Made in America: Immigrant Students in Our Public Schools

by Laurie Olsen

Made in America is a riveting, firsthand portrait of life at Madison High, a prototypical public high school. Laurie Olsen spent two-and-a-half years in the Madison High community attending classes and interviewing teachers, administrators, students, and parents. Through their stories, we discover the contemporary version of the Americanization of immigrants -- a complex process that ultimately requires them to give up their national identities and mother tongues to be accepted in an academic and social world that then, ironically, denies them full participation. Olsen portrays immigrant students as they are "made in America" and begin to see that to become American is to take their place on the "racial map" of our nation.

Genres: Education, Nonfiction, School, College, Psychology

288 pages, Paperback

First published October 28, 1997

Reviews

[Gabby Klein · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very easy to read for an academic book! And still extremely relevant. Even someone not in education or policy could read this book and gain a lot from it.

[Meghann Sniffen · Rating 5 out of 5]

1. Summary: This book follows the story of Immigrants in America and how they learn about America in school. It also shows how teachers teach these students and shape these children lives. We see all this through the lives of teachers, students, and families at Madison High where most students are immigrants.
2. Review: This book is an educational read not only for students but for teachers who are uneducated on these topics. It's hard to be uneducated about this topic at this day but you'd be surprised and this book can teach a lot.
3. Books to Pair With: I would pair this book with "All Are Welcome" by Alexandra Penfold to teach smaller children about a serious topic in today's world.
4. Quote: Couldn't find one

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Underneath the superficial celebrations of diversity at Madison High School, a system of stratification exists that particularly harms the ELL students. Nobody escapes the budget constraints and lack of teacher training, but it's especially discouraging to see how the problems affect those on the bottom. Of course, this was written before NCLB and ESSA, which mandated certain ELL standards that aren't present here. Maybe that's covered in the new foreword, but I skipped that for now to save time.

[Rin · Rating 4 out of 5]

The writing in this was really engaging for a nonfiction book, especially on a single research study. I'd like to read a follow up about how this school changed after 9/11 and then again after 2016 and again after 2020

[Marion Lougheed · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little out of date now, but still a wonderful read. It gives a good sense of broader social and historical context as well as teachers and students' personal experiences and everyday lives.

[Nicholas Snyder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Laurie Olsen’s book: Made in America gives insight into the world of an English language learner. It gives example after example of cases she has personally seen and worked with. She goes deep into explaining the thought process and giving exact quotes from actual students. This book is both thought provoking and life changing for teachers who have not worked with or learned how to assist an English language learner. I highly recommend this book if you are a content teacher or if you are getting your ESL cert. Also if you’re a parent of an ELL. Hands down this book proves Laurie Olsen is a master of her craft and a force to be reckoned with.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book, which I believe originated as a doctoral dissertation, is a detailed account of a typical high school in the Bay Area of California and its response to a sudden and dramatic increase of immigrant families in the community. Olsen spent two years immersed in this school interviewing students, teachers, and administrators, and provides an extremely accurate account of the perception of the adults on campus and how that compares to the reality of what different groups of students actually experience. If you ever want to understand what is wrong with our education system, this is a good place to start.

[Rebecca · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read about half of this book and eventually put it down. It's a very interesting topic, talking about the clashes in cultures between students of different backgrounds who all attend the same school. Unfortunately it did not hold my attention because each chapter was much too long for the amount of information that was in it.

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gives a voice to the students who have very little opportunity to speak out in America. Agree or disagree with them, one could certainly learn from the way they feel about the situation they must face. Certainly insightful.

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative if not the best writing. Worth reading just to understand what's happening and what's at stake in our schools. This effects everyone.

[Maura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this for my ESL class in my education Master's program. It was interesting enough, but kind of common sense.

[John Kissell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read for a class. This is a really effective examination of teaching immigrants in U.S. classrooms ...

[Michael]

Haven't read yet; need to add to list of educational ethnographies for next semester.

[Mills College Library]

371.82691 O523 2008