09/01/2022
Award-winning high school teacher Lander (Driving Backwards) has been teaching immigrant students since 2015. Her book is informed by her teaching experience and her visits to immigrant-student assistance programs across the United States. Lander identifies eight elements essential to supporting immigrant students: opportunities for new beginnings; supportive communities; assurance of security; chances to dream, committed advocates; recognition of their strengths; acceptance; and valuing their voices. Each of these gets a devoted chapter that contains three narratives—one about a historical U.S. legal dispute involving education, one about a present-day educational program designed to help immigrant students, and one about a student of the author's. Each of the chapters concludes by suggesting ways that school systems might support immigrant students. Lander is an excellent storyteller, and this book is an involving read. VERDICT A thoughtful, engaging book for any reader interested in immigrant education.—A. Gray
2022-08-03
An educator identifies “eight elements” necessary for successfully educating immigrants in the U.S.
After six years at Lowell High School (Massachusetts) teaching “more than a hundred recent immigrants and refugees” annually, Lander became curious about nationwide trends in immigrant education. Consequently, she embarked on a journey around the country visiting schools and programs widely considered innovative. In the course of this investigation, she identified eight characteristics of effective immigrant education programs, ranging from “supportive communities” to “recognition of their strengths” to “chances to dream.” In distinct chapters, she examines each of these elements and includes relevant historical context, a description of a well-functioning, modern-day immigrant education program, and a life story of one of her immigrant students. “As I wrote this book, it became clear to me that the eight elements are all ways to achieve an overarching goal: instilling in newcomers a sense of belonging,” she writes. “Belonging is fundamental. Young people who feel that they belong are moved to invest their talents, their energy, and their heart in enriching their new home.” The author offers a nice mixture of conversational tone and intriguing research, uncovering important, untold stories in educational history. For example, she chronicles how, in the 1940s, a Mexican family filed a Supreme Court case that led to the desegregation of Mexican Americans in California schools; at the same time, they rented a farm from a Japanese family interned during World War II in an act of interracial solidarity. Despite these inspiring stories, the author rarely explicitly ties the examples back to the central theme of each section, and the connections are not always clear. Although much of Lander’s research is solid, she doesn’t adequately address the contributions of many important scholars—e.g., Ofelia García and Lisa Delpit—who formed the theoretical and practical frameworks that guide immigrant education today.
An uneven but well-intentioned survey of immigrant education in the U.S. today.
In this empathetic call for change, high school teacher Lander (Driving Backwards) offers concrete plans for reforming immigrant education in the US . . . Throughout, Lander buttresses her case with stirring profiles of her former students. The result is an inspirational must-read for educators, policymakers, and parents.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Lander is an excellent storyteller, and this book is an involving read. VERDICT: A thoughtful, engaging book for any reader interested in immigrant education.”
—A. Gray, Library Journal
“[Lander] offers a nice mixture of conversational tone and intriguing research, uncovering important, untold stories in educational history.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“Weaving together inspiring personal stories, powerful case studies, and a fascinating history of immigrant education in America, Jessica Lander shines a new, hopeful light on a perennial question: How does a young immigrant become an American?”
—Paul Tough, author of How Children Succeed
“At times moving, instructive, sobering, and encouraging, Making Americans will captivate and enlighten all readers. And it will also equip teachers, voters, and policy makers to work together to overcome prejudice and help newcomers build on their talents to strengthen America while pursuing their own dreams.”
—Martha Minow, former dean of Harvard Law School and author of When Should Law Forgive?
“An eye-opening, crucial, and riveting account of how schools and educators have shaped the immigrant experience in the United States. It is an essential history of our nation, interwoven with narratives of students and teachers who are today reimagining what it means to become American. . . . A moving book for anyone who cares about the fate of our country, but especially for those of us who are descendants of people who traveled here from afar.”
—Bina Venkataraman, author of The Optimist’s Telescope
“Making Americans is a beautifully written account. . . . With masterful interweaving of legal history, classroom case examples, and powerful student stories, what emerges is a compelling and timely work that informs as much as it inspires.”
—Sarah Ladipo Manyika, author of Like a Mule Bringing Ice Cream to the Sun
“Our nation’s magic is its ability to turn immigrants into Americans. Jessica Lander has written a brilliant and poignant book about how schools can help do this. This is an important book, and also a beautiful one. Everyone who cares about the future of America should read it.”
—Walter Isaacson, author of Benjamin Franklin: An American Life
“Providing well-researched historical perspective along with hopeful current models of promising practice, Making Americans will no doubt become a mainstay for all who care to best serve our newest Americans!”
—Carola Suárez-Orozco, director, Immigration Initiative at Harvard Graduate School of Education
“Making Americans provides just the sort of context too often missing from discussions of immigrant education. But what with its many terrific stories about students and teachers, it is more than informative: fascinating and inspiring, it is also a great read.”
—Gish Jen, author of Thank You, Mr. Nixon
“Lander’s immigrant-origin students—from a kaleidoscope of countries and cultures—come alive in these pages, until we feel we know them. . . . Her message is simple and powerful: New Americans make themselves with help from those of us who are already here. That making starts in school, as should our help. A compelling read.”
—Anne-Marie Slaughter, CEO, New America
“Making Americans is a powerful affirmation of the importance of belonging and hope in our lives. In this important and groundbreaking work, Jessica Lander outlines what we can do to create conditions in schools and communities that support all students—especially our newest Americans. Along the way, she highlights the stories of people who have made a difference in this great country, as well as those who will have a hand in its future. This is a must-read for all educators. It’s a must-read for all Americans.”
—Don Vu, former teacher and principal, author of Life, Literacy, and the Pursuit of Happiness
