Wednesday 22 January 2014

K-12 Immigration Project

http://sites.bergen.org/BCA/immigration/

This is a web project made by a 10th grade American History Class. It covers from 1607 to the present day, which shows that school students recognize immigration as a present thing, rather than something purely historical.

One of the sections of the project is titled "Assimilation? If so, to what degree?" The fact that assimilation has been used in the title suggests a presumption that immigrants would and will assimilate and become like those who were born in America - or as the project writers refer to them the "normal population of America". This supports the 'melting pot' theory. However, it does mention that some immigrants retain their own languages and customs, which would support the tapestry-mosaic theory, with people retaining their individual cultures, but working as part of America. The conclusion that it draws is that some immigrants will become fully Americanized, whilst others will still hang onto their customs and language.

In another section, it is implied that the only way to really get along in America is to become fully Americanized - "Everybody that came here wanted to assimilate as fast as they could and become Americans". Again, referencing the melting pot. It is as if that is the only way for the immigrant to get along in America, even if as a theory it is not achievable. It also suggests that those who looked different from the "average" Americans, i.e. white English-speakers, had a harder time. It is written in the project that "when the[y] saw someone who was different racial tensions occurred", suggesting that some of the tensions were based on skin colour, although this is not explicitly stated.

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