]]>
Monthly Archives: February 2017
Hatim and Rhoda Visit the Class
Dear Sidi and Mommy,
Thank you for coming to my classroom and sharing your stories.
I enjoyed when you (Sidi) talked about becoming a doctor and how you wanted to be one since you were little. It is inspiring how you had your heart set on something and became that thing. You did a good job being a doctor by treating 5,000 some people.
I think you (Mommy) were lucky to have Sidi who opened a path for you to have an easier life. I think you really pointed that out and showed how much easier life is for all of us, including you. I think that was a good way to put it.
It is cool how many immigrants are in our ancestors. I liked learning a little more about their stories and both of your stories. I learned a lot more about your and other people in our families stories.
Love,
Laiali Tapper
_______________________________________________________________
P.S: I am glad we could reschedule because of the snow day.
February 13, 2017
Dear Hatim and Rhoda,
Thank you for coming to our class and telling us your story. I liked the stories you told us. One of them I liked was how you were the first doctor in Palestine. Another story I was interested in was the story about how the part of Palestine you were living in became Israel. I also like how you changed your life story into a book.
I want to ask you a few questions. What was your favorite place to go to in America and why? How did feel when you when there were so many doctors in Palestine? Are you thinking about becoming a citizen?
From,
Alex
______________________________________________________________
Dear Hatim and Rhoda,
Thank you for coming in and sharing your stories with us. They were super detailed and full of fun. My favorite parts were: The part where you, Hatim, hid $500 in your tie when you came to America. I also liked the part where you befriended the baby squirrels.
Rhoda, I liked the part where you said you had over 100 relatives on your Grandfather’s side. I was just amazed at that!
The stories that you shared with us are really cool. I’m glad that you guys came in and shared them with us. I had a lot of fun listening to them.
Love,
Gia
______________________________________________________________
Dear Hatim and Rhoda,
Thank you for coming and talking about your life story. One of my favorite parts is that everybody wanted to be either Doctor, Engineer or Lawyer, but nobody was that good enough in school to be able to be a Doctor, Engineer or Lawyer. Also it was hard to get a sponsor, and you must have been lucky to get a sponsor, as you said it was.
Another one of my favorite parts of your story is that you had to go through so many years of school after twelve grade. You went to Harvard to learn about medicine. Them you went to Wyoming learn about community health. Maybe it wasn’t too long but it might of felt like it.
My last favorite thing is that you worked in the oil fields, they were high pay but hard work as you put it. It’s interesting how you both came at a young age. I mean you and Rhoda, and you both came for school. Was it safe working in the oil fields?
Sincerely,
Crosby
]]>
Wen Zhou Visits the Class
Mother of Zen Ze Chen Shares Her Story with Fourth Graders
By Zen Ze Chen,
NY-NY Today Wen Zhou mother of Zen Ze Chen (me) came over to LREI fourth grade to share her story of her life. She came over to America in August 15, 1985, the purpose of coming here was to seek a better life, education, work, hospitality, food, civilized conditions, warmth, indoor plumbing, and windows with glass.
Wen said, “In Xiapu we had no indoor plumbing, no heating, no windows, we had to make windows out of paper and rice. The rice would act as glue and the paper was the glass. Since there was no heating, at recess we would line up facing the wall and push as hard as you can against the wall.” So it was not anything like New york.
Wen came here on August 15, 1985. She was so surprised when she saw black people and white people, because she really never seen people out of her village. So this was a whole new experience for her. She worked in a factory cleaning the thread of jackets pants and skirts also packaging.
Everyone loved Wen’s story. They thought the conditions at Xiapu there conditions were a lot worse than the city so much they thought it was interesting. Zen said, “It’s like showing a kid a vintage phone. Like the ones where the have the circle and you put your finger into them and turn it. One of those.”
Wen’s Journey to Heaven
By Bailey Wolfman
In recent news, Wen, the mother of Zen, recounted her childhood in China to a classroom of kids in America. It was reported that many people in China at the time were quite poor and cold because of a lack of money and heat. It seems living conditions are very different between China and America. Schools are so poor that they often don’t have basic materials and the whole class had to share one textbook!
In addition, many classrooms in China had no indoor plumbing and had to use a buckets to as toilets and share one water well in the middle of the town as water didn’t go to the classroom. It was also reported that they had no glass windows and used paper sheets instead of glass and rice as glue.
