A House with Two Rooms - The Advocates for Human Rights

y learning the material. 413 Additional school-related problems reported are that Liberian students
may have difficulty in adjusting to the behavioral expectations of schools in the United States; 414
Liberian students are subject to ridicule about their accents 415 or are placed in English as a Second
Language (ESL) classes; 416 many students lack family support and financial resources to engage in
extra-curricular activities; 417 and some of the students live in unstable homes with unrelated sponsors
who provide little or no emotional or financial support. 418 Many Liberian students also have unmet
needs for counseling and other mental health and social services to address their traumatic histories. 419
Parents’ involvement with the educational system is also a concern. Service providers and Liberian
community leaders from across the country report that illiteracy, particularly amongst Liberian women,
is a problem that needs to be addressed. It hampers many aspects of life, including communication
with the school system. “[If] you can’t…read and write, you [can’t] know, what’s going on…looking
at [a] grade sheet or [a] report card – you won’t know the difference. But if [you] go and talk to the
teacher, it’s not writing, it’s speaking, which most Liberians speak English.” 420
The heavy work-load that many Liberians maintain to support extended family in the United States,
Liberia, or in refugee camps can prevent parents from actively participating in the education of their
children. “Well, the school district [is] having [a] problem too, because they are not being able to get
the parents to come to the parents and teachers meeting because the parents have to go to work, so
you have to schedule the meeting at a time when the parents will be home.” 421 Liberians also report
that expectations for behavior in school are different in Liberia from here in the United States. “Some
parents are getting calls from the school wanting to prescribe for [Attention Deficit Hyperactivity
Disorder] ADHD. The system doesn’t understand how Liberians behave and that there are different
customs.” 422
Within the diaspora community, concern is expressed about the corrupting influence of U.S. culture
on Liberian youth, including loss of traditional cultural values such as respect for elders. 423 Because
of the financial demands on new immigrants, all adults in a household may be working one or more
jobs, leaving children alone much of the time. 424 Other statement givers’ descriptions of their concerns
about youth include the prevalence of trauma, anger, and feelings of displacement among young
Liberians; 425 lack of services for youth; 426 use of drugs by youth; 427 involvement in criminal activity; 428
and lack of educational and employment prospects. 429
There are also concerns specific to Liberian girls in the United States. Interviews revealed that teenage
pregnancy among young Liberian girls is a serious problem. A Liberian women’s advocate reported
that of the 30 immigrant teenagers who were pregnant at a Minnesota high school in 2008, the
majority were Liberian girls. 430 Counselors at a Minnesota high school confirmed that teen pregnancy
in the Liberian diaspora community is high. 431 They stated that, while assistance is available for these
teenage mothers, they encounter difficulties finishing their high school education unless they have
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