Educators/Professionals/Community/Academics, pay attention:

One thing that children of immigrants or immigrant children (which let's face it, are the same thing) are always navigating - if one or both parents don't have formal education, you are always translating the world.
With my mother in hospice - I have been thrown into old school tasks, conversations and necessities that feel normal:

writing out checks for my dad to sign, reminding him where the decimal goes when he writes out how much he wants to take out of the bank or to put in.
Immigrant Children are the first advocates for bilingual services.

Immigrant Children are the first transcribers and translators.

Immigrant children are teachers to adult learners.

Immigrant children are using parts of their brains at earlier ages that other kids.
My father (like many Mexican men born in the 1940's in rural MX) didn't receive formal education. He started working full time at 8 yrs old. He attained a 2nd grade education.

To pass his citizenship test, I would tutor my dad in reading and writing in Spanish. I was 14.
I researched & my mother & I were able to fill out a request to have his citizenship test done in Spanish and given orally.

My jefe never learned to write/read in Eng. How? He barely knows the formal elements in his 1st lang.

I started translating things for him at 8 yrs old.
Give students grace - they are engaging brain work you can't see. If you want to connect w/ them in ways that make sense - create prompts that match what they know.

If a teacher had told me "hey write a story you could tell your dad,", my writing would have been so focused.
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