Wen moved to America many years ago and now owns a successful clothing company. She sells kids clothes, including dresses, pants and shirts. She is appreciative of everything available in America, but also learned a great deal from her childhood experience in China.]]>
"Dear God, Will it ever be different?" Pauline Newman Gets Published – Young Immigrants Respond
In a letter written to her sons in 1951, Pauline Newman, who worked at The Triangle Shirt Waist Co. as a young girl, described one of the pivotal chapters in her life as an activist.
“One evening I was walking home from a long day’s work. It was summer. But by evening the air was a bit cool and I rather liked the walk home. The sights were familiar, the usual signs of poverty and all the resulting misery therefrom. As I saw the little children playing in the gutter, the men and women looking tired and drab, the dark and filthy tenements I thought — dear God, will this ever be different? When I got home I sat down and wrote:
“While at work I am thinking only of my own drab existence. I get discouraged and a bit low in my mind – every day the same foreman, the same forelady, the same shirt waists, shirt waists and more shirt waists. The same machines, the same surroundings. The day is long and the task tiresome. In despair I ask — “dear God will it ever be different?”. And on my way home from work I see again those lonely men and women with hopeless faces, tired eyes; harrassed by want and worry — I again ask “will it ever be different?”. I wrote more of the same and when it was done I decided to send it to the Forward. Of course I did not expect it to be accepted or published. I did not think it was good enough for publication. I was not a writer and I knew it. But, I did want to express my feelings and get them down on paper. There was satisfaction in doing just that. I posted the article and did not give it another thought.
A few days later, it was a Saturday, as I was approaching the Triangle factory I noticed a number of my fellow workers holding the Forward and pointing to something, and when they saw me they all shouted congratulation and hailed me as a conquering hero — for my piece was published! I could hardly believe it! but there it was, my name and all. This I believe was one of the highlights in my life. Perhaps a minor one compared with what was to follow in the years ahead. However, at the time it was an achievement I did not anticipate. Encouraged by the success of my first attempt to give expression to my thoughts and feelings I tried again and again and each time my articles and stories were accepted and published. I became “famous” almost over night. In a small way I became the voice of the less articulate young men and women with whom I worked and with whom later I was to join in the fight for improved working conditions and a better life for us all.
(http://trianglefire.ilr.cornell.edu/primary/letters/paulinenewman.html)
Young immigrants write to Pauline after seeing her letter in the Forward. Here are their various perspectives:
Dear Pauline Newman, I am Emma Croquet. I am an immigrant from France and I am 10 years old. I work in a factory too and I have realized throughout these months, I have been treated unfairly. I wish I could strike and I love what you are doing but my Aunt will not allow it. She is to overly protective of me. The girls in my factory that strike have been beaten and have not been paid throughout the the time they have been striking. I admirer you and the factory girls that strike very much. Are forelady will deduct pay if we go to the bathroom for more than 3 minutes! And she hired people to beat the workers that strike! Plus, she treats us like we are her servants! Please help us and my factory workers. We need it. Sincerely, Emma (Alden) Dear Pauline, My name is Naomi and I’m from Ethiopia. I don’t go to school or work at a factory but I am with you. I work at my parent’s bakery. I came to America because there was rumor that a group of people are taking over villages one at a time and they were close to my village. My parents also had more money in America because of the bakery. My Aunt Adama came with me. Aunt Adama is surprisingly working in a factory though she is 27. I am sixteen and should be working in a factory but am not, I’m at the bakery. I like what you wrote in the News. I agree with you. But not everyone does. Which means I hope you know people are only working because of the pay they need for themselves and their families. But I think if a lot of people stand up for what’s right, then we will win and America will change, but if we don’t America and our lives will forever stay the same. I hope we can get many to change their minds. Sincerely, Naomi Asrate (Jade) P.S. Me and others will forever be with you Pauline. Dear Pauline Newman, My name is Vladimir Cohen and I am a factory worker at Leonardo’s. The factory conditions are ok but not the best and I believe they should be better. Me and my fellow workers are going to eventually start a union and fight for better working conditions. I live in a tenement on the Lower East Side and my family really needs the money that I make. I admire how much you fight for better conditions. To me I want to follow in your footsteps. I think you are a great role model to everyone and you are the person I look up to and despite our small age difference I want to follow