












































 
 

ISSN #2331-6845 

 
Welcome from the Senior Editor 

By Gertrude Tinker Sachs 
Georgia State University 

gatesolinaction2020@gmail.com  
 
 
 

Welcoming Others: Immigrants and Refugees – How do you do it? 

I chose the picture that is posted on the wall of the Shrine of the Immaculate Heart of 

Mary, a church in downtown Atlanta minutes from our state capitol buildings, as the 

subtext of my editorial. I was mesmerized and encouraged yet distraught by the words:  

“Immigrants & Refugees Welcome.”  Take a moment to ponder these words. 

 

The Shrine of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Atlanta, Georgia (Downtown) 

1                                                                GATESOL in Action, Fall 2016/Spring 2017 



Many of us would say, rightfully so, given that this is a church.  However, many 

churches have chosen not to post anything on their walls (inside or outside) or say 

anything from the pulpit.   This “lack of visibility” may not amount to much, but to put up 

a sign like this on a church and near the state capitol, speaks volumes.  Ways of stating 

our views, acting and enacting them define who we are as a people and proclaim what 

we stand for and represent.  What do you stand for and what do you represent on the 

matter of immigrants and refugees? 

As an immigrant to the United States since 2003 and a person who has lived in 

other countries (Hong Kong and Canada) historically, ethnically, culturally and 

linguistically different from my home country where I was born, bred and educated, (the 

Bahamas), I understand and am sensitive to walls and barriers of numerous types and 

perspectives (Tinker Sachs, 2006; 2014).  The walls that we erect, ideologically, 

metaphorically, and physically are chilling to the heart and soul of a person.  As human 

beings, we have so many ways to keep others out and history is riddled with too many 

examples.  We have only to look in this country, the United States, to see the 

exclusionary practices directed particularly toward people of color, Native Americans, 

Mexicans, Asians (the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882; Japanese internment during 

WW11), and African Americans to name a few prime examples (see for example, works 

by Gloria Anzuldúa, Stephen Middleton and Howard Zinn).  Outside of the United States 

we have examples from around the world of walls of all types – the Gaza Strip and 

Israel, North Korea and South Korea, India and Bangladesh, Spain and Morocco, 

Botswana and Zimbabwe just to name a few (Noack, 2014). 

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Since the fall of the Berlin Wall (1961 – 1989) noted “wall” researcher and 

professor of geography at the University of Quebec, Élisabeth Vallet, and her 

colleagues have shown in their books and presentations that the physical structures that 

divide us globally continue to grow (Vallet, 2014; Vallet, 2016; Vallet & David, 2012). 

There is no denying that these visible and invisible walls, structures, philosophical 

orientations as well as the language we use to describe others, such as illegal alien 

(Johnson, 1997, p. 277), divide us as humans and educators who share planet Earth 

and impact us at the classroom level.    

In this edition of GATESOL in Action, I am very pleased to present four 

publications that face-off on some of the walls that separate us and how we as 

educators can work to minimize and to eliminate them through our research and 

classroom practices.  If we are for sharing the resources of this planet earth in ways that 

promote peace and harmony, we will want to face the misconceptions about language 

learners that limit teacher effectiveness and student performance (Harrison’s “Shedding 

Light on Misconceptions: An Act of Advocacy”) and talk with our students about how to 

deal with difficult topics such as the very same walls that seek to divide us 

(Pendergrass,’ “Cultivating Respectful Classroom Discourse in Trump’s America”).  

While we embrace positive action to eliminate walls, we continue to educate ourselves 

to fill the voids that reduce our effectiveness such as addressing the need for teacher 

development programs for those who teach adult English language learners (Pettitt, 

Elkers, Campbell and Gure’s,“Critical Service -Learning in Adult ESOL Teacher 

Preparation: Reflections from the Field”) and the importance of providing more dual 

language programs (Farran and Mindrik’s, “Drama, Language, Literacy and Cognition in 

3                                                                GATESOL in Action, Fall 2016/Spring 2017 



PreSchool Dual Language Learners”).  All these papers are important for our times and 

very much needed.  

When I bought my house in Georgia, I opted not to build a fence around the 

property.   I felt that there was something inherently wrong with doing so.  I believe in 

sharing our resources and as difficult as this may sometimes be, it means that I must be 

willing to work with my neighbors on either side of me should disputes and 

misunderstandings arise.  This approach is hard work, isn’t it?  It is much easier to build 

a fence and then I do not have to deal with the issues.  Just insulate myself and go 

about my business.  But, I do not wish to live in a world of alienation and denial.    Can 

we not learn how to get along?   Can we not be our neighbor’s keeper (Tinker Sachs, 

2013)?  What we stand for and what we represent must manifest itself in our lived 

experiences and educational practices.   How we welcome others is a definite part of 

this.  Let’s work harder at being more welcoming to each other on this earth.  Let’s 

collaborate to tear down the walls (and not build new ones) through developing mutually 

beneficial understandings and building common ground.  It is an arduous task but it is 

the better path! 

