Richard Rodriguez
“Aria”
1. “What they seem not to recognize is that, as a socially disadvantaged child, I considered Spanish to be a private language. What I needed to learn in school was that I had the right-and the obligation-to speak the public language of los gringos.” Pg. 34
What Rodriguez says in this quote is similar to Delpit in that he already knew how to speak Spanish and he needed to learn the things that would help him succeed in our English speaking society. He sees Spanish as a language to use with his family and community and English as a language to be used out in the world. He doesn’t seem to see that there may be an opportunity to use Spanish out in the world.
2. “Hers [mother’s voice] became the public voice of the family. On official business, it was she, not my father, one would usually hear on the phone or in stores, talking to strangers.” Pg. 37
Normally it would be the father’s voice that is the public voice of the family, but because he cannot speak English well, he couldn’t be the public voice. The language barrier keeps him from fulfilling that role and forces the mother to take the lead; at least in the public view. He wasn’t able to express himself in English like he can in Spanish and it limits his ability to do certain things for his family.
3. “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.” Pg. 39
Rodriguez is saying that a student, no matter the age, learning English as a second language does not give up his or her individuality, but gains a new aspect of that individuality. It’s not only the person’s culture that recognizes the individual, but the whole society. A person’s language ability does not make them any less of an individual.
I liked reading “Aria” because it is the author’s story. It was written in first person so it was personal not just some collection of research. I felt more connected to the story and I could definitely relate. I remember a little boy that used to go to the summer camp I work at. He was a native Spanish speaker, but he had no problem speaking and understanding English. He was very shy and he would only speak when he was spoken to be a counselor. He eventually met another boy who was a Spanish speaker. He was so much more outgoing when he was speaking with this other boy and he even started interacting with the other kids more. He just needed someone who understood his situation to make him more comfortable in his new environment. I was reminded of the little boy when I was reading about the father and how he was so much more outgoing when he was in his element. We all want to feel comfortable and we all are more friendly or outgoing when we feel comfortable.
I could also relate when Rodriguez spoke about his communication problems with his family. The parents could not understand what the children were saying and the children would get frustrated. I think that everyone feels like their parents don’t understand at some point, but it must be even more frustrating when there is a language difference. I dance and it’s like a different language with all the terminology you need to learn. I’ll try to explain something to my family and they just don’t get it. It’s frustrating especially when you are trying to communicate something important to you.
Bilingual education helps a child acquire the skills they’ll need to live in our society, but it also distances a child from their personal culture. They might feel like two different people; who they are in school and who they are at home. However, there must be a way to rectify the situation and I don’t think that having this disconnect was the intention of bilingual education.
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Talking Points #1
Peggy McIntosh
“White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack”
1. “My schooling gave me no training in seeing myself as an oppressor, as an unfairly advantaged person, or as a participant in a damaged culture.” Pg. 2
We don’t learn to see ourselves as a pawn in the culture of power, but as an individual who determines their own behavior. Therefore we see ourselves as detached from society and its actions. It makes it easier for an individual to ignore the problem because he or she doesn’t feel involved.
2. “The pressure to avoid it [white privilege] is great, for in facing it I must give up the myth of meritocracy. If these things are true, this is not such a free country” Pg. 4
It is easier to ignore the issue of white privilege because admitting that it exists compromises the foundational values of the country. It would shake the country to the core which may not be a bad thing. We need to be able to see what’s wrong before we can fix it.
3. “Many, perhaps most, of our white students in the United States think that racism doesn’t affect them because they are not people of color; they do not see ‘whiteness’ as a racial identity.” Pg. 5
Whites only see racism as outward meanness to another race of people. We don’t think of our color as something that earns us advantages; we like to think that we get what we have because of who we are as individuals. Since we are not African-American or Hispanic or Asian we don’t think that there is a need to use our racial identity or even identify it in any way.
I found Peggy McIntosh pretty easy to read and her argument was presented in a clear and straightforward way. I saw elements of Johnson in her argument especially when she wrote about unearned advantages and unearned power (4). McIntosh uses similar language to Johnson. I liked that she wrote from a personal point of view. It makes me feel more connected to what she’s saying and it doesn’t seem like she’s just throwing research data at me. Something different from Johnson was when she wrote about the positive advantages we have. There was a little ray of light in her argument. An example she uses is feeling like we belong in a group (5). That feeling of belonging is not a bad thing, but when we use that feeling of belonging to alienate other people that positive advantage becomes negative. We need to make a decision on what advantages to use and when to use them. To be frank, the whole white privilege thing reminds me of children on the playground. Some kids will make a club and they won’t let other kids in. We are doing the same thing in our society. So should our society share a common element with a group of kindergarteners?
“White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack”
1. “My schooling gave me no training in seeing myself as an oppressor, as an unfairly advantaged person, or as a participant in a damaged culture.” Pg. 2
We don’t learn to see ourselves as a pawn in the culture of power, but as an individual who determines their own behavior. Therefore we see ourselves as detached from society and its actions. It makes it easier for an individual to ignore the problem because he or she doesn’t feel involved.
2. “The pressure to avoid it [white privilege] is great, for in facing it I must give up the myth of meritocracy. If these things are true, this is not such a free country” Pg. 4
It is easier to ignore the issue of white privilege because admitting that it exists compromises the foundational values of the country. It would shake the country to the core which may not be a bad thing. We need to be able to see what’s wrong before we can fix it.
3. “Many, perhaps most, of our white students in the United States think that racism doesn’t affect them because they are not people of color; they do not see ‘whiteness’ as a racial identity.” Pg. 5
Whites only see racism as outward meanness to another race of people. We don’t think of our color as something that earns us advantages; we like to think that we get what we have because of who we are as individuals. Since we are not African-American or Hispanic or Asian we don’t think that there is a need to use our racial identity or even identify it in any way.
I found Peggy McIntosh pretty easy to read and her argument was presented in a clear and straightforward way. I saw elements of Johnson in her argument especially when she wrote about unearned advantages and unearned power (4). McIntosh uses similar language to Johnson. I liked that she wrote from a personal point of view. It makes me feel more connected to what she’s saying and it doesn’t seem like she’s just throwing research data at me. Something different from Johnson was when she wrote about the positive advantages we have. There was a little ray of light in her argument. An example she uses is feeling like we belong in a group (5). That feeling of belonging is not a bad thing, but when we use that feeling of belonging to alienate other people that positive advantage becomes negative. We need to make a decision on what advantages to use and when to use them. To be frank, the whole white privilege thing reminds me of children on the playground. Some kids will make a club and they won’t let other kids in. We are doing the same thing in our society. So should our society share a common element with a group of kindergarteners?
Thursday, September 3, 2009
So I'm here
This is my first blog ever and I was a little nervous about putting it up, but it's actually kind of fun. I'm Amanda Chace and I'm supposed to be graduating with a liberal arts english degree this may, but I just changed my major to education. It's not even official yet. I'm super busy all the time. I teach dance classes and take dance classes so I end up dancing 5-7 days a week. I love it! I also work part-time and babysit so fitting the SLP in should be interesting. I love to travel. My latest trip was to Italy (Milan, Genoa, Pisa, Montecatini, Florence, Assissi, and Rome) and the one before that was Germany (Cologne). Italy was amazing and I can't wait to go back to Europe! I come from a pretty conservative Catholic background and college has opened my eyes to so much. I hope this class will open my eyes to even more!
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