Joe Batory was Superintendent of schools in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania. In this article, which is part of his new memoir, he tells about the arrival of a large number of Vietnamese in Upper Darby in the mid-1980s, speaking no English. What they brought with them were strong family values, a deep respect for education, and a keen work ethic.
It was amazing to him to see how quickly they learned English and how well they did in public schools and how eager they were to become productive citizens.
In one story he talks about Minh and her progress.
“Minh was a delicate Vietnamese flower who arrived in Upper Darby as an 8th grader. She spoke no English when she entered the Beverly Hills Middle School. Five years later, in 1995, she was graduated from Upper Darby High School No. 1 in the class academically.
“At that point, Minh had completed more college-level Advanced Placement courses at Upper Darby High School than any previous student in the school’s history. As a result, she was granted status as a junior when she started Penn State University in the pre-med program. Minh graduated magna cum laude from Penn State with a pre-med bachelor’s degree in two years.
“At Philadelphia’s Thomas Jefferson Medical School, despite being much younger than her peers, Minh ranked near the top academically among all medical students. But she was not No. 1. Minh apologized to me for “her failing” in writing.
“Imagine feeling badly because even though you were an outstanding medical student, you were not No. 1. Minh was truly one of the best achievers and most caring persons I have ever met. She is now a successful doctor.”
For millions of students, the American public school remains the pathto a productive life.
I know that from my own family. My mother arrived from Bessarabia after World War 1 with her mother and sister. She didn’t speak any English. She was nine years old. The family settled in Houston. My mother and her sister went to Houston public schools. Her proudest accomplishment was learning perfect English and her high school diploma. She never went to college. Her family could not afford it. But she always was proud that she was a high school graduate, and she evouraged her children to go to college.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
And we are trying to keep out the very people who remind us best who we are.
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I have an identical story set in California. A young lady took my college Freshman Chemistry course and earned a C. I couldn’t remember her saying anything in that course afterward. I found out later that she had translated the entire textbook (1000 pages!) into Vietnamese (and it later became a family resource for subsequent immigrants).
She graduated with honors and asked me to help me with her application letters for medical school. On reading her life story I was driven to tears. She was a boat person who was captured (the first two attempts) and thrown in jail for her efforts and more. She is now a successful doctor, like the young lady in this story.
The American Dream can still be accessed but the amount of effort can be amazingly high. I wonder is American-born kids are being taught that lesson.
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“But she always was proud that she was a high school graduate, and she encouraged her children to go to college.”
This is what the United States has meant to generations of poor and poorly educated immigrants. Even if their own circumstances had been such that they were not able to get an education, they could come here, WORK THEIR TAILS OFF, and make that dream possible for their children, in whom they instilled his drive to succeed. THAT DRIVE IS WHAT BUILT THIS COUNTRY.
Now the unspeakable, loathsome Donald Trump and his Minister für Propaganda, Stephen Miller, want TO END THAT. They want people to be able to prove, when they come to the country, that they are ALREADY fluent in English, well educated, and well to do.
It’s deeply ironic, deeply tragic, that the very people who claim they want to “Make America Great Again” have no understanding of what made the country great, are completely clueless.
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Under the loathsome Stephen Miller’s doctrine, his own family would have been denied admission to the US.
He is one of those pull-the-ladder-up-behind-you-guys
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Exactly, Miller’s great-grandfather came from Belarus. He had none of the qualifications that Miller now wants immigrants to have. He was desperately poor and fleeing violence, like the immigrants from Central America that Miller now terrorizes. Yes, his great-grandfather’s immigration was legal at the time because, at the time, ALL NON-ASIAN immigration was legal. Miller is a racist hypocrite.
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There are immigrants all over this country striving to achieve their American dream. While Minh is exceptional, I have had many outstanding ELLs in my ESL classes that have gone on to college and middle class careers. Like my district Upper Darby is diverse, and integrated schools are powerful forces against racism while providing opportunity for all that seek it.
My mother-in-law arrived in Brooklyn from Denmark as a first grader and spoke no English. She never attended college, but both of her children did.
My family has its own American dream story. My daughter married an undocumented Mexican. My husband and I were not thrilled because we knew his status made the road a very bumpy one for them. A year later my grandson was born. My husband and I started looking into the naturalization process for my son-in-law because we feared he would be deported. This process is not easy, even if someone is married to an American.
After nine years, many, many documents, FBI and Homeland Security searches, thousands for attorneys, and my sponsorship, my son-in-law was notified that he had to go to Cuidad Juarez for his appointment with the American Consulate. This is a week long ordeal. My husband flew to Houston and drove my son-in-law across Texas to El Paso where they parked at a hotel and hired a driver to take them across the border. My son-in-law does not have a legal license to drive as these are not available in Texas. My husband waited with my son-in-law who was approved. My husband drove back across Texas through the border checkpoints and flew back to Florida from Houston. To make a long story short, my son-in-law received his green cared yesterday. He will now be able to get his license in Texas and will be able to work legally. If you do not have money and are not married to an American, this laborious process is out of reach for most.
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Congratulations!
