WJMS becomes Ellis Island for a day

Strangely dressed and clutching a few meager possessions, adventurers to the New World braved arduous journeys, an uncertain future and possible deportation -- all for the chance at hope.

Almost 150 years have passed since the beginning of the immigration wave to America, but on April 20, part of Conifer became Ellis Island for a day. In this way, West Jefferson Middle School students learned about history from the ground up.

“Instead of just teaching in the classroom, we like to put them in the shoes of the people from the past,” said eighth-grade American history teacher Joe Cushing.

For 11 years, Cushing has provided the simulation as part of a unit on 19th century America, when immigration was a significant event. Eighth-grade students researched the Ellis Island experience for a few of the 12 million immigrants who passed through the concrete walls of the facility in search of a dream.

Students donned the identity of the immigrants, including their names, ages, nationalities, occupations, families and problems. They ventured through eight immigration stations exactly like those at Ellis Island. Dressed in the garb of their country and with practiced accents, they participated in hearings for identity, language, citizenship, political affiliation, health, physical fitness and financial security.

Wrong answers to questions posed by the Ellis Island “officials,” namely staff and parent volunteers, could result in immigrants having to give a bribe, sing a song, do a dance or be deported.

The students quickly learned that lost steamship tickets or identification papers, or wrong political affiliation could cost them their chance at citizenship. As the simulation went on, students became more aware of the few things that mattered: paperwork, families and possessions.

Anna Cuthbertson was one of the first immigrants to be deported and said the simulation seemed real. “Officials” who Anna knows as friendly teachers would now tell her she would be deported if she didn’t perform tasks correctly, and she said that was a little scary, but probably realistic.

Cushing said the participants tried to make the simulation as real as possible, although the people who came through Ellis Island probably didn’t eat as well as the students did during the school’s regular lunch hour. Still in costume and with their belongings, students had a small sandwich, a piece of fruit, a vegetable and a bottle of water.

At the end of the day, students who successfully maneuvered through the labyrinth of each task were sworn in as U.S. citizens.
“This is a chance for kids to live a little bit of history instead of just reading about it,” Cushing said.

From the High Timber Times April 28, 2010

PS-There's an audio slideshow for this project and it sits on my desktop