For the past several years, I have had the opportunity of volunteering in the Adult English Language Learner classes in the Minneapolis schools. What an inspiration this has been!
Students from teens to old men and women work all day, feed their families, then come to school three hours a night, four days per week. They are eager for better skills, better jobs, citizenship, and a better life for their kids.
If we were a wise and forward-looking society, we would pay them to attend and would pay their babysitters and bus fare as well. The lives these immigrants have lived!
The delight of seeing their progress! The challenge of trying to explain Halloween, hand gestures, adjectives and snow emergency rules.
The things you can learn about camels, jungle escapes and living on the edge in Minneapolis. If you are looking for a fun, rewarding, and challenging way to spend a few hours per week, contact the ELL coordinator for your local school or area.
You'll get a little training, and then you'll be meeting a classroom of marvelous people from around the world.
STEVE LEE, CIRCLE PINES
