I read ESL teacher Bob Leung’s letter with great interest (Try-City Voice, June 17-23, 2025). I, too, was a teacher at Fremont Adult School’s ESL Program, but I taught there in the 1970s and 80s. Students then also came from all over the world to learn English. We had students from Iran and Vietnam, Mexico and Russia, Afghanistan, India and China.
They were serious men and women, young and old from all walks of life, leaving their homelands and coming to America with the common goal of bettering their lives for future generations. I myself am the daughter of immigrants from the Philippines who came to California in 1928, sharing that dream.
I can’t help but think that so many years have gone by since I taught, but things actually remain the same. Immigrants are still drawn to America, drawn by its promise of opportunity and freedom. And in spite of the anti-immigrant sentiment we are experiencing in our country by some so-called leaders, there are still dedicated teachers and ESL classes to help them live out that promise!
Gloria Balanon Gates
Fremont
