25159: Fwd: Mason [art]: Yvon Lamour Advises Haitian Students (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: MariLinc@aol.com


Below is a May 2005 article about fellow Corbetter
Yvon Lamour, published in the Boston Haitian Reporter
(_http://www.bostonhaitian.com/aguidinghand.html_
(http://www.bostonhaitian.com/aguidinghand.html) ).


A Guiding Hand: Yvon Lamour Advises Haitian Students,
Parents and Peers on Balancing School and American
Culture

May 2005
By Yolette Ibokette
Special to the Reporter

Any Haitian individual who has dealt with service
organizations such as Cambridge Haitian American
Massachusetts Association (CHAMA), the League of
Haitian Families, Haitian-American Health Initiatives
(HAPHI), the Haitian Coalition, the Gawou Ginou
Foundation and others back in the '70s, '80s and '90s
probably knows the name Yvon Lamour. Lamour worked
in these organizations in various capacities to help
improve the lives of Haitians. These multi-service
organizations provided services such as English as a
Second Language (ESL), literacy, immigration and
citizenship information, health education and many
others. He was in fact the president of the Boston-
based League of Haitian Families.

Lamour is recognized as a leader and advocate for the
Haitian community. He is currently a guidance counselor
at the Cambridge Rindge & Latin School in Cambridge
and has been in this position for almost two decades
helping students of varied races and ethnicities plan
for their future as they navigate the choppy waters of
adolescence.

Lamour was born in Cap-Haitien but later moved to
Port-au-Prince to attend school. He was about 19
years-old when he arrived in Boston in 1975, attracted
 to the city by its schools and some friends. He comes
from a very big family; seven sisters and two brothers.

Yvon Lamour first attended Boston State College and
then UMass-Boston when the schools merged. He
received his bachelor's degree in English Literature with
a minor in ESL (English as a Second Language) from
UMass-Boston. He was recruited for his current position
as a guidance counselor during his last year at UMass-
Boston. While working, Lamour attended Boston
University where he received two masters' degrees:
One in Social Work in 1994 and the other in
Administration in 1996. He credits his two teenagers,
Lizandre and Vonel, as well as other loved ones for
helping him become the individual he is today.

As a guidance counselor, Lamour advises his students
on all aspects of their studies from the moment they
arrive at the high school until they graduate. He counsels
students on career options and helps them chart a plan
of study to prepare for college or job training programs.
He also interacts with students' teachers and parents to
resolve academic and personal issues that may interfere
with students' success.

Due to the fact that he's well-known and trusted in the
Haitian community, Haitian parents come to him for
advice and information, although he may not be their
children's guidance counselor. He willingly helps, which
doesn't surprise his long-time friend and collaborator,
Raymond Justin.

"I have a lot of respect and admiration for him," says
Justin, who has known Lamour for about 20 years
through their work with political organizations as well
as radio and television programs. "He's very dedicated
to the Haitian community."

As rewarding as his job is, Lamour finds that resolving
the frequent conflicts between Haitian-American
students and their parents is one of the most challenging
aspects of his position. Most of these conflicts are
usually the result of Haitian parents and their children
getting reacquainted after being apart for years.

"If a parent leaves his 7-year-old child in Haiti and comes
to the United States, it can take up to 10 years to send
for that child," Lamour says. "And if the parent can't
afford to visit the child in Haiti during that time, this child
may be 17 years old when he sees his parents again."

When they're reunited, he says, there's a "honeymoon
period" for about 3 weeks. However, soon thereafter,
as life returns to normal for the parents, they can't
afford to take time off work to bond with their child
who's practically a stranger.

Problems usually begin to surface at the school after
about three months, as the relationship between the
child and his parents begins to deteriorate.

"The parents are outraged, for example, because for
the past 10 years, they've worked hard and sacrificed
to send money to Haiti for this child, and now that
he's here he refuses to even wash a dirty dish if
his parents are too tired to do it," Lamour says.
"However, the parents don't understand that maybe
this child never learned to wash dishes while living in
Haiti. Therefore, the school has to intervene from time
to time and try to explain these things to parents."

Occasionally there's a crisis before the school has a
chance to step in. The parent might hit the child, and
school staff finds out and calls Department of Youth
Services (DYS).

"So while we understand what the parents are going
through when they hit the child, as employees of the
school we are obligated by law to report it to the
authorities. We don't enjoy doing so, but it's our
responsibility."

