Chapter 6 of “From Ellis Island to JFK” is about the transnationalism that is a key component of the lives of immigrants. Transnational prevailed in the lives of Irish and Jewish immigrants because they wanted to maintain strong ties with the home country. These immigrant groups faced prejudice and discrimination from other European immigrants and wanted to go home. Some stayed simply for the purpose of making enough money to eventually go back home, leading them to live partly in both countries. Moving to a different country in a different land made many people want to hold on to those they left behind even more as a reminder of their past life. Communication in the past was difficult because of the lack of technological advances that we take for granted today. Letters could take over 2 weeks to reach the home country, limiting contact people had with home. Present day communication is instant with the internet and phones, making it easier for people across the globe to keep contact with each other.

Chapter 7 delves into the education of immigrant children. Many children had to drop out of school to help their family financially. The lives of immigrant children showed a sharp contrast with the lives of middle class American kids who were able to get an education and had more opportunities. Immigrant children were stuck with low paying unskilled jobs and never got the opportunity to move to a better paying job due to lack of education. It is horrible that children were watched during school to ensure that there was no mention of their native backgrounds. Today multiculturalism is celebrated and supported.

In Chapter 6 of “From Ellis Island to JFK”, Foner discusses the transnationalism that has been present in immigration of the past and the present. In the days of heavy Irish and Jewish immigration, transnationalism was strong for reasons such as the desire to return home and ties to family that remained in their home country. Irish and Jewish immigrants were once looked upon as the ‘lower’ class of immigrants and therefore faced prejudice from their northern/western European counterparts. The racism they faced led to many Irish and Jewish immigrants to want to go back home. Many of them planned to stay in the country only long enough to earn enough capital to found a business at home or even go back to school. These immigrants kept themselves updated with political and familial happenings back in their home country and, essentially, were living with each foot in two different countries. Today’s immigrants still display strong transnational ties but because of transformations in technology, the nature of transnationalism has changed. It is much easier to contact family members, stay political active, and return home once in a while for a visit and/or emergency. The internet, better/cheaper modes of transportation, telephones, newspapers, radios, televisions, and more, make it possible for immigrants in one country to keep their ties with their home country strong.

In Chapter 7, Foner talks about the role of education in the lives of immigrants and how it has transformed over the incoming waves of immigration. Education of Jewish and Irish immigrants in the days of ‘old immigration’ comprised mostly of heavy Americanization and a poor education system, of which the latter still applies to today’s group of immigrant. While the Jewish immigrants clearly outshone their Irish counterparts, they still did poorly compared to native whites, that is, children who had one or both parents born in the US. Children of both past and present immigrants were required to learn English at school, but there is a key difference in that Jewish and Irish immigrants were forced to eradicate all traces of their native language, whereas today’s immigrant children are told to embrace their native culture as well as learn to be more “American”. Despite the differences in Americanization of New York’s education system, the system itself is still poor in that there is chronic overcrowding and immigrants are in a way, forced to live in neighborhoods with dilapidated schools. These schools are characterized by low grades, high dropout rates, and poor attendance rates. It has not been a completely negative transformation, however. Programs that teach immigrant children how to speak English (ESL) are much better today than they were in the past; they give children much more time to learn and adapt to the language in order to do better in their studies.

In chapter 6, Foner discusses the different transnational ties amongst immigrants in New York. In transnational ties, she accounts for how many immigrants send money back to their home countries and how often they visit them, in short what is their relationship with their home countries after they immigrate to America. I found it particularly fascinating that Foner points out that many immigrants in the past did return home, more than in present times. I also found it interesting that home countries seemed interested and even involved with their citizens abroad. For example, Foner mentions that politicians and political parties from other countries come to America to campaign. I think it’s also extremely important to note that technology has played a huge role in the changes in transnationalism over the years, as Foner points out later in this chapter. Technological advances such as communicating over the Internet and using cell phones have completely altered our society, so imagine the effects it must have had on immigrants and transnationalism. Advancements in technology have greatly increased and facilitated communication of immigrants with their home countries. This is a possible factor that has helped new immigrants maintain stronger ties with their home countries. Immigrants can also easily find out about news in their own country. I was particularly intrigued with the idea that Foner posits that in present times nations are encouraging their citizens to become Americans so that they can “serve the home country’s interests in the American political arena” (Foner 180). I see now foreign countries’ interests in transnationalism for immigrants in the United States, but I’m curious as to how the United States is making use of this transnationalism, considering our country relies on alliances with a variety of countries.

In chapter 7, Nancy Foner explores the patterns of the different waves of immigration in regards to success in education for immigrant children. There is a common thought that immigrants, particularly Eastern European Jews, succeeded in the American school system and provided immigrant children with the chance to assimilate completely in American culture. Foner sets out to assess how true this actually was in the earlier waves of immigration as well as how the “current crops of newcomers” are doing (Foner 188). Foner clears up the myth of the “inspirational tales” of the eastern European Jews who succeeded and moved up the social ladder through means of education (Foner 189). In actuality, this was not true. Most of the Jewish immigrants who rose up from poverty did so through various industries such as the garment industries. Many immigrants did not attain a high school or college education because it simply just wasn’t required to get a job at the time. Also, the schooling at the time was intended for privileged middle to upper class American children. Most would just not even been accessible for immigrant children coming into the city during the late 19^th century. Foner also reveals that another reason for this was that “New York’s elementary schooling system did a poor job of educating Russian Jewish immigrants’ children,” and therefore many of them were not prepared for higher-level education. Foner then goes on to state the prevailing idea that New York’s schools are poor and have never been as terrible. People tend to blame the influx of minority immigrants based on the assumption that this new wave on non-white immigrants is struggling with educational problems. Foner counter argues this notion by saying that even though there are immigrant children struggling in the present school system, there are many more immigrants who are succeeding that should be accounted for. Immigrant children today have access to a variety of programs to assist them in their education and assimilation, and as Foner puts it, “college is no longer an institution for a tiny elite” (Foner 197). I find it fascinating how Foner mentions the benefits that the institution of the CUNY system in New York has played a positive role in this by offering affordable and accessible college education. Foner also mentions the adoption of affirmative action, which is a program that seeks to help minorities in the admissions process. Foner also mentions the ESL, or English Second Language, program used to schools to help immigrants learn English. This I learned originally from my friend whom I interviewed who emigrated from Poland when she was a child, and learned English fluently in just a year all due to this ESL program. Even though many improvements have been made to assist immigrants in ways that weren’t available to the previous waves of immigrants in the late 19^th century, New York’s school system is struggling especially with supporting immigrant children. There’s a lot of overcrowding in many public schools and the government is under budget when it comes to supporting the city school system. Growing up in NYC and being a second generation Hispanic, I experienced this first hand. My parents struggled to put me in Catholic school from kindergarten throughout high school because they were scared I would have a lower level of success in a public school in the Bronx. This is a sad reality that many new lower class minority immigrants are forced to deal with the poor school system in the city, and have their chances at success in the life lowered.