Forum 2: Stressors that Impact Diverse Populations

Please review the US Citizenship test questions in the video using the link below. After viewing, please share with us your experience. What was your reaction to the questions? Were you prepared for the level of difficulty of the questions? Was it stressful? Were you surprised by anything?

U.S. Citizenship Naturalization Test

In a separate paragraph, pretend an undocumented individual took the test. What are some possible stressors that he/she might encounter (if one struggled in answering the questions), and possible benefits that are afforded (if one did do well in answering the questions). In the actual Naturalization test, you would be given just 10 of the 100 questions and be expected to answer 6 correctly in addition to a writing and reading portion of the test.

Minimum 250 words answer

Classmate #1:

Hello Everyone,

This week we were asked to watch a video that helps those who are preparing for the naturalization test and then to give our opinion on it. First, my opinion on the test itself is that it helps to ensure that those who wish to become citizens at least know a bit about the country they are pledging their allegiance to. They should know the basic government structure, rights, freedoms, geography and foundations of the country. I think it is a great idea to have everyone learn these things, which is why we are also taught them in school as American citizens. As someone who is immigrating, you should know what you are getting yourself into and what rights you will have as a citizen. The questions did not surprise me at all, though my husband was not a U.S. Citizen when we met. He did study for this test and he took it, passed it and became a U.S. Citizen before we were married. He had a different number of questions and was only asked verbally since he had been in the country for 20+ years already. Also, he was already serving in the U.S. Air Force and so they helped him with the paperwork and fees. I knew what to expect from it since I looked at his study material back then. As the video went through the questions, I tried to answer them as quickly as I could and some I did get incorrect or could not think of the answer on the spot. I am terrible at knowing names, especially of the most current elected officials besides the president and vice president.

To pretend that someone coming to the country may take this test and get the questions right or study and learn these items in order to score well on the test, it would benefit them greatly. It may seem like it is a bunch of boring information but like I mentioned before, it allows the individual to understand what the basics of government are in the country. They can see what they should expect from the laws, government and their elected officials. They can see what their rights are and what freedoms they may have. This is especially important if they arrived in our country due to hardships in their original country. It is possible that they did not have the same rights or freedoms and are unclear of what they are allowed to do or say. It is not in-depth completely but it does give them a starting point of where to look and what to look for or who to speak to. This is especially true of the part of the test that explains what the responsibilities are of U.S. Citizens and the rights for U.S. Citizens.

Classmate #2:

When listening to the video with all of the citizenship test questions, some of them were pretty straightforward, like your state’s capital, the name of the president, and what the Declaration of Independence was. As the questions went one, they became increasingly more difficult, even I did not know them right off the bat. When going through the questions, I did feel a little stressed and nervous, as I did not remember all of those answers from going through all my years of school. When listening to all those questions, the ones towards the end were definitely more difficult and I found myself racking my brain for the answers, and I am a citizen here!

As an undocumented citizen, I believe that there are a lot of stressors or different things that can affect them when taking the test. The first stressor that they could face is just actually studying for the test. There are one hundred possible questions that you could be asked, and you do not know which ten you will get when you take the test. Therefore, you study each and every one relentlessly, hoping that you can remember all of the questions. Another thing that could get in their way is the differences in languages. This test is given in English, therefore they must study it all in English as well. It can be very difficult for someone who has English as their second language, as they do not understand English as well as their own native language. When researching, I came across a news article that brought to light one of the biggest stressors that these citizens may face today. With President Trump in office, he has gotten a lot stricter on illegal immigration and making sure that everyone in this country is here legally. Therefore, if there are people here who do not have documentation, they will be sent back to where they had originally come from. With this, there is more pressure to take their citizenship test and to pass their test so they are not sent back.

Reference:

Staff, A. F. O. X. (2017, July 28). Immigrants face daunting challenges obtaining US citizenship. Retrieved from https://www.fox61.com/article/news/local/outreach/…

Minimum 150 words answer to each