I was in a panic from my parents. Empty desks in the classroom. Higher anxiety.
These are some of the effects school officials across the country say their communities have been experiencing in weeks since the Trump administration. Rollback The federal government restricts immigration and customs enforcement from raids on school grounds.
Although ice arrests at school have not been reported yet, the fear caused by the attack shows no signs of standing up as the president is looking for a new way to fulfill his campaign promises Large expulsion. judge It was rejected The attempt to ban the entry of ice on Denver Public Schools’ K-12 campuses has been driven by fears of deportation. Absence rate.
The research is clear The effects of stress Students’ learning ability has become particularly pronounced after the onset of the pandemic.
As immigrant arrests increase across the country, psychological tensions that immigrant children, or their families, are immigrants, may continue. In Los Angeles, a man is reported Arrest by immigration officers before his child. I have a 9-year-old Denver student. I was ordered to display After an immigration judge was arrested after his mother was arrested on ice at his home.
Edsurge is Germán A, associate director of the Center for Youth Social and Emotional Health at Rutgers University in New Jersey. We talked with Cadenas about how the stress caused by the current political situation appears in children and affects their learning.
Cardenas, who is also an associate professor of clinical psychology, discussed ways teachers and administrators can help students feel safe in school.
This interview has been compiled for length and clarity.
Edsurge: I’ve seen a lot of news about the attacks on immigrant communities, including children, causing anxiety. How does stress affect them?
Germán A. Cadenas: We know that decades of research highlights that it is not useful for children’s development or learning, especially if they don’t feel safe. It is a barrier to learning and development among young people. It’s for all children, and that includes immigration.
There’s a considerable amount of research from its execution in Arizona [in 2010]SB 1070 days showed that it actually has a ripple effect. So, these anti-immigration policies target undocumented immigrants, but also hurt people from different positions and American citizens.
Students are in the classroom with other students who have different types of status. When there is fear in the classroom, when someone is feeling anxious about their family, it affects their friends, which affects the classmates they are sitting in the classroom. It affects teachers.
It is extremely harmful to learning and to mental health for children to experience this fear and this anxiety. I think I am very concerned that the ice is now in the educational space and is empowered to disrupt these places we consider safe for children. Children are not criminals, children are just children.
You were part of the American Psychological Association’s task force last year, visiting immigration shelters on both sides of the Texas-Mexico border. What did you observe about the mental health of a child who was waiting to cross, or the mental health of a child who just arrived in the United States?
The reason why immigrants arrive in the US at the border when they entered the country is the same reason we have always had immigrants, because people want a better life and they want a better situation. That’s what I saw at the border.
I saw people who were so desperate, escaping difficult situations, wanting opportunities to work, contribute and keep their families safe. There were many, many children, many families, many women who were pregnant or had small children. And while we actually saw that even the immigration camps where families were sleeping in the tents and in the floor, they were trying to maintain a sense of normalcy for their children, we could see the children running around and playing, and the families treating them with a lot of affection.
I think it really speaks to the resilience of immigrants and immigrant families and how strong those bonds are. And I think that’s a protective factor that even amid this uncertainty, migrant families are just trying to make each other safe right now.
in Report from that border visityou and your colleagues explain the science behind how stress affects mental health and provide recommendations on how educators can support immigrant students. Can you look into how stress can manifest itself in the ability to learn with immigrant children now?
What we know from human development research and education science is that it is very important for children to feel safe in the classroom, that they feel they belong and in a stable environment.
The stability of its structure is extremely important for children’s development. Because children are safe and relaxed. When they do so, brain learning centers are active and children can be involved in learning in meaningful ways.
For children to be afraid and stressed, that is not good for their development. We know that it can cause behavioral problems, right? Children are learning to manage and deal with their emotions, and sometimes it can be really difficult for them to understand what is happening without the support of trained people.
