The challenge of passing on strong ethnic ties to the next generation is one that all cultures deal with in the United States. By examining the U.S. census data, we can track an emergent trend indicating that many ethnic populations are losing their knowledge of, and interest in, their ancestry. To date, Lauer Learning has focused on two ethnicities – Hungarian and Southern. While these may seem far apart in terms of culture and history, the issues that threaten the ethnicities of both communities are similar and therefore the approach to engaging the next generation is the same.

To explain the reasons behind the lost connection, we must look at a combination of complex factors – some community related, some environmental. In the case of the Southern U.S., there is a huge migration of new residents to the South – some foreign, but also a large number of Americans who are simply relocating from other parts of the country. These “new Southerners” come with their own history, their own ideas about the South and are not necessarily interested in passing on the region’s culture, traditions and history. This is magnified when their children are born in the South, but have no tie to the regions’ culture or history. Over time, the connection is lost.

In the case of the Hungarian-American community, as with all other immigrant communities, the further one gets away from the first immigrants, the weaker the ethnic tie becomes unless the family makes their ethnicity an integral part of daily life, repeatedly exposing young people to direct ethnic experiences and reinforcing these lessons time and again. Other issues that increase this challenge include: marriage to people outside of the same ethnic group, an inability to speak the language, a lack of community infrastructure to rely on – such as churches or schools – and the list goes on…

Lauer Learning created the ”Pass It On” project as a program of preservation as well as a plan for change.

It proposes new ways to reach the youth and helps families strengthen ties to their roots through activities that connect and re-connect 2nd and 3rd generation Americans to their ethnic backgrounds. We do this with a variety of tools and new approaches that expose, educate and engage members of ‘at risk’ ethnic communities nationwide to gradually develop more and more interest and pride in their ancestry.

As part of “Pass It On,” we are developing a number of new educational materials that specifically target the next generation of Hungarian Americans (our first target group). Through the use of multimedia tools and the creation of an online community site, TheGulyasPot.com, we expect to move young Hungarian Americans down a continuum and reverse this trend.

Our second initiative targets the Southern Region of the United States. We discussed the issue of immigration and how large numbers of “transplants” to an area is a challenge in terms of ensuring the local history, culture, traditions and flavor remain active and alive. Since the children of the transplants are considered native to the South there is an opportunity, a hook to grab onto, to help both the parents and their kids connect with their new culture.

The challenge of passing on strong ethnic pride to the next generation is one that many cultures deal with in the United States. Over time, it is only natural that newcomers assimilate, old traditions are replaced with new ones and this ultimately causes rich cultural and historical detail to be overshadowed or lost all together.

In the South, there are also different reasons for this trend. Until the 1960’s, the Southern U.S. was largely isolated from outside influences. The only way in or out of the South, was to move out. All that changed when a trickle of Cubans and folks living in the Northern U.S. started moving to the South, first to Florida, in the 60’s and later to other southern states. Soon, this trickle became a deluge as an enormous number o new residents migrated to the South. Some of these new residents were foreign, but a large number were Americans simply relocating from other parts of the country.

These “new southerners” came (and continue to come) with their own history, their own ideas about the South and they are not necessarily interested in passing on the region’s culture, traditions or history. Many of these same folks end up having native Southern kids, yet because they don’t have knowledge of the local culture and they haven’t participated in southern traditions, they cannot pass it on to their kids.  This results in the trend we are seeing now – kids ending up with no tie to the region’s culture or history. This is a huge lost opportunity.

In an attempt to reverse this trend, Lauer Learning created the ”Pass It On…” project as a program of cultural preservation as well as a plan for change for the South and other ethnic communities. It proposes new ways to reach and educate the youth in a fun way and help families strengthen ties to their roots. The southern initiative is all about learning about the South and its many amazing contributions to our great nation. Through it, we celebrate southern culture.