"Aria" by Rodriguez

This weeks article by Richard Rodriguez was very powerful. This time it strayed away from what we have been reading by Kozal or Johnson. This time the focus was more on not only race but a language barrier as well, and the hardships that comes with.

"Without question it would have pleased me to hear my teachers address me in Spanish when I entered the classroom. It would have felt much less afraid, I would have trusted and responded with ease."

I believe that this quote truly brings home the importance of teachers being able to connect with students on whatever level is necessary. If you have a student that would feel more comfortable speaking their first language then it would be best to learn how to communicate even on a basic level in that language. Our jobs as educators are to help our students in any way possible, and if that means going the extra mile to make them feel comfortable then that is what we need to do.

"I no longer knew what words to use in addressing my parents. ... Whenever I'd speak to my parents, I would try to get their attention with eye contact alone."

How powerful, and how awful. The fact that a child went through life to one day have the inability t talk openly with their parents is ridiculous. Becoming so distant from your family that you lose the ability to communicate, and it was because of them being forced to speak english... I can't even begin to explain how I feel about this. Definitely one of the most powerful quotes in the article.

“They do not seem to realize that there are two ways a person is individualized. So they do not realize that while one suffers a diminished sense of private individuality by becoming assimilated into public society, such assimilation makes possible the achievement of public individuality.”

I believe that though this quote Rodriguez is stating that even though he had to completely alter his life style, it gave him a better chance in todays society. I believe that the whole point of this article is that he doesn't regret losing his language because it made him fit into society better. It was like what Delpit said. He learned the rules and codes of power to fit in with society.

Talking point: How far would you go as an educator to help benefit your students whose first language was not english.

A article about a principle who banned Spanish in the classrooms (You should read this, pretty interesting)