporter as he leaned across a noisy lunchroom table at Sweetwater Elementary School.

“My name is not really Mike; it’s Patricio.”

And why did he change his name?

“Because I like Mike better,” he said, scrunching up his face.

Schools across Dade County are coping with a steady flow of immigrant students, helping them through an often difficult transition. Peruvian-born “Mike” has fared better than most immigrant children because of his exuberant personality, said his teacher Maritza Prieto.

“It doesn’t matter if he makes three mistakes. He’ll tell you what’s on his mind,” said Prieto, who teaches a class called English for speakers of other languages (ESOL), which awaits nearly all of the immigrant children at the 95% Latino school.

6,000 Since June 1

Some 6,000 of the students in Dade County’s public schools arrived from foreign countries since June 1, and that number is in addition to 60,000 immigrant students who were already in the system, according to Jean Sullivan of the Department of Attendance.

Between 80 and 250 foreign students are registered daily in Dade public schools, the country’s fourth-largest district with 262,000 students.

The schools reflect the politics and economies of troubled nations worldwide.

Civil war at home has made Nicaraguans the largest group of students flooding into Dade County now.

But problems in impoverished Haiti and immigration programs with Cubans in third countries have also contributed to the influx of immigrant children in Miami. Students come in large numbers from Colombia, Jamaica and 124 other countries.

Dade County is not alone. In Los Angeles students from Spanish-speaking countries continue to swell the public school population. At the same time, a steady rise in Korean children has now surpassed the number of Vietnamese, previously the largest Asian group, said Dr. Angel Sanchez, the school district’s coordinator of information services.

Relaxed Soviet emigration policies and ethnic unrest have resulted in more Armenian students entering schools in Los Angeles.

For many teachers, it means dealing with schoolchildren who, aside from having language difficulties, are often disoriented, shy and require a lot of attention and understanding while they adjust during the first few months.

“I think it’s very difficult for them. It’s a new country, new culture, and they have to learn a lot of things,” said Prieto, herself an immigrant from Cuba.

The Nicaraguan youths, in particular, face more struggles than most adapting in a new country because of previous experiences.

“They come from a very violent world,” said Joyce Sanchez, a junior high school teacher, in a recent interview.

“They talk about guns, about seeing people shot, about relatives who have died. Many of them have been brought for the sole purpose of keeping them out of war.”

Arrives From Nicaragua

Seven-year-old Marielo Bassett is fairly typical of incoming foreign students. She started school over the summer after arriving from Nicaragua, where she lived in the countryside and apparently did not attend school regularly because of the fighting in that Central American nation.

Asked if she knew any English, she said quietly: “Solo un poquito (only a little).”

“She’s very emotional. Once when I told her she’d done something wrong, she started to cry,” Prieto recalled, adding that Marielo frequently complained of stomachaches at first, probably emotionally related. “Her reaction to things is kind of lost, disoriented.”

“Take your time” is a phrase heard often in Prieto’s classroom.

“There’s a lot of strain,” acknowledged Dr. Jacob Gewirtz, an expert in child developmental psychology at Florida International University.

With some of the teen-agers, there may be clashes in values held in the old country compared to those of their new home, Gewirtz said.

Many of the youths also have other family concerns, such as a relative left behind or being unable to get homework help from parents because the adults don’t speak English.

“I think they (the parents) have a lot on their shoulders--work problems. . . . They don’t have as much time as they want (to help) but are generally supportive,” Prieto said.

Despite their difficulties, the students learn quickly, said Sweetwater Principal Maria Rodriguez. “They adapt quite fast. After a year or two, they are ready to move into a regular classroom--completely bilingual.”