Friday, October 3, 2014
NAME OF AUTHOR AND TEXT:
HUNGER OF MEMORY (ARIA) BY RICHARD RODRIQUEZ
"My parents would say something to me and I would feel embraced by the sounds of their words. those sound said: I am speaking with ease n Spanish. I am addressing you in words I never use with los gringos. I recognize you as someone special, close, like no one outside. You belong with us. In the family".
I am sure this is the same feeling that many children and adults that have English as a second language have. I feel that it is very important to teach them English because that is the main language that is used in this country, but at the same time it is just as important that we keep the strength of their natural language alive. My mother is Mexican, her and her siblings were in school during the fifties, sixties, and seventies. When she would speak in Spanish at school she would be looked down on, paddled and she was told that she needs to only speak English here at school. As a result my mother deiced not to teach me and my siblings how to speak Spanish. She did not want us to go through the same things she went through. She knew that things would be hard enough for us being black and Mexican. Richards grandmother and my grandmother have some similarities, they are both from Mexico and can not fully express their feelings across using the English language as they could using Spanish. People who have English as their second language unfortunately are seen by most as being dumb when they speak, when in actuality they are smarter than most of us because they know two languages compared to our one. So even though they you may not understand them all the time understand that they can for the most part get their ideas across in more ways then you.
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I totally agree with you. I feel like what you are saying also connects to the reading last week about the Indian family. We should not take away their language or culture but instead teach them English and the American culture as well. Students should not be looked down upon or punished for being multilingual but instead thought highly of and treated equal. Ultimately, being educated in anything should never have negative affects only positives.
ReplyDeleteBeing bilingual is a gift, and unfortunately American society has turned it into a negative thing. Speaking, writing, and understanding two languages is not an easy task by any means, and it certainly takes someone incredibly smart and gifted to succeed at both. Students who have been exposed to two cultures (their own and American culture) and two languages should not be scorned while in school. They have two separate motors working in their heads, trying to decipher which language to use, which phrase is better, and how to act in public. A teacher needs to be accepting of their struggles and work with them, not look down upon them. If anything, other students could benefit from the bilingual child and be exposed to another language and culture. What I find interesting is that in middle school and high school students are required to take a foreign language class and complete so many years of it, but yet we as a society still belittle those who grow up learning two languages. In high school we are told that in order to be successful, we should learn another language and it will help us in the future. It seems like quite the double standard to me.
ReplyDeleteI agree where you are saying that people should not lose their culture but at same time should adapt. You can not expect one person to adapt, both people should adapt a little and meet each other half way
ReplyDeleteMarcus,
ReplyDeleteI now realize why I could not find the comment section. The words are printed in black and blend in with the black background! Kudos to those 3 persons who found a way to comment.
Marcus,
ReplyDeleteI now realize why I could not find the comment section. The words are printed in black and blend in with the black background! Kudos to those 3 persons who found a way to comment.
I completely agree with you, Marcus. I like how you said "People who have English as their second language unfortunately are seen by most as being dumb when they speak, when in actuality they are smarter than most of us because they know two languages compared to our one. So even though they you may not understand them all the time understand that they can for the most part get their ideas across in more ways then you". This is so on point, and it is unfortunate that more people do not see it this way.
ReplyDelete