Photo By Sgt. Caitlin Wilkins | Sgt. David Shuster, an interior electrician with 652nd Engineer Company, Hammond...... read more read more
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FORT McCOY, Wis. -- Soldiers here are stepping into classrooms and teaching English as a way to help Afghan evacuees resettle in the United States through Operation Allies Welcome.
The classes run Monday through Friday, and give Afghan evacuees the opportunity to learn how to write, read and speak in English.
“I’m trying to give them a head start in English as much as I can,” explained Sgt. David Shuster, a U.S. Army Reserve interior electrician assigned to 652nd Engineer Company in Hammond, Wisconsin, who was a teacher for eight years before joining the Operation Allies Welcome mission. “I want them to have a better shot when they get out of here and go to their forever homes.”
Afghan evacuees started teaching English classes shortly after arriving, and it didn’t take long for Soldiers to start volunteering as teachers.
“I came in and just watched throughout the day and realized that they were short on people with this skill,” explained Shuster. “There were less people who could do this, so they let me come here full time.”
Soldiers also wanted to provide more than just the necessities to the Afghan evacuees here while they complete their initial immigration paperwork and wait to be resettled.
“It’s starting to extend past giving them the basic needs, and it’s starting to take the form of helping them integrate into American culture,” said 2nd Lt. John Strojny, assigned to 372nd Engineer Company and from Pewaukee, Wisconsin. “They’re still on a military installation, but this is going to be a really good transition for them when they’re out on their own, living in their own neighborhoods.”
Students come to the school at a variety of ages and English comprehension levels. Once there, they are separated into small groups based on these factors.
“There are some students who are more advanced in English, and then there’s some students that are just starting out, which is the majority,” said Shuster. “We’re just working on organizing them by ability and age. So the older kids that are just starting out will be together, and the older kids who know English will be together.”
While lessons vary by group, they all cover topics such as grammar, spelling, pronunciation, reading and math.
“For the class I taught, it was basic things like what comes after 10, what day is it, what comes after Friday and really basic counting,” said Pfc. Ka Chun Yeung, a carpentry and masonry specialist with 372nd Engineer Company from Pewaukee, Wisconsin.
Students who come to the classes are not only excited to learn English, but they’re also happy to see familiar faces in their classrooms. Most of the Soldiers work on the blocks where these Afghan evacuees live in helping direct them to the different resources here. Now that Soldiers are stepping into teaching roles, students can come to class already knowing some of their teachers.
“There’s students who come to me in the morning not because I’m their teacher, but because I met them outside school and now they know me,” said Shuster. “I was the guy that talked to them, and now they’re comfortable with me.”
For the teachers, it doesn’t matter what grade their students are in, or how advanced their English is, one thing always remains the same.
“Kids are kids no matter what culture they come from, or what age group they are, kids act like kids,” said Strojny.
| Date Taken: | 11.19.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 11.23.2021 08:35 |
| Story ID: | 409736 |
| Location: | FORT MCCOY, WISCONSIN, US |
| Web Views: | 129 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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