The Garden City Telegram
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Bridging the cultural gap
Published 3/10/2010 in Local News
By MONICA SPRINGER
In Jaime Villacis' home country of Ecuador, there are laws that protect children, women and families. But, he said, those laws aren't followed and are rarely enforced.
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Monica Springer/Telegram Linda Miller, ESL coordinator for Garden City Community College, Deana Robben, children and family services supervisor at Social Rehabilitation Services, and Velia Mendoza, refugee coordinator for GCCC, speak to an adult ESL class at GCCC on Tuesday night.
That's one of many reasons why Villacis, who worked as an economist in his home country, is glad he lives in the United States. And it's also why he appreciated the message Deanna Robben, children and family services supervisor at Social Rehabilitation Services, delivered Tuesday night to him and about 250 other English as a Second Language students at Garden City Community College.
Robben spoke to the students about child care and child abuse and how different cultures may view them differently. The program was in part intended to help immigrants new to the United States have a better understanding of laws and social norms when it comes to rearing and caring for children, and how they might be different than in their home countries.
Villacis said that in his home country, a speaker such as Robben would never come to a group of people to teach them proper rules and laws.
"It's very humane of her," Villacis said through a translator.
The adult ESL classes often hear from community experts about a variety of topics. Those speakers include nurses, law enforcement and emergency responders.
Villacis said that he is impressed with how the United States is focused on protecting children.
The topic of child care and child abuse isn't geared toward one specific audience, said Linda Miller, ESL coordinator at GCCC. She said it is aimed at educating parents on what child abuse is and how to report it if they witness it.
Robben said meeting with the ESL classes is a proactive approach to stopping child abuse. And the meeting, she said, might get parents to recognize child abuse in another family member or in a neighbor.
Robben was speaking to the students about what is and isn't acceptable in regards to rearing and caring for children. For example, she said it's not OK to hit a child and leave marks or bruises on them, and that it's not acceptable to use an object to spank a child.
She said it's better to use a timeout, where a child sits in a chair and has to think about their behavior.
Miller also told the students that it isn't acceptable for young children to play or run in parking lots. She said parents should accompany children when walking from one apartment to another, a problem they often see with Garden City's immigrant population who live in apartment complexes.
Robben also stressed that it's best for a child to live in a safe home, with no holes in the floors and no exposed dirt, a home that has a steady supply of food, and no drugs or alcohol abuse.
A child should receive proper medical care if they need it, Robben said, and added that parents should not allow a young pre-teen to date an older teenager.
"I want people to call before something happens to their child," Robben said. "Our kids did not come with instructions. There are help and services."
The students who attended the meeting consisted of people from Mexico, Ethiopia, El Salvador, Burma, Guatemala and Costa Rica. Robben spoke to three classes on Tuesday.
Adult ESL students said they appreciated Robben speaking to them.
Farah Ali, who is from Somalia, said it's important for adults new to the country to learn about American culture and the differences between the cultures that live here.
He said it is important to give positive advice to parents who are new to the country. He said there are cultural differences adult ESL students have to learn, and having speakers address those topics helps.
Ali learned English in Kenya and was a counselor there. He said he's been in Garden City for two and a half years, working at Tyson, and he wants to continue his education and go into medicine.
Villacis, who moved from Ecuador to Miami and then to Garden City, said he moved here with a goal of helping his home country from his new home.
He moved to Garden City after his son received a scholarship to GCCC. Villacis said he wanted to see more children from Ecuador move to the United States, receive an education, then move back to Ecuador to make a difference.
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