Edison High students recreate 1908 journey to freedom in ‘Ellis Island Experience’

Between 1892 and 1954, some 12 million immigrants came to New York’s Ellis Island, seeking opportunity or, in many cases, sanctuary from war, famine and persecution.

Upon arrival, individuals and families submitted themselves to various health and legal inspections, sometimes waiting weeks for the determination that they were fit for entry into the U.S. Today, around 40% of Americans can trace their own family roots back to passenger manifests recorded at the time.

Last week, juniors at Edison High School in Huntington Beach retraced those first tenuous steps toward freedom, participating in a multiclass recreation of Ellis Island in 1908 — just one year after the processing facility recorded a peak influx of 1,004,756 newcomers.

Edison High juniors partake in an Ellis Island Experience, a simulation designed to teach about the immigrant experience.

(Courtesy of Huntington Beach Union High School District)

The Ellis Island Experience assigns teens identification cards, each describing a unique immigrant experience, and asks them to recreate that person’s entry into the United States. Participants were then given time to memorize biographies and assemble period clothing for the event.

Edison history teacher Brian Boone says the exercise — an Edison tradition for more than two decades — is designed to give students a chance to see, hear and feel how the American stories of foreigners of different ages, backgrounds and languages may have begun.

An identification card bears the name, photo and story of an immigrant seeking entry into the United States in 1908.

(Courtesy of Huntington Beach Union High School District)

“By the time their research and performance is accomplished, our students gain a much deeper understanding of [immigrants’] difficulties in their attempts at achieving a better life in the United States of America,” Boone said in a statement Monday.

As part of the recreation, students encounter customs inspections from their various assigned backgrounds, according to educators. Some are single, while others are separated from their families into various intake stations, where they undergo background checks and have their work experience health and even their characters scrutinized.

Those who pass inspection are then asked to participate in an Oath of Allegiance ceremony, during which they pledge to support the U.S. Constitution, while those denied entry have an opportunity to plead their case at risk of deportation.

Edison High juniors show off passports they received after participating in an Ellis Island Experience simulation.

(Courtesy of Huntington Beach Union High School District)

Boone says the Ellis Island Experience, in some cases, inspires students beyond the lesson.

“[It] prompts some of our students to deeply dive into their own family history and trace the roots of their families,” he said.

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