American dirt by Cummins tells of the story of immigrants crossing the border to America to escape the suffering and death back at home in Mexico. Among these people are Lydia and her son Luca who suffer various traumas before finally surviving in America away from the drug cartel that rains havoc in Mexico. A total of 16 members of Luca's family are killed by gunmen paid by a man the boy would have thought was the most peaceful man in the world ( Cummins, 2020 ). Additionally, the boy has to witness various traumatizing things in their journey, including having nothing to eat and drink in the desert. Also, everyone around him in the journey is afraid for their life and looks over the shoulders, fearing that they might get raped or they might be recognized. Despite the young boy being sharp and joining the school in America, he is bound to find it challenging to catch up.
Ability to Learn
Having witnessed his family members' killing, one of whom is his father, Luca, is so to be traumatized. The grief and fear caused by this event are not something that can be wide away quickly, and hence the boy might have episodes in class that will cause his poor performance. The trauma is likely to cause mistrust for everyone in his environment, including the teachers bearing in mind that the cartel leader was a quiet, bookish man. Therefore, despite the love the boy has for books, he may associate books with the murder of his family members.
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It is essential to understand that Luca's father Sebastian, was a journalist killed for writing about the cartel leader. This memory might be after the little boy's desire to read since he doesn't believe that successful careers are admirable anymore. The boy is likely to have no motivation to study hard if he is not guided appropriately by his teachers. Significantly, traumatic experience has the ability to alter an individual's view of life, causing one to see life as meaningless. Education did not save his father from being murdered, and therefore Luca can never see education as an escape from a hard life like other children.
Significantly, his immigration status is likely to affect his willingness to learn. This fact is because he has been interrupted by his home and original learning environment and has had to cope with a new one almost immediately. His interest is being safe from the killers by keeping his status as an identified immigrant living in America where he is immune ( Cummins, 2020 ). Additionally, immigrants do not enjoy a lot of privileges, even pin education and professionally, and this knowledge may negatively affect his view of learning.
It is also crucial to learn that he has been forced to grow faster than a child should be taking up the place of his face, even during the journey. Being unable to be the child like other students is likely to slow him down as the styles used for learning, like being involved in playing while learning, may not work for him ( Wallace & Lewis, 2020 ). He does not see himself as a child anymore and therefore, he might fail to interact freely with his classmates, which is detrimental as he cannot voluntarily engage in class discussions due to the past traumas that have affected his view of life.
Luca and Lydia, his mother, become part of a large population of undocumented immigrants who have to hide all their lives. Despite being a woman of means due to her inheritance, Lydia cannot afford to risk identification by becoming documented. This fear and the long documentation processes are why such immigrants might not be keen to become registered. Therefore, these immigrants, including the young boy living with the fear of being returned to Mexico, means death or torture as it is not safe. Essentially, living with the fear of being deported may affect Luca in different ways, including being socially incapacitated. Most of the illegal immigrants always have to put a low profile to avoid being discovered. Having too many friends may mean exposure, and therefore the boy will fail to interact freely with others even in school.
Further, due to this fear, the boy will be unable to lead an everyday life like engage in ordinary life as a resident. This fact indicates that as the boy grows, he will lose opportunities that require identification. These opportunities include teaching schools that are regarded as top-notch and away from immigrant communities. The reason is that Luca has to hide among the people of his status, such as the immigrants, who are not likely to judge him as they have many things in common. There are also instances when the boy might lose career opportunities such as business interactions as a grown man since being deported may act as the button that causes him to retreat in fear.
Additionally, as a result of the fear of being deported, Luca is likely to have self-esteem issues causing him to lack confidence in himself and his ideas. This effect is something that manifests throughout the life of an individual as the experiences during childhood form one's personality (Rossen, 2020). Therefore, the boy might develop an antisocial personality that is displayed through actions such as aggression. In this case, the boy might have to become violent against everyone in his environment, which poses the threat of being deported to Mexico since he might even prefer to harm others than face death and lose loved ones back in their native home.
The experiences both at home and in America have changed the boy considerably, including his cognitive abilities. Hence, Luca can't be the same student he was in Mexico. As a teacher, one would not expect that he will perform as he did back in Mexico. One reason is that the boy is struggling to learn a new way of life that he was not used to back at home. The two environments are different, and hence one cannot expect him to adjust fast enough to become the same student. Despite the violence, the boy faced in Mexico, before the killing, Mexico was a peaceful place that would have allowed him to learn freely. On the contrary, in America, life is different as he has to live a secrecy life. Additionally, the two countries are different even in languages used in school, and the boy will have to learn new cultures setting him back.
One of the interests that are definitely evident in the boy is navigating through interactions with different people, and this could be used in teaching him social studies, which involves the history of communities. Encouraging him to apply himself in group discussions can help him interact with children, helping him learn about other backgrounds ( Wallace & Lewis, 2020 ). Additionally, putting him in groups that have students who already speak English is one way to use his interest in blending in to avoid deportation and, in the process, learn English. Using field trips would also help the boy utilize his curiosity about things within his environment to learn science. His interest in becoming financially stable to support his family in America must be used by using calculations that involve money.
One way to build the child's confidence is through the encouragement of more involvement in class-related work. An encouraging class presentation where Luca has to present his ideas before the classmates are crucial. Additionally, frequently asking him questions and cultivating tolerance among classmates by discouraging laughing at each other could inspire confidence. In essence, Luca would best fit as deferred action for childhood arrivals (DACA) student as he will need an exemption from deportation to establish himself ( Lamb, 2017) . This two-year-renewable period will allow him to find job easily in future.
In conclusion, the American dirt book explains how Luca and his mother's life is overturned suddenly. The boy is bound to have difficulties in learning, primarily due to the introduction to a new environment. As a result of avoidance of deportation, the boy may become withdrawn from the people around him, which as a teacher, one needs to avoid by encouraging interactions.
References
Cummins, J. (2020). American Dirt . Philippe Rey.
Lamb, C. (2017). Practical strategies for working with traumatized children from refugee backgrounds in early childhood settings. Educating Young Children: Learning and Teaching in the Early Childhood Years , 23 (3), 20.
Rossen, E. (Ed.). (2020). Supporting and educating traumatized students: A guide for school-based professionals . Oxford University Press.
Wallace, K. O., & Lewis, P. J. (2020). Trauma Informed Schools and Teaching. In Trauma Informed Teaching through Play Art Narrative (PAN) (pp. 64-94). Brill Sense.
