Talking Points #2

Aria

By: Richard Rodriguez

Quote #1: “Without question, it would have pleased me to hear my teachers address me in Spanish when I entered the classroom.  I would have felt much less afraid. I would have trusted them and responded with ease.”  

Being a minority that doesn’t know any English he would have felt more welcome in the class room.  Just like anyone else you fear what is unknown to you.  Being in a classroom where you don’t know any one and can barely interact with your classmates must have been terrifying.  I believe that Rodriguez is trying to say that as a teacher you need to address a cultural difference.  It’s your responsibility to make everyone feel wanted and comfortable. 

Quote #2: “One day in school I raised my hand to volunteer an answer. I spoke out in a loud voice. And I did not think it remarkable when the entire class understood. That day, I moved very far from the disadvantaged child I had been only days earlier. The belief, the calming assurance that I belonged in public, had at last taken hold.

It can be heart wrenching to raise your hand in class especially when everyone knows that you don’t know english.  This was a huge step for Richard.  It finally made him realize that he was an American.  That even if he attempted something in the classroom and was wrong that his classmates weren’t has judgmental has he thought they might have been.  He was finally accepted.

Quote #3: “The family’s quiet was partly due to the fact that, as we children learned more and more english, we shared fewer and fewer words with our parents. Sentences needed to be spoken slowly when a child addressed his mother or father. (Often the parent wouldn’t understand.) The child would need to repeat himself. (Still the parent misunderstood.) The young voice, frustrated, would end up saying, ‘Never mind,’ - the subject was closed.”

Learning English and practicing it at home caused the family to push out their old culture and bring in a new.  The children were learning so much, they were now fluent and an accepted American among children their own age.  They tried to converse with their parents but it would always end in frustration and one not understanding the other.  Therefore cause silence at home.

I think that Rodriguez believes that it is important to fit into society but it is not always easy to be accepted.  Especially growing up as a minority it is a requirement to learn English in order to converse with a community.  But as a young minority learning English if you don’t continue to speak your native language at home your family will slowly fall out that strong bond that holds you together.  As Richard got older he said that he found it hard to even talk to his parents and they no longer felt like a solid family because silence usually filled the house.  So although it is important for an American to know english it is also important for them to remain a part of their culture.