Rock Island High School - Watchtower Yearbook (Rock Island, IL)

Page 20 text:

Learning the basics of American culture in a relaxed atmosphere, are Siyan Pen and Seima Prum. New Country, New Problems An American soldier would knock on the door and tell how many men they needed to become soldiers. Fighting and killing were a part of life. Having endured years of struggling survival, many Laotion fam¬ ilies decided to escape the horror of their war torn country. The Laotion families fled, carrying with them all their belongings. If seen, they never knew if they would be allowed to continue, or shot, but, it they succeeded, freedom and the easy life would be theirs . .. or so they thought. The adjustment requited to become Americanized was difficult. Before reach¬ ing the U.S. the refugees first found an American sponsor, this was done from the country of Thieland, where the refugees lived in camps,- it was better than Laos, they thought, but not like the U.S. Those who arrived in America usually spoke little or no English; as a result, employment problems ensued, and many Laotions were forced to live in low-income housing complexes or poverty level housing. Education presented another problem. Few schools were equipped with the means to teach or communicate with the Laotions. Many, though they displayed above average intelligence, were stuck in slow learning classes, thus slowing the Americanization and nationalization pro¬ cess. The Another Pair Of Hands program originated to help the Laotions on a grade school level, and Rocky now has a pro¬ gram solely for Laotions. In their classroom, they learn the Ameri¬ can number and alphabet systems; also, they learn that they can hold jobs outside their family unit. The majority of Laotions students wish for more friends. Slowly, the Laotions and Americans ore adjusting to the cultural dif¬ ferences and are bridging the gap be¬ tween the two countries. t8 Student Life

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Rich Elliot sells Don Drosmer o condy bor at lunch. More Gruel Anyone? two hour parking limit on the side streets made parking anywhere but the lots near- ly impossible. This led to over-crowded ta¬ bles. long lines and general confusion in the cafeteria. Yet, not all was bad; on nice days students could be seen playing with a frisbee, lying in the sun, gossiping with friends or just enjoying the fresh air. Even though the freedom of lunch was some¬ what restricted, students still found ways to break the monotony of the day by enjoy¬ ing lunch. Student Life 17

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Ill Thongkhau Yuenyoung poses for the camera. She is one of the many Laotion refugees at Rocky this year. Displaying their colorful native costumes ore Bao Young, So Lee, Muang Saechas, Mai Mee Lee, Yien Orn Saechoo, Tong Her, and May Yang. Two Laotion students, Tong Lee and Sousko Kongkousonk, study by a window In the new Laotion classroom. Student Life