in your footsteps. I think you are doing a great job striking and making speeches. I like how you are thinking about the community and yourself while striking and sharing your voice. Me and my fellow factory workers plan to go on strike and risk losing our job and going to jail and not getting paid. I also agree to think about the world not just myself. I truly want to help you make our working conditions better. Everyday I wish I was back in Russia where our work was fair. I am in this with you to get fair treatment. I think that in unity we can change the world and every day I try to do that. You can count on me to be on your side and help you go through our battle. Seeing and hearing about you in press every day encourages me to do all the things I do every day. All other people are lucky to have your in this world to help guide us through the process of striking. One day I hope to meat you. Everyday I think to myself, how can I be like Pauline. I truly want to get involved so if there are any jobs you have for me I will pleasurably do them. So Pauline, Let’s change the world now so it will impact the future. Sincerely, Vladimir Cohen (Asher) P.S. I hope to one day be as brave and courageous as you. Hi my name is Paul Weber. I am 10 years old. I saw what was in the press and I also agree with you. Will the factory conditions ever change? Me and my roommate, Tony work in a factory too. I have my brother George and two other people living with me. Lorenzo Brigode and Emilio. Me and Tony work as blacksmiths and Lorenzo and Emilio work as peddlers who sell their farming produce. Our pay is $3.50 a week. I do not want to go on strike because I could lose my job and not be able to find another one. How does the fear and danger of striking not stop you? I personally like my job and can not afford to lose money. Every cent of it. But even though I like the job, I definitely agree with you. It is hard work and long, long hours and low pay. The bathroom breaks are insane! We get three minutes just to go to the bathroom. I think you are inspiring and have powerful words. Thank you for the opportunity to talk to you! Sincerely, Paul Weber (Yves) Dear Pauline, My name is Saoirse Moore. I am also a factory girl like you, but I have the privilege of going to school when I can, though my Da says that when my sister and I turn thirteen we will have to work full time. I am not looking forward to that. If you are wondering, I am ten right now. I am really inspired by what you did in the newspaper, even though I don’t read that newspaper as I am Irish, not Jewish. I would like to be more involved in strikes and such, but my sister Sabina is more brave than me. She goes to most of them. I hope that if you write back to me that you can explain to me how you got up the courage to do what you did. I feel the same way that you do. Two of my best friends, Amisha and Rosalind, are bakers. They don’t understand how it feels to work in the sweatshops. Today we had an inspection. I was thrown in the crate. When the inspectors came I could her my supervisor lying about us underage workers, and how we supposedly “don’t work on Sundays and Saturdays.” I work those hours every week. I just don’t understand how these people could be so cruel. I am honored that what you did has made my coworkers happy and inspired. You have made me inspired. Your thoughts are the exact same as mine. I am just so happy that someone finally stood up. Thank you for writing to the Jewish Daily Forward! From, Saoirse Moore (Margot) Pauline went on to organize women garment workers in shops throughout lower Manhattan, paving the way for the uprising of the 20,000 1909—the largest strike by American women workers to that time. ]]>Sweatshop Simulation: To Strike or Not to Strike!
On Thursday, Fourth Graders imagined themselves as recent immigrants working in a factory in 1909. The conditions in the factory were dismal. Workers were unhappy. Some of the workers had heard about a meeting that was taking place that evening at Cooper Union. At the end of their difficult workday, the boss announced,
“I heard they are gathering at Cooper Union tonight and that Clara Lemlich will be there too. If I hear you’ve gone, you’ll be fired. If you go, don’t come into work tomorrow.”As the workers left the building they discussed whether to go to the meeting and ultimately to strike… or not. Here is what they said:
![](http://blog.lrei.org/4dj-17/files/2017/02/FullSizeRender-2bhz8i9.jpg)
Hidden Figures: A Movie Review Via Journal Entries
Our class went to see the film, Hidden Figures,…..
Below are excerpts from diary entries written by fourth graders from the perspectives of one of the three women in the film:
Katherine Johnson— mathematician/astrophysicist
Mary Jackson— engineer
Dorothy Vaughn— manager, learns to program
Alden: “Today I had another hard day at NASA. They moved me to the a position in the office where the white people work. …In the 1960’s there is so much segregation. With everything! …It is especially hard in Virginia no matter what the law is.”
Alex: “…It is tough being a black girl in 1961. Not many white people respected me or the way I felt like I should be respected. It felt like no one listened to me sometimes, they just wanted me to leave them alone because of how I look. I go to the library and can’t get the book I want because of my skin color. It is not fair.”
