Description

2024 recipient of the George Orwell Award for Distinguished Contribution to Honesty and Clarity in Public Language given by the National Council of Teachers of English

A landmark work that weaves captivating stories about the past present and personal into an inspiring vision for how America can educate immigrant students

Setting out from her classroom Jessica Lander takes the reader on a powerful and urgent journey to understand what it takes for immigrant students to become Americans A compelling read for everyone who cares about Americas future Making Americans brims with innovative ideas for educators and policy makers across the country

Lander brings to life the history of Americas efforts to educate immigrants through rich stories including these
The Nebraska teacher arrested for teaching an elevenyearold boy in German who took his case to the Supreme Court
The California families who overturned school segregation for Mexican American children
The Texas families who risked deportation to establish the right for undocumented children to attend public schools

She visits innovative classrooms across the country that work with immigrantorigin students such as these
A school in Georgia for refugee girls who have been kept from school by violence poverty and natural disaster
Five schools in Aurora Colorado that came together to collaborate with community groups businesses a hospital and families to support newcomer children
A North Carolina school district of more than 100 schools who rethought how they teach their immigrantorigin students

She shares inspiring stories of how seven of her own immigrant students created new homes in America including the following
The boy who escaped Baghdad and found a home in his schools ROTC program
The daughter of Cambodian genocide survivors who dreamed of becoming a computer scientist
The orphaned boy who escaped violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and created a new community here

Making Americans is an exploration of immigrant education across the country told through key historical moments current experiments to improve immigrant education and profiles of immigrant students Making Americans is a remarkable book that will reshape how we all think about nurturing one of Americas greatest assets the newcomers who enrich this country with their energy talents and drive