Aria - Rodriguez

This article talks about a spanish speaking family and how the children had to adjust their language in order to fit in to society. looking at it like that i figured ok well that makes sense that they to get the kids to speak english. in order for them to be able to be involved in many things in society they would have to learn english. however what i didn't realize was the impact this truly has on a family. 

quote 1

"One Saturday morning I entered the kitchen where my parents were talking in Spanish. I did not realize that they were talking in Spanish however until, at the moment they saw me, I heard their voices change to speak English." This quote is basically talking about how they parents are trying to change there life style to benefit their kids. It's good that they are trying to help their kids but it's changing who the family is. It's  not fair that they need to give up their culture all together. this kind of made me angry, because they are giving up who they are all together because a group of nuns told them that they should be speaking english in order for their kids to survive in society. why can't they speak both? i don't think it's fair that they are putting the pressure on the parents to eliminate their spanish culture to accommodate for the rest of the society. they should be able to speak both if they want. the teachers should help them to learn english, but not try and get them to lose their spanish back round. in society it is an achievement to be bilingual. why can't they be bilingual. why is it that they can't speak both? to me i don't believe this is right. it made me pretty mad throughout the entire article, because it's just not fair to this family.  

quote 2

"We remained a loving family, but one greatly changed. No longer so close; no longer bound tight by the pleasing and troubling knowledge of Our public separateness. Neither my older brother nor sister rushed home after school anymore. Nor did I." this quote is talking about how he family is slowly growing apart because they are starting to lose the one major thing that connects them, their spanish. to me this doesn't seem right. should a family be broken up because society says they must conform to the rest of society? because these kids are being taught that they need to follow society they are growing more and more apart from their families. this is not fair to these spanish speaking families, as well as families of other cultures. they should be taught english, because it is a huge part of society. however they shouldn't lose there back round in the process. to me that is what it seems like society is making them do here. 

quote 3

"But the bilingualists simplistically scorn the value and necessity of assimilation. 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 really liked this quote because i believe it pretty much sums up the entire article and how i feel about it. it talks about how people are almost forced to conform to society's wishes, but it's the difference in people that make individuals in society. i believe that is why this article makes me so mad. the family is forced to conform to society in order to think about succeeding. to me that's not right. i do believe that they must learn english, but they shouldn't have to lose their first language in the process. in this case it broke up a family. is it worth it for anyone who speaks a different language to have to be jut like every other individual in america? if so then we aren't individuals because we are all the same. i don't think that is fair in anyway. that was one of the main reasons why this article made me so angry. personally i'm pretty close with my family, and i would hate to lose that closeness if we spoke a different language and had lose our back round in order to feel like a part of society.

Lastly I would like to talk in class about if people agree with Rodriguez. Personally i don't I'm more of a Collier fan!!!