Dual Existence

Upon initial reading of the topic of this post, I had a hard time trying to remember a particular instance in which I had observed the dual existence. I wondered why this seemed more challenging than the posts before. I have come to the conclusion that it is not that I have not witnessed such a thing but that it is so commonplace that I did not view it as anything other than the norm. To me this says a great deal about how I personally view what is happening around me and how my life is being affected by immigrants. In essence, the only direct contact that I really have with any immigrants are those in my classroom and their parents. Outside of that, there is none unless we take into account those who are in service professions and with that the cycle continues. Reading chapter eight brought a glimpse of the reality that we live in in Middle Tennessee and most other places where immigrants reside.

Last week I was at a park with family and friends. In the other pavilion there was a group of Hispanics. They had cases and cases of water, Gatorade, and the like. I noticed that many men, old and young alike, began to show up in soccer clothes. For the first in the many years of my coming to this same park, I saw that there were soccer goals. The field was mostly dirt. They proceeded to play a very organized, real game of soccer, referees and all. We watched, even choosing teams to cheer for and had a great time because I really enjoy the game. My children have played soccer for many years and Murfreesboro has a great soccer complex. In all the years that they have played, there has never been one Hispanic player on their teams. I have seen some Hispanic players on teams but they are a very small minority. Why would they settle for this mediocre place to play the sport they love when they could be afforded the same amenities as others in the city? Because of the dual existence.

I think teachers can help dissolve the dual existence by not only informing students about the different activities, curricular and extracurricular, but by also encouraging them to participate. It goes beyond the classroom as well. We must reach out to the parents of our students and show them that we really care about them and their children. It is difficult to get the children into different things when they are getting no support from home.