Asher: “…Because I am black I do not get the same rights of white people. This is making me really mad because my skin color should not change the way people treat me. When I take the bus to work I have to sit in the back of the bus and to me I am equal to the whites who sit in the front of the bus. Everyday I have to use separate bathrooms and water fountains and that makes me feel like I am too different and I cannot fit in. When I am at NASA and working in my office I do not like that is is segregated. I do not hate white people, why do they hate me?…My life is full of challenges but I like to overcome them.”
Avery: “…As a women and being African American I would never, we would never, be looked at like a white man or women. I would always be picked last for everything compared to a white man or women. Also when I am compared to a white man or women and the person who was picking knew me, the white man or women would try to cheat their way. I kind of felt like they wanted me to mess up when they crossed out the stuff that I was reading. The last challenge that I am going to mention to you diary is that it is such a challenge to have to run half a mile to the bathroom. And then my boss gets mad at me and I have to stay late. Well I got so mad. He finally asked me, “Why are you gone so for 40 minutes every day?” So I told him or yelled it to him. Now there aren’t any more signs that say “Colored Only” or “Whites Only.”
Crosby: “…People segregated my bathroom which makes it far away and then my boss yelled at me for being away for 40 minutes a day just for going to the bathroom. When I walked into the place where I was going to work everybody stared at me and after the first day I can’t drink coffee. Every time I finish one project I have to start all over again from changes they make in the briefing room….It has not been easy getting to this day as African American women but I have thrived.”
Ezra: “…My job at NASA is to make math calculations to help the rockets go into space and land safely…When I was a kid I was always good at math. When I started working as a mathematician at NASA I was really happy…until I had to go to the bathroom…Also, in the room where I was working there was a coffee machine for all the white people, but only a coffee pot for me…with no coffee in it!!!”
“In my free time I go to church and spend time with my family and friends. Sometimes I go over to Mary or Dorothy’s house, or they come over to mine. No matter what, I LOVE hanging out with them….Mr. Harrison had put me back in the west area because the computer could do all the calculations in a split second, but when John Glenn said that if he got the calculations from me he would feel more safe. When I okayed the calculations everyone was happy and John Glenn got into space.”
Gia: “…Here at NASA, I am a calculator. I get all the calculations done for the spacecraft launches. Sometimes, I feel like I am not being appreciated enough, but then again, I am a negro woman in the 1960’s, so chances of being appreciated are almost at a 40% chance of being successful.”
“I have a tough life. The negro women’s bathrooms are all the way in the West Area Computing Section, which is where I get most of my work done. My boss can be very hard at some points in the day, so I have to be very careful around him.”
“Whenever I have to go home, I take Dorothy’s car, and so does Mary. Once, we almost got towed. A police officer came over, but luckily our jobs (actually, our NASA ID tags) saved us. He even offered us a ride!”
Jade: “My name is Katherine Johnson. My job is mathematician/astrophysicist of NASA. I used to be Katherine Goble. I also used to work in the West Area Computing Section. I got a technical promotion to the Space Task Group. As an African American woman, I had a few difficulties in my life. There were NO colored bathrooms in the building where I newly worked, everyone except for one person was a man but everyone in the place was white. They acted weird around me. I’m the same though and will always know that. Also outside people still treat African Americans the same so there are still protests and sit ins. Anyway I’m happy NASA finally launched someone (John Glenn) into space.”
Kieran: “It’s hard being segregated from all the whites and not being allowed to be equals with them. I want to take classes to become an engineer but the classes are in a white high school. I’m going to have to go to court to get the classes. I got a seat in the court and soon I will be going to court. The redstone rocket is not yet ready for launch. It needs something else to hold the heat shield in place other than the bolts. But I can’t be an engineer and work on the stuff that I want without attending those classes.”
“When I’m not at work I’m at home with my son and my daughter and my not very supportive husband. I take the children to church on Sunday. Dorothy and Katherine are my best friends and it is nice to hang out with them. We eat food, chat, and get Katherine engaged.”
Laiali: “I work at NASA in the West Computing Group. I calculate math for the launch and landing of rockets. I do important work at NASA. John Glenn made sure I checked the math for his landing. I double-check and make my calculations.”
“I feel honored, but lots of people don’t think I should have the job. And I was privileged to work on the assignment. I follow the rules, go to the colored bathrooms yet still I get in trouble. White men and women were giving me a hard time getting comfortable with the job, I had to do everything different than white people, work harder than white people-especially before John Glenn’s flight and landing.”
Lorenzo: “…It is hard being an African-American. My friend, Mary, is an engineer but had to stop when the NASA team said, you don’t have the degrees to be an engineer, so you have to go to this school. The school is an white only school. …Dorothy said I was the best at math, so, now I am an Astrophysicist. I like my job it is hard, and I am probably the best at math in that room. Off to the moon we go!”