I know similar stories of honest, hardworking, fine young men and women who have no path to either a green card or citizenship.
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As you can see, it takes a village to make it happen. If someone manages to steer clear of the law, it is possible.. By the way my-son-in-law came across the Sonora desert one week after 911 before security tightened up.
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Some of my former students are facing what you describe. If we would pass a DACA law, these young people would be eligible to have a better life.
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Heard a report this morning of the plight of these kids in Mexico. I have forgotten the name of the owner of this company, but this woman is preparing these well educated young people for jobs in the tech industry, which has a shortage of qualified people. the report was on NPR this morning.
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Tech moguls keep complaining about the qualified labor shortage, but the shortage is fabricated. The goal is to increase competition among workers, and drive wages down. I hope these young people get something positive out of their training.
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Congrats on this, Retired Teacher. Thank you for sharing this inspiring story, and bless you and your husband for the work you did to get this far. My heart grieves for all those outstanding young men and women who live in doubt and fear when we should be welcoming them.
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My son-in-law is a good father. We could not think that our grandson could lose his dad, or the entire family would move to Mexico. Those were the other possibilities. The route we went, though arduous, by far made the most sense in the long run. It is a relief to know that my son-in-law will not have to look over his shoulder or deal with the anxiety breaking up his family. My heart also grieves for the many that hide in the shadows without any possibility of legal status. Many of these are my former ELLs.
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Debbie Downer here, but … “Imagine feeling badly because even though you were an outstanding medical student, you were not No. 1.”
Am I the only one who thinks this is a bad thing? Why should anyone be made to bad, let alone after busting their behind so hard and doing so well. There’s just something sick about a society in which anything less than No. 1 is unacceptable.
I also feel sorry for Minh that she missed two years of her college experience. AP classes are no substitute. I guess it’s good that her family saved that money, but Minh herself lost out on two years of her life – she had to become an adult sooner than she should have. Plus I’m going to go out on a limb here and guess that medicine might not entirely have been Minh’s choice, other than maybe she found it more acceptable than law, which was probably the only other choice she was allowed.
I’m glad that Minh and her family got to come here and improve their lot in life (although maybe had we not destroyed their country, they wouldn’t have had to leave their homes to have a life). I’m all in favor of immigration (actually, I go much further than that – there shouldn’t be such a thing as immigration as there should be no arbitrary borders, but that’s a debate for a different day). But Minh’s personal story makes me a little sad.
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We are so wrapped up in our belief in individualism that we forget that there are cultures that are focused on the group instead. I rather think that Minh did not feel deprived because she had to do well for her family. I imagine she is quite proud that she is in a position to help them.
I made the mistake of commiserating with a young man who was working with his father on some custodial work rather than doing his own thing. He set me straight. He liked helping his father and was proud that he could!
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Once, I was talking to a kid about what he wanted to study in college, and he said, “Well, I have to talk this over with my family.” I said, “Shouldn’t this decision be up to you?” He answered, “I think this is a difference in our cultures. It’s even true of your language. We say “la casa de mi tio,” and put the thing we’re talking about, the house, first, but you have to put YOURSELF first: “MY uncle’s house.”
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Korean-American actor, comedian, Ken Jeong once stated in an interview he became a doctor to please his parents. He became an actor after marrying his wife who was supportive of him changing careers.
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“Am I the only one who thinks this is a bad thing? ”
No, you aren’t. I thought the same thing.
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It has not escaped my notice that the U.S. political party that bills itself as supporting “family values” is separating children from their parents and attempting to change our laws so that priority will no longer be given, in our immigration system, to family members.
SOME FAMILY VALUES they have!!!
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Great stories. Happy Memorial Day.
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Hope all is well with you and yours, Joe!
A little background on Memorial Day:
https://www.peoplesworld.org/article/real-history-memorial-day-was-born-from-in-struggle-against-the-klan/?fbclid=IwAR1X9TZ3inLl9BAGTuzUSGvA0_Emlv8umyVAkXsjP-IanUIiolM7I_5oVCE
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Thanks for the info about Memorial Day, and thanks for the good wishes. Same to you and your – and all who read and post here. This seems like a great day to remember and appreciate the millions who sacrificed to help keep our ideals alive.
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My immigration story goes back to about 64 different families. Two of my family lines I know, one of which was Hugenot kicked out by Louis XIV’s fateful decision to revoke the Edict of Nantes, the other of which was a pair of brothers who landed in the middle part of Pennsylvania in 1745, fueling the population pressure that led first to the French and Indian War (7 years War) and thereby to the American Revolution itself. So I sound like a really good candidate for the slam the back door anti-immigrant crowd. Study has suggested otherwise and so has personal experience. Like my student whose parents were of the Lao people in southern China and who met in the early Eighties in a refugee camp in Thailand. Like my student from Guatemala this year, who could not understand a word of English. I mostly contented myself with asking him to translate his thoughts about history I his language into English. I marveled at his art and told the art teacher to meet him. Half a year later he was beginning to speak English, more than I can say for many of the long time American families whose crimes against the English language rival my own.
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