Happy Reading and many thanks to our reviewers.  May we all continue to seek 

peace and learn to live, teach and work in harmony with one another for the betterment 

of us all! 

  

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References 

Anzaldúa, G. (1987). Borderlands la frontera.  The new mestiza. Aunt Lute Books. 

Johnson, K.R. (1997).  The social and legal construction of nonpersons.  

University of Miami Inter-American Law Review, 263, 263 – 292.  

http://repository.law.miami.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1335&context=umialr

&seiredir=1&referer=http%3A%2F%2Fscholar.google.com%2Fscholar%3Fstart

%3D10%26q%3Dimmigrations%2Blaws%2Bagainst%2Bmexican%2Bamericans

%26hl%3Den%26as_sdt%3D0%2C11#search=%22immigrations%20laws%20ag

ainst%20mexican%20americans%22 

Middleton, S. (2005).  The black laws.  Race and the legal process in early Ohio.  

 Athens, Ohio: Ohio University Press. 

Noack, N. (2014).  These 14 walls continue to separate the world.  The  

Washington Post.  

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2014/11/11/these-14-walls-

continue-to-separate-the-world/?utm_term=.c9585885c282 

Tinker Sachs, G. (2014).   Essentialism and respecting the other.  In G. Tinker Sachs & 

G. Verma (Eds.), Critical mass in the teacher education academy: Symbiosis and 

diversity (pp. 111 – 129).  Champaign, IL: Common Ground Publishing. 

Tinker Sachs, G.  (2013). Who will be my brother’s keeper?  My first visit to Haiti.  

Journal of Multicultural Perspectives. 15, 52-57.  DOI:  

10.1080/15210960.2013.75465 

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15210960.2013.754650. 

5                                                                GATESOL in Action, Fall 2016/Spring 2017 

http://repository.law.miami.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1335&context=umialr&seiredir=1&referer=http%3A%2F%2Fscholar.google.com%2Fscholar%3Fstart%3D10%26q%3Dimmigrations%2Blaws%2Bagainst%2Bmexican%2Bamericans%26hl%3Den%26as_sdt%3D0%2C11%23search=%22immigrations%20laws%20against%20mexican%20americans%22
http://repository.law.miami.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1335&context=umialr&seiredir=1&referer=http%3A%2F%2Fscholar.google.com%2Fscholar%3Fstart%3D10%26q%3Dimmigrations%2Blaws%2Bagainst%2Bmexican%2Bamericans%26hl%3Den%26as_sdt%3D0%2C11%23search=%22immigrations%20laws%20against%20mexican%20americans%22
http://repository.law.miami.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1335&context=umialr&seiredir=1&referer=http%3A%2F%2Fscholar.google.com%2Fscholar%3Fstart%3D10%26q%3Dimmigrations%2Blaws%2Bagainst%2Bmexican%2Bamericans%26hl%3Den%26as_sdt%3D0%2C11%23search=%22immigrations%20laws%20against%20mexican%20americans%22
http://repository.law.miami.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1335&context=umialr&seiredir=1&referer=http%3A%2F%2Fscholar.google.com%2Fscholar%3Fstart%3D10%26q%3Dimmigrations%2Blaws%2Bagainst%2Bmexican%2Bamericans%26hl%3Den%26as_sdt%3D0%2C11%23search=%22immigrations%20laws%20against%20mexican%20americans%22
http://repository.law.miami.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1335&context=umialr&seiredir=1&referer=http%3A%2F%2Fscholar.google.com%2Fscholar%3Fstart%3D10%26q%3Dimmigrations%2Blaws%2Bagainst%2Bmexican%2Bamericans%26hl%3Den%26as_sdt%3D0%2C11%23search=%22immigrations%20laws%20against%20mexican%20americans%22
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2014/11/11/these-14-walls-continue-to-separate-the-world/?utm_term=.c9585885c282
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2014/11/11/these-14-walls-continue-to-separate-the-world/?utm_term=.c9585885c282
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15210960.2013.754650


Tinker Sachs, G. (2006). The world away from home.  In A. Curtis and M.  Romney 

(Eds.).  Color, race and English language teaching (pp.121-135). Mahwah, NJ: 

Lawrence Erlbaum.  

Vallet, É. (Ed.). (2014). Borders fences and walls: State of insecurity? Abingdon,  

UK: Ashgate.    

Vallet, É. (Ed.). (2016). Borders fences and walls: State of insecurity? New York, NY: 

Routledge. 

Vallet, É. & David, C-P. (2012). Introduction: The (re)building of the wall in international 

relations.  Journal of Borderlands Studies, 27 (2), 111-119. DOI: 

10.1080/08865655.2012.687211 

Zinn, H. (1980).  A people’s history of the United States.1492 to present. New York, NY: 

HarperCollins. 

https://zinnedproject.org/  

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https://zinnedproject.org/

