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The Jefferson Exchange

Life In America For A Teen-Aged "Newcomer"

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Photo from "Newcomers" dust jacket.
Scribner

Set aside for a moment the arguments about the United States taking in immigrants and refugees.  Let's focus instead on the people who got here, and didn't necessarily want to be here. 

Helen Thorpe found a group of young people struggling to learn English and a new culture at a high school in Denver. 

They are portrayed in Thorpe's book The Newcomers: Finding Refuge, Friendship, and Hope in an American Classroom.  The author joins us with details of her year (and a half) back in high school. 

 

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Geoffrey Riley is a graduate of the University of Missouri School of Journalism and has hosted the Jefferson Exchange on JPR since 2009. He's been a broadcaster in the Rogue Valley for more than 35 years, working in both television and radio.