PREMISE:
- Language
- Troubled
- Fear
- Not comfortable in the classroom
- Communication difficulties
AUTHOR'S ARGUMENT:
Richard Rodrigues argues that cultures and people's background make them who they are. It is important to speak English, in an English speaking country, however it is okay to let people express themselves in their own language.
EVIDENCE:
- "Without question, it would have pleased me to hear my teachers address me in Spanish when I entered the classroom. I would have felt less afraid." (34)
- "Today I hear bilingual educators say that children lose a drgree of "individuality" by becoming assimilated into a public society...But bilingualisms simplistically scorn the value and necessity of assimilation. So they do not realize that while one suffers a diminished sense of private individuality by becoming assimilated into a public society, such assimilation makes possivle the achievement of public indidviduality." (39)
- "But my father was not shy, I realized, when I'd watch him speaking Spanish with relative. Using Spanish, he quickly effusive." (37)
QUESTIONS/COMMENTS/POINT TO SHARE:
In Richard's home Spanish was the language spoken, and was also his primary language. His school was taught by nuns in English. Richard was not comfortable in school, mainly because of the language factor. His teachers noticed that Richard was very quite. The nuns went to Richards parents and told them that it would be best if English was also spoken at Home. I Personally dont agree with this because I think that it is important to keep your culture because it is a way of expressing yourself, and it makes a person unique. As English was spoken in the home more often, he noticed that due to the change of language it was as if a part of him was taken away. His family was not as close as it use to be, and communication was hard. Richard also notices that English is the public language, but he misses his own. Hearing the sounds of your own culture help you feel at home. It is okay for someone to speak their native language in tehir homes and with families. It makes them who they are.
