Rodriguez

Extended Comments – Talia

I too believe that it is a shame that Richard Rodriguez’s primary language and culture was not accepted. This was the start to his family deteriorating in terms of communicating with one another. To take this point further, it also led to Rodriguez’s father not speaking to those around him while his mother became the public voice. I love the link where it discusses the International School and the benefits of bilingual education. The video shows that the students are exposed to the language of others as well as the different cultures. When our children are exposed to other cultures, they are more likely to accept differences for what they are without judgment.

Herman Badillo also seems like a fascinating man. He spoke up for what he believes in and included them in his political policies. I agree with his point of view that ESL programs are not the same as bilingual education or language emersion programs. We are trying to have our students learn the language that is currently predominant in our country. This is something that students do need to learn, but we are often neglecting their heritage, culture, and beliefs by asking them to leave their primary language at the door. We need to ensure the ESL does not just mean English only. I am sure that there are classrooms that implement more language immersion activities and other aspects of bilingual of education. But it should not be just a handful of classrooms; it should be all of our classrooms. Regardless of whether or not a child may speak a different language, educators should incorporate cultural opportunities into our classrooms for our students who come from a variety of backgrounds. As Rodriguez stated early on in our read, “Without question, it would have please me to hear my teachers address me in Spanish when I entered the classroom,” (p. 34). Something so simple as learning greetings in another language could change the entire classroom’s learning environment.