We also know that they feel like things are not stable and that there is a sense of uncertainty about whether their caretakers will be taken away, which is a very scary place for children.
Much of your research is about how educational institutions can support migrant youth and families. What are those strategies?
I think we are trying to protect its safety in the environment as much as possible. Especially in special programs to help children. [and] The family feels like they belong to school. It is really important to have people trained to deal with emotional concerns that may arise from this anti-immigrant context, mental health providers who are culturally responsive within the school.
It also provides space for children and families to learn about their legal rights, understand what is happening in this context, and get a sense of empowerment. I think those things are very useful.
You mentioned it before Arizona SB 1070this was the 2010 “Show Me Your Papers” Act that sparked the fear of police racial profiling. Obviously there is an immediate effect of the stress caused by such policies, but do children feel they have long-term effects? Can it affect their learning in the future?
I think it depends, but yes there is a risk that this climate and this type of aggressive enforcement could have long-term effects. I think it really depends on people, family and circumstances, but I think there has been research that shows that family separation is very deep, deeply painful and difficult, especially the loss of deported families.
There is I’ll report what we’ve summarized There is a nonprofit organization called Immschooks and they are my close partners. We have done a lot of work over the past few years documenting how we can help schools become safer for undocumented students and families.
Immschools offers in-school programs that help families and young people learn about legal rights. At the end of the program, it was found that young people showed a higher level of psychological well-being compared to students who had not received the program.
So I think it’s very important for educators to be very clear about how welcome they are for immigrants, especially for those who work in the K-12 system.
Psychological happiness was also linked to the children’s agency sense, seeking support when needed. It was also linked to the school culture. Again, there is much we can do to ensure that schools are safe for undocumented and immigrant youth. [legal] status.
Psychological well-being was also linked to active academic engagement. So, going back to the question of how stress manifests, sometimes feeling stressed, can get in the way of children’s performance in school and affect academic outcomes.
However, we can see that welcoming behavior towards immigration and school cultures is related to mental health, greater psychological health, and that these are also linked to greater active involvement with academics.
So you need to say that you are explicit.
I think it’s useful to be explicit and show it through your actions. There are also many ways educators can do that.
For example, it celebrates the different cultures that children may come, celebrates the cultural diversity within the classroom, celebrates immigrant stories, integrates into the curriculum, celebrates music, centers around the stories of immigrants in America, creating a welcoming atmosphere.
Do you think teachers and schools can do that right now with threats to funding for diversity, equity and inclusion?
Unfortunately, it’s a really difficult environment for educators and schools. We know there are many barriers in place to ensure that schools can support all students in a way that is worthy of support.
In many ways, this does not mean that diversity initiatives in schools are limited or limited. I think it is important for schools to understand district policies regarding diversity, understand local laws and policies, make decisions about these with managers, and find ways to support students in ways that they feel best matched with all the different changes.
I think there is still plenty of room for educators to get all students right, including immigrant students.
Could you share some examples of how educators do that?
I did some research with young, undocumented college students. There, we showed that experiences of everyday discrimination are associated with more anxiety and more depression for them. There are also similar studies conducted by other scholars with young immigrants.
One thing teachers can do is create an environment in which discrimination is not acceptable in the classroom, bullying is not acceptable, and an environment in which daily discrimination and bullying is properly addressed within the classroom and where support from a mental health provider or administrator is received. A few weeks ago we saw the very sad, tragic news that a young Texas girl committed suicide and that she committed suicide because she was there My parents were bullied for immigration status.
So I think it’s one way to create that sense of belonging and safety, so that teachers can intervene, provide mental health support, deal with families, and become a shield for children experiencing discrimination within schools.
Another strategy I throw away there: We live in an environment of a lot of misinformation and disinformation about immigration. A strategy that educators can use is to reflect on their biases, their beliefs, their attitudes about immigration, access fact-based information about immigration, and follow reputable sources related to immigration. [to assess] Where they get their news and where they get information about immigration.
