By M.J. Natalie, Bunker Hill Community College, Revere Campus
Summary
This semester, my class is a basic, level 1 class in a satellite program at Bunker Hill Community College held at the Jewish Community Center in Revere, Massachusetts. I have fifteen students from Russia, Cambodia, Mexico and South and Central America. The average length of time these students have been in the U.S. is five months. Many don't have jobs, as yet, or even telephones. Needless to say, they know very little English.
Early March: Comparing Housing in the Students' Countries of Origin with Housing in the United States/Learning Basic Housing Vocabulary
I introduced the concept of homebuying by identifying some of the different types of housing available in this country. Students learned the new vocabulary, e.g. condo, mobile home, single family, and talked about the kinds of houses they preferred. They also discussed and wrote about the differences between housing in their countries and those in the U.S. I discovered one of the things they missed most about their life in their home countries was outside space. Even if it was a small outdoors' spot that they shared with friends, family or neighbors, such as a porch, garden, or yard, they talked reminiscently of what those outdoor spaces afforded them.
Late March: Exploring Concepts of Privacy Through the Design of the "Perfect Bedroom"
After learning the names of the different rooms in a house, the furniture and accouterments, I asked students to design their "perfect" bedroom. I wanted my students to experience a sense of ownership and privacy, at least in their imaginations, since many of them share their living space with others. I thought if they could imagine what they wanted in their bedroom, they could begin to imagine what they wanted for their homes. Students enjoyed the drawing activity and the chance to use their imaginations and be creative in class.
Early April: Discussing Advantages and Disadvantages of Home Ownership/ Learning About the Importance of Establishing a Credit History
During these lessons, I introduced my students to the FannieMae Foundation ESOL curriculum, Unit 1/Chapter 1, pages 1-4 which asks the students to think about when their circumstances and housing needs might lead them to considering buying a home. I also encouraged students to begin to create a "paper trail" in preparation for documenting their credit histories. We then took a field trip to the Boston Public Library, in part so that students could get a Boston Public Library card and begin to build an alternative credit history. Also, students were asked to get a Bunker Hill Community College Identification card. As well as helping students think about the importance of documenting and validating themselves for further banking and credit approvals, I also wanted to help instill a sense of community spirit -- a feeling of belonging in their new county.
Late April: Defining Community & What it Means to be a Member of a Community
Because I wanted the students to have a sense of the history of this particular town/neighborhood, which was now theirs, we participated in a tour of a local historic buildings and houses, and viewed a video recording one episode of the PBS program La Plaza. For its 20th anniversary, La Plaza, dedicated to creating a cultural and intellectual forum for Latino/a life, came to Chelsea. Among other things, La Plaza's visit to Chelsea documented how community involvement can change the real conditions of people's neighborhoods. We also discussed possible volunteer work that students could participate in as they sought paid work. We brainstormed possible venues for their volunteerism such as Little League coaching, and visits to nursing homes. The students were encouraged and inspired by these ideas of caretaking and serving which led us to the next set of learning activities.
Early/Mid May: Defining Neighborhood & What it Means to be a "good neighbor"
After discussing issues of home maintenance and repair, we turned our attention to the environment in which we were learning- the grounds of Revere's Jewish Community Center. So, for class, we swept and raked the grounds of the J.C.C, then planted flower seeds reflecting on how it made us feel to be "cleaning up and beautifying" our neighborhood and learning new vocabulary all the while. Students wanted to do even more. So we sought out a local community garden and students were given the extra seed packets to plant in community garden plots or in flower boxes at home.
For our final class on caretaking, we explored pet care. Josephine, a friend's dachshund, came to visit and we both practiced caring for her (petting her, brushing her, feeding her, walking her) and discussed what kind of environment a house pet would need to live in. We agreed that once people have their own house, they can not only have a pet of their own, but outside space, and whatever they dream of.
What Next?
I hope to assign some of the following learning activities as the students gain more access to English and have a better cultural understanding of life in the United States. Students will be asked to:
Reflections
I hope that by starting on a small scale, and working step-by-step toward the goal of home ownership, students will gain a realistic understanding of what it means to buy a house and maintain it. One student has already obtained his green card, driver's license and has gone on to purchase a car. His success in moving through these complex legal and consumer systems has made a great impression on the other students. Hopefully, not unlike this one student's success in purchasing a car, this unit on homebuying has given all the students incentives for working toward a happy and rewarding future in the United States.
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