Project Description:
San Diego’s High Tech High tenth grade students developed friendships with sophomores at Tijuana’s Instituto México Americano del Noroeste (IMAN), discussing and researching shared issues of injustice and opportunities for hope in our two cities along the US-Mexico border, finding common ground and connection in their weekly Skype video chats and shared photo posts via Instagram. Students interviewed experts and leaders connected to the research issues, and created visual stories about their research through cut paper art, a twist on traditional Mexican folk art, papel picado. Students will meet at Friendship Park and exhibit their art and research to the public at the border on December 9th, and at High Tech High on December 14th.
Research Process On The Border Patrol
Intro
The USBP (United States Border Patrol) is a mobile uniformed law enforcement team, or police. The USBP was established in 1997. The job of the USBP is ‘’to detect and prevent the illegal entry of Undocumented Immigrats into the United States.” The “Border Patrol is preventing terrorists and terrorists weapons, including weapons of mass destruction, from entering the United States.” Citizens from Mexico try to come here seeking for a better life, get a high paying job and send the money back to their families. Some people think that the USBP is good, and some people think it is bad. In the media, I have heard that there are some stereotypes about the USBP, but I have not heard of those stereotypes. I have family that is mexican and from mexico, and when they see a mexican working for the border patrol, they are considered a traitor if they work for the USBP.
Research Process
I interviewed two USBP agents who described how their job was. We (me and charlotte, who wanted to be a cop when she grew up) asked them questions of their job, such as “When is the most stressful part of being a Border Patrol Agent?”, and they said they always need to be aware of their surroundings.
-Field trip to friendship park - Talked to USBP agent
What I learned
In this project, I learned about the Border Patrol. The Border Patrol (USBP) is the police enforcement of the southern region of the United States that patrols around the Border that separates the United States of America and Mexico. It is 4 states that has the border patrol, which is California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. It felt great interviewing 2 border patrol agents, because when I picked the border patrol topic, I had no idea that there were going to be 2 border patrol officers (Officer Hatch and Officer Troy) coming to our school. Other students had picked other topics such as deportation, drugs, LGBT and sexual harassment, but in one topic, there was going to be 2 visitors to our school, which was exciting!
Reflection
The whole experience of this project was truly amazing for me because I am mexican, and I had never gone to the border before or done a project that was connected to Mexico. Through this project I was able learn more about Mexico, we had great field trips, attended some presentations at school such as: the Border Patrol (USBP), Stefan Falke, and 2 other presentations. This project was an amazing experience, also for the IMAN students, the school in tijuana that we are working with for our project. They came to our school for the day and they hung out with us. We toured 3 schools, which was our school (HTH, or High Tech High), Explorer Elementary, and High Tech High International.
It was awesome collaborating with my partner because we’ve been doing proyecto comunidad since the start of school. My first thought was, I was really excited because I get to meet people from another country and I had not talked to a person from Mexico in a long time. I met a student called Estrella, Jurnama, Valerie and another student. I thought those people came in regular cars like parent drivers, but they came in a big bus like a greyhound. At first thought, I was really happy. I can’t believe we are finally meeting the people we’ve been speaking to over Skype for so long. I asked them a question about pets. They said, “Yo tiene dos perros un golden retriever and un labrador.” I felt shocked because I also have a golden retriever and labrador.
Conclusion
Overall, this project was an amazing experience for me, getting to interview our friends from another country, visiting the border, the field trips, the guest speakers to our classroom including a very good photographer, named Stefan Falke. Then two border patrol officers came to our classroom and explained what they do for their job. It was pretty exciting!
Photos:
San Diego’s High Tech High tenth grade students developed friendships with sophomores at Tijuana’s Instituto México Americano del Noroeste (IMAN), discussing and researching shared issues of injustice and opportunities for hope in our two cities along the US-Mexico border, finding common ground and connection in their weekly Skype video chats and shared photo posts via Instagram. Students interviewed experts and leaders connected to the research issues, and created visual stories about their research through cut paper art, a twist on traditional Mexican folk art, papel picado. Students will meet at Friendship Park and exhibit their art and research to the public at the border on December 9th, and at High Tech High on December 14th.
