Mentoring immigrant youth Challenges and opportunitiess Mentoring immigrant children

Significant difference between immigrants and refugees. Immigrant and refugee youth (IRY) projected to account for one-third of U.S. children by 2050.

Discrimination Peer Issues Language Acculturation Examples of acculturative stress: Language problems Discrimination Differences in acculturation with parents Peer issues Language Acculturation

Potential of mentoring Facilitate acculturation Help form connection Improve family dynamics Facilitate acculturation to the new culture and connect youth with new resources in the new country. Mentoring could help youth form connections with adults which in return can help them develop: (1) motivation for academic tasks, (2) positive relationships with peers and teachers at school. Mentors can be helpful in improving family dynamics by helping to navigate: (1) acculturation gaps between parents and children, (2) culture brokering by children.

Understand the challenges Develop a strengths-based understanding Understand the challenges Understand the challenges: mentoring programs should encourage mentors to understand the challenges these mentees face. Such as: poverty, seperation, language acquisition, anxiety. Develop a strengths-based understanding: despite the above challenges mentoring programs should consider the resilience and sheer grit it often takes for a family to migrate to a new country. Understand the culture: mentoring porgrams should take the time to understand what matters to the mentee and their parents. Ways to do this are: (1) Read history, but also memoirs and novels set in the culture, (2) Take it slow , (3) Be a great listener. Understand the culture

Understand: immigrants are not a monolith Be respectful of the mentees’ parents: Mentors should recognize that, as outsiders, they’re walking a fine line, and that their relationship with their mentee’s parents may be fraught. At all times, remain humble and kind. Recognize that immigrants are not a monolith: Most immigrant families value education and have the cognitive flexibility that comes with bilingualism. Professor Suárez-Orozco concluded, “there’s enormous wealth of diversity in what we call Immigrant America.”  Check your biases: No matter how you feel about immigration, the fact remains that we are a nation of immigrants (1) Consequently, we need an infrastructure in place to manage their pathways to naturalization (2) a deeper empathy and a recognition of immigrants’ diverse experiences and  many contributions to the fabric of American life. Check your biases Be Respectful of parents

Programs should look for… Same culture mentors Experience: international/teaching Positive attitudes/values Openness to cross-cultural learning Both cross-culture and same-culture mentoring relationships show potential: The cultural understanding that same-culture mentors bring to the relationship and the cultural competency of cross-culture mentors each may be helpful. Mentoring programs should look for: Same culture mentors Individuals with international work or education experience Individuals who are whiling to follow culture competency trainings Mentors’ attitudes about immigration policy and immigrants themselves