"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." This quote stood out to me because I find it so sad that he felt so separated from the English language that he was afraid to go to school and to speak in class. the fact that his teachers came to his house and asked his parents to speak English to him which in turn changed his families entire life just does not seem right to me. as educators his teachers should have encouraged his differences not changed them. It is great that he eventually started to feel more comfortable at school but at the expense of his family life. Why was it not possible for Richard to learn how to be more comfortable with English while at school while still being able to bond with his family through his native language at home. It just does not feel right to me.
I felt that this reading related to me because I am actually half Dominican, my mother is Italian and Irish and my Father is Dominican, however I did not grow up with my father so unfortunately I never learned to speak much Spanish. When i spend time with my dad's family i feel separated from them, my own family because they speak to me in broken English which I know is not comfortable for them therefore i was never able to form a very good relationship with any of them. When reading this I found it so upsetting that Richard and his family basically threw away the Spanish language because I would give anything to learn the language and be able to form a relationship with my family. Often times when I meet my Grandmothers friends they will start talking to me in Spanish and my Grandmother will tell them in broken English that I do not speak Spanish which usually results in the end of conversation. I just think that it is so important to be able to communicate and relate to your family so Richards story really touched me.
I read a summary of Rodriguez's book " Hunger of Memory" and it says he writes about how his education cost him connections to his culture and his family. I just cant bring myself to understand why he had to alienate himself from the Spanish language in order to be comfortable with the English language. I feel that if his teachers would have been more understanding in the beginning this would have been possible.
I also agree with what you said about the teachers changing his name for him. In my past Spanish classes, my teachers would always change our names to the Spanish names, and none of us liked it. It is not important for a name to be changed to sound like another language. This takes away a lot of the person's personal identity and does nothing to help the child learn the language.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what you said about how unfair it was for the teachers to force him to essentially change everything about himself. Especially his name, how awful is that. We preach that people should love themselves and express individuality but how can we if we make them change who they are in the process.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your post. The teachers should not have mad him change his name. Changing a persons name can ruin their self esteem and have a negative effect on their identity. This article was also upsetting for me to read because I could relate to it personally just like you. Lastly, when I'm a teacher I would never want to ruin a families bond by making them adjust to our language and culture.
ReplyDeleteI really liked how you brought up the point of changing his name. I feel like this is a really strong point because your name is a really big piece of your identity and his teachers took that away from him. I really liked how you connected this to your own personal life because you can understand a side of Richards story that not everyone can.
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