Research Process On The Border Patrol
Intro
The USBP (United States Border Patrol) is a mobile uniformed law enforcement team, or police. The USBP was established in 1997. The job of the USBP is ‘’to detect and prevent the illegal entry of Undocumented Immigrats into the United States.” The “Border Patrol is preventing terrorists and terrorists weapons, including weapons of mass destruction, from entering the United States.” Citizens from Mexico try to come here seeking for a better life, get a high paying job and send the money back to their families. Some people think that the USBP is good, and some people think it is bad. In the media, I have heard that there are some stereotypes about the USBP, but I have not heard of those stereotypes. I have family that is mexican and from mexico, and when they see a mexican working for the border patrol, they are considered a traitor if they work for the USBP.
Research Process
I interviewed two USBP agents who described how their job was. We (me and charlotte, who wanted to be a cop when she grew up) asked them questions of their job, such as “When is the most stressful part of being a Border Patrol Agent?”, and they said they always need to be aware of their surroundings.
-Field trip to friendship park - Talked to USBP agent
- During the field trip to Friendship International Park, it felt great to be out in a huge open space compared to being cramped with walls and fences surrounding me at the border crossing. On the United States side of the border, there was the all brown colored Border. But on the Mexico side of the border, there was art, different colors. There was art about peace, love, community, it was all written in english and spanish with beautiful art along the Border Wall.
- When I visited the border crossing, it was surprising. I had never been to the border crossing, and the only time I see the border is when I go to Glamis, El Centro to ride my atv. We see the border on the freeway when we are in the mountains. Before I went to the border crossing, I thought it was going to be heavily gated, with police everywhere. But when I went, there was a lot of police, and it was gated. It had a silver revolving door with metal bars. Some of the students put their hands through the fence and said “Look, I’m in Mexico”!
What I learned
In this project, I learned about the Border Patrol. The Border Patrol (USBP) is the police enforcement of the southern region of the United States that patrols around the Border that separates the United States of America and Mexico. It is 4 states that has the border patrol, which is California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. It felt great interviewing 2 border patrol agents, because when I picked the border patrol topic, I had no idea that there were going to be 2 border patrol officers (Officer Hatch and Officer Troy) coming to our school. Other students had picked other topics such as deportation, drugs, LGBT and sexual harassment, but in one topic, there was going to be 2 visitors to our school, which was exciting!
Reflection
The whole experience of this project was truly amazing for me because I am mexican, and I had never gone to the border before or done a project that was connected to Mexico. Through this project I was able learn more about Mexico, we had great field trips, attended some presentations at school such as: the Border Patrol (USBP), Stefan Falke, and 2 other presentations. This project was an amazing experience, also for the IMAN students, the school in tijuana that we are working with for our project. They came to our school for the day and they hung out with us. We toured 3 schools, which was our school (HTH, or High Tech High), Explorer Elementary, and High Tech High International.
It was awesome collaborating with my partner because we’ve been doing proyecto comunidad since the start of school. My first thought was, I was really excited because I get to meet people from another country and I had not talked to a person from Mexico in a long time. I met a student called Estrella, Jurnama, Valerie and another student. I thought those people came in regular cars like parent drivers, but they came in a big bus like a greyhound. At first thought, I was really happy. I can’t believe we are finally meeting the people we’ve been speaking to over Skype for so long. I asked them a question about pets. They said, “Yo tiene dos perros un golden retriever and un labrador.” I felt shocked because I also have a golden retriever and labrador.
Conclusion
Overall, this project was an amazing experience for me, getting to interview our friends from another country, visiting the border, the field trips, the guest speakers to our classroom including a very good photographer, named Stefan Falke. Then two border patrol officers came to our classroom and explained what they do for their job. It was pretty exciting!
Photos:
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Audio Interview with two Border Patrol Officers:
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