Richard Rodriguez argues that by forcing a child to not use their native language at home and instead use the public language or the "gringos" language can pull the family's bond apart and could change their lifestyle forever.
I believe that making a student speak their second language at home is not solving any problem the student is having with learning the actual language. Why would you want to take their comfort zone away from them? Teachers need to realize that everyone has their own way of learning. Teaching a student whose first language is a foreign language is very tough. This is why teachers have to use what the student knows and mix it with what they are trying to teach them. They have to understand that it is okay for the student to use their native language once in a while to learn the English language. This is the learning technique of the student "mixing". Having the nuns tell Richard's parents to speak only English at home was a very bad idea. By doing this they are only taking away the student's individuality. Richard used to be able to escape school by going home and speaking Spanish but now he can't escape to anywhere because everywhere he goes he hears the English language. This also caused Richard and his family to lose their family bond. The only bond that was holding his family together was that they would always speak Spanish to each other and now they can't because the nuns believe it is the only way for their children to learn English. Forcing him to only speak English at home is going to make him think that he HAS to learn English or else they're going to think they will not be successful in school. All these changes in Richard's life also occur in other bilingual student's lives. Teachers are not aware of how much individuality the bilingual student's lose when they become a part of the public society. They also need to realize that people are individualized in two different ways and they are public individuality and private individuality. By having the nuns take away the Spanish language in Richard's home they have taken away his private individuality and that is not solving any issues. They need to accept the fact that this student comes from a foreign background and they need to work him in an ESL classroom and help him learn the English language and not take away his private individuality.
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From reading this article it made me realize that when I become a teacher I have to realize where all my students are coming from and I have to accept how they will learn. By making a student speak English at home isn't going to solve any problems in school, it's just going to make them feel like they HAVE to speak it or else they will not succeed in school. Having the nuns go to the student's house was a little too extreme and instead they should have worked with Richard in an ESL classroom. How do you think the nuns should have handled the situation?
I agree with everything you said. The nuns should never have visited his house and told his parents to always speak English. Maybe they could have told Rodriguez that he should ask his parents to practice English occasionally - that way they could all practice their English but still be able to maintain their private individuality whenever they wanted.
ReplyDeleteI think your graphic was really good, it fits so well with this post.
I agree that the nuns shouldn’t have asked Richard’s parents to speak English at home but I understand why they did so. They were setting him up for success, helping him learn he had to speak this language. It kind of reminds me of Delpit rule number four, being taught the rules of the culture of power help acquiring power easier. So you can see this as the nuns helping him out as well as theft of his identity. It was wrong of them calling him Richard and not Ricardo. And again they shouldn’t have invaded him home sanctuary. Maybe they could have found a different way to get him to respond, like with what Sarah was saying about ESL classes. However, we don’t know if he had any access or opportunities to be placed in one. Overall, reform is in order.
ReplyDeleteI really agree with Heather about this. I don’t think Rodriguez is arguing that the nuns or the school in general did a bad thing by forcing him to speak English. He laments the way this changed his family, but I think he sees it as a necessary evil. I don’t agree with Rodriguez’s position that a child needs to lose part of identity in order to be a part of the public society. (I think I am in between in regards to the ideological positions of the two articles.) I think this is the kind of thing that I will know the right way to do it when I am actually faced with the situation of teaching children who are English language learners. It’s hard to say hypothetically what I would do, but I think (at least I hope) that I will be able to find the right balancing of appreciating the student’s home language and teaching the necessary codes of the culture of power.
ReplyDeletePersonally I think the nuns were out of line going to a students home with no notification or permission. The fact they approached the situation the way they did was unacceptable in many ways and I agree with you when you say it won't solve any problems by forcing a child to speak a different language at home. Life is full of moderation and accommodations. There is no reason a note couldn't have been sent home or a phone call made to set up a meeting to discuss Richard's struggles in the classroom. Suggestions could have been made as to having a certain amount of time set aside each night to practice English. There are numerous ways to approach this matter, and the one exhibited in this article was far from the best one.
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