Collaboration

Collaboration is a word I have heard many times this week. 

Today, teachers, parents, students and support staff worked together to create a simulation of the journey to Ellis Island. This simulation was as realistic as could be. The students migrated in 1914, from different countries and took on the name and life of a person that had migrated in the past. It was the collaboration of all the different groups within our school community that made this possible.

I remember my grandmother used to share a saying that meant exactly that- collaboration. To paraphrase, the saying explained how a tree on its own breaks when there is a strong wind. It also reminded me of the African broom made with palm fronds. It takes a lot of the fronds put together to make that full broom strong and durable. Our simulation was a typical example of how the fronds work together.

A powerful image that I am left with from this morning’s experience is that of parents waving, taking photos whilst seeing their children off. The migrants carried their scanty baggage, dressed like the 1914 migrant unsure of the future but still hoping for a better life in the United States of America.