Talking Point 2

Aria Richard Rodriguez
Premise:
· Anger
· Frustration
· Unfairness
· Language
· Family/Parents
· Heritage
· Education
· Teacher Relationship
· Home life
· School life
· Sadness
· Confusion
· Hurt
· Change(negative)
· Troubled
· Anxious
· Silence
· English
· Diversity
· Stereotypes
· Alienated
· Carelessness
· Parent child relationship
· Suffrage
· Lack of Confidence
· Bilingual
· Loss of individuality
· Scared
· Shameful
Authors Argument:
Rodriguez argues that society is forcing all diverse cultures into one large culture or Americanism. Many children who speak another language at home are forced to learn the American language leaving them to feel a lack of confidence in themselves because they are different. Another argument is that family life has changed for the negative and there is now a lack of communication between a parent and their child. Rodriguez states that a child who is bilingual looses a degree of their individual by trying to fit in a public society.
Evidence:
1. On page 34 in the text, in paragraph one, Rodriguez tells of the hardship of being bilingual. Also on this page in paragraph three, he discusses his lack of confidence in himself because his primary language is Spanish which lead to him feeling like an outcast.
2. Change of home language-He tells of how the teacher visited his home to ask his parents to work on his English while at home. This act changed the house hold for ever, meaning that English was now the primary home language which caused a barrier between children and parents. Overall as a result the father became silent causing a poor relationship with Richard.
3. On page 38 he discusses how now later in life he feels comfortable with public speaking since he knows the vernacular. He then discusses how he hears several Spanish speaking nuns which does remind him that his family and culture are remembered in pray. Another example is of him getting on the buss and a Spanish speaking women speaks to him which reminded him of the golden age of his youth
Questions Comments Points to Share
I choose to write about this article because I felt that it really expresses how American culture changes home life for many individuals that come from diverse backgrounds. I really liked this reading because I found it to be an easy read and I felt that it was pointed at a young adult audience to help them understand the difficulty a bilingual student has in the American education system. This relates very much to Johnson and to S.C.W.A.A.M.P. in the way that society is creates a bigger barrier for many individuals. Johnson says that many of our stereotypical issues are still around today but many individuals choose to ignore these issues. By doing so this creates the barrier between generations and a parent and child, in this case the topic of language. In relation to S.C.W.A.A.M.P. many of these bilingual families are forced to be like the average American family. This causes them to loose their public identity and a piece of their culture simply by living in America. In America, are we not feely able to speak the language of choice at home, keeping your private identity?