Another major problem involves Haitian kids who arrive
in this country performing below grade level. In Haiti,
often when a child knows he's coming here, he simply
stops going to school. Sometimes these children go
to school, but do very little. "Therefore a child may arrive
at the high school with a report card from Haiti showing
he completed 9th grade, but in reality he's performing at
a 5th or 6th grade level," laments Lamour. Of course, in
U.S. schools, unlike in Haiti, students are placed
according to their ages. This results in many youngsters
being placed in the high school when they can't perform
at that level. At times, young men and women as old as
20 or 22 years come to the high school. However, soon
thereafter problems arise if they feel they're too old to
follow school rules or they are constantly tardy since
they often work nights. Luckily, the Cambridge Rindge
& Latin School (CRLS) has various support systems
such as the international center and the tutoring center
to assist these students and their parents.

Yvon Lamour suggests that parents who leave their
kids behind in Haiti visit them as often as possible,
even if it means sending less money for their care.

"That way, before they come here, you and the child
would have known each other better," he adds. He
also believes that parents should start looking at the
schools and attending parent meetings before their
kids arrive in order to learn about how schools
function. He reminds Haitian parents, though, not to
despair about issues such as their boys wearing
overly baggy jeans or wearing their hair in braids.

"All parents deal with those issues with their teens,"
Lamour notes. "There's a clash between what the
kids want and what their parents want. While a
Haitian parent complains to me about her son's
baggy jeans, a white parent is telling me how upset
he is that his daughter colored her hair yellow."

He admits, however, that Haitian youngsters face
some particularly daunting obstacles due to the two
cultures. For example, Mr. Lamour may be
approached one week by an American teacher who
is complaining that a Haitian student refuses to
make eye contact with him. The following week,
that student's mother might tell Mr. Lamour that her
son actually dared to look her in the eyes. One of his
roles is to inform the American teacher that this
student isn't being rude or lying to him, but that in
Haitian culture, it's disrespectful for a child to make
eye contact with an adult while they are talking. He
then has to explain to the mother that it's her child's
attempt to adapt to the new culture, and that it's
necessary to his future success.

Lamour suggests that Haitian parents encourage
their teens to explore fields other than the usual:
medicine, nursing, engineering, law and agriculture.
There are many other profitable careers in plumbing,
carpentry and electricity, he notes. At CRLS,
students can study these fields the entire four years.

Parents often have such high expectations of their
kids that those kids don't consider anything other
than their parents' wishes, although academically
they may not be able to live up to that expectation.
Lamour has encountered youngsters who are failing
in school and, faced with the possibility of doing the
types of low-paying jobs their parents are doing,
choose to do nothing at all but roam the streets.

"Parents have to be realistic and see how their
kids are doing and lower their expectations, when
necessary. If parents stay in contact with the
school and teachers and attend meetings, they'll
receive a lot of support," says Lamour.

Lamour's dedication to the Haitian community
extends to the work he's doing in Haiti during the
summer to help prepare teachers there to become
better at their craft. He laments that in Haiti, some
people with a middle school or high school
education may be teachers. Yet, they've never
received any formal education or training to teach.
At considerable personal and financial costs to
him, Mr. Lamour conducts seminars with groups
of 80-100 teachers for 3 to 4 days at various
locations in Haiti. He provides books and
materials as well as meals for the attendees.
Occasionally, he receives small contributions
from friends and Haitian regional organizations
to help defer expenses.

Lamour beams, "At the end of the 3 or 4 days,
all the teachers receive a certificate."

Whether he's holding regular monthly meetings
at the high school with Haitian parents to help
them better relate to their teens, consulting with
other Haitian professionals to find ways to help
our youth succeed in school or educating
teachers in Haiti, Yvon Lamour is always
working to find solutions to the many
challenges Haitians face.

Marilyn  Mason
The Creole Clearinghouse (TCC)
P.O. Box 181015
Boston, MA  02118
Tel.: 617-247-8885
Email: MariLinc@aol.com
Web: _http://hometown.aol.com/CreoleCH/Index6.html_
(http://hometown.aol.com/CreoleCH/Index6.html)

Creole  LInks Page:
_http://hometown.aol.com/MIT2Haiti/Index4.html_
(http://hometown.aol.com/MIT2Haiti/Index4.html)

Marilyn's  Publications Page:
_http://hometown.aol.com/MariLinc/Index3.html_
(http://hometown.aol.com/MariLinc/Index3.html)


----- End forwarded message -----