Makeda: “…I worked in the West Area Computing Room with all the other colored computers at NASA. Recently I got an assignment to work on the capsule that will hold one of the astronauts going into space. I would love to be an engineer but to be an engineer at NASA requires to take a whites only night class at an all white high school.”
“The sixties is a segregated time and I am sure we can get past that. But for now I have to go to court just to take night classes at a high school. Of course that means the high school is segregated but it is also the only way for me to become an engineer at NASA. And since that is what I really truly want to be I will make sure that judge uses his mind and uses it well so I can go to those night classes. Because if I was a white man I already would be.”
“I love spending time with my kids and husband Levi but sometimes he just gets too worked up about how I’m never home. I’m sad to say he’s right but it’s what I have to do to support my family and I can’t stop now because NASA still needs to put a man into space. I also am determined to stop all this nonsense segregation.”
Margot: “…It’s so maddening, all the segregation. I almost didn’t get into school because of it. And sometimes white police officers stop us on the side of the road for no particular reason and I have to be cross with them. We never do anything bad on a daily basis and they stop us, and question us like they would never do to a white man or woman. Sometimes I just need to have fun and cool off. Maybe crack a few jokes that’ll make Kat and Dorothy laugh.”
“I was so determined to get into that all-white school. I didn’t stop. I argued with the judge until he said I could go to the night classes. I am not stopping until I get my degree and become a successful engineer. If white men can do it, a black woman-the complete opposite-can do it too.”
“…Change happened when I got up the courage to go to that judge and fight for me to go to school. I’d like to become an engineer (so much) and that’s not going to happen without change. Some of it happened when Kat’s boss, Mr. Harrison took down all the signs in every building so that the bathrooms were not segregated. Now that’s what I call integration.”
Miles: “I was so scared when John Glenn finally started to land. I was a big part of this and I didn’t want to be the one who messed it up. It turns out my calculations were correct and they orbited the first man into space. I had to calculate the numbers and where he was going to land and how fast he was going to be going. That is a big part of it. I guess I was misjudged just because some computer was “ better than me.”
“I was also misjudged by my race and gender. I was not allowed in the boardroom because I was a woman. But it turns out that I was a big help and I saved John Glenn. If I hadn’t been there John Glenn might have crashed and died.”
Nate: “I’m so happy I worked at NASA. I worked as an engineer. I’m so proud. We got a man into space I hope we can get another man into space soon. I feel like I did an accomplishment. I got to be one of the first African American woman to be an engineer….After all I had to do, I find it worth it – all the hardships that I faced. But I managed to get through.”
“It was nice to go to church on Sundays instead of working. At church they told us we did a good job and they said our names in church. It’s nice to look back at what changed in my life…I hope it made people think that you can’t take no for an answer. Being a woman of color really made things harder. If I was not black I could have easily gone to a white only school to become an engineer.”
Romy: “I am Katherine Johnson I work at NASA an important space company. At NASA I am a computer. Since I was little I have always been very talented with math and numbers. Some challenges I have faced in my life are people misjudging me because of my skin color and my gender. …The way I would described myself would be (not to brag): smart,funny, caring and most of all, I am very determined.”
Sam: “Dear diary, My name is Katherine, I am a mathematician and an astrophysicist. I work at NASA. I make sure rocket ships get into the air safely by using my math skills. I’m confident about getting my math right. I always try to be nice to people who are not my skin color even though they are usually not nice to me.”
“In Virginia there are lots of protests because it’s a segregated state. Since it is segregated not everyone can do what they want to do. I do not feel very comfortable in this state but I like my job here at NASA. I got better at math and geometry by working hard and being confident.”
Yves: “My job is to calculate the things needed for a spaceship to get into orbit. I help the other people at NASA and double check their work. After the Friendship 7 landing I could now be part of the control room where people can check on the astronauts and see how the spaceship is doing. John Glenn trusted my calculations more than the computer.”
Zen: “Dear Diary, I’ve been working as a supervisor with all of my ladies of the West Computing Group. The IBM 7090 DPS the big computer that can process 24,000 problems in a fraction of a second which is amazing. All of us are supposed to run this machine and program all of the calculations that NASA needs. I love my job right now and I think NASA needs me. They couldn’t figure it out themselves so I had to break in and fix it. They weren’t too mad… I guess.”
]]>