DISCUSSION BOARD: Aria | Rodriguez
Born in 1944 in San Francisco and raised in Sacramento, California, to Mexican immigrants, Richard Rodriguez is a foremost and sometimes controversial Chicano voice. Best known for his memoir Hunger of Memory: The Education of Richard Rodriguez (1982). “Aria: Memoir of a Bilingual Childhood” is taken from Hunger of Memory. That book cemented Rodriguez’s controversial reputation because of its stands against bilingual education and affirmative action.
After describing his experience in his English language school, Rodriguez writes,
Many years later there is something called bilingual education – a scheme proposed
in the late 1960s by Hispanic American social activists, later endorsed by a congressional vote. It is a program that seeks to permit non-English-speaking children, many from lower-class homes, to use their family language as the language of school. (Such is the goal its supporters announce.) I hear them and am forced to say no: It is not possible for a child – any child – ever to use his family’s language in school. Not to understand this is to misunderstand the public uses of schooling and to trivialize the nature of intimate life – a family’s “language.”
Do you agree with Rodriguez’s stance on bilingual education? Is it really not possible for “a child–any child–ever to use [their] family’s language in school”? Why or why not? And, how do you believe schools in the US can effectively educate our multilingual students?
Alternately, you can deal with the title of this work if you want to take a more literary approach to our discussion board. Why does Rodriquez choose “Aria” as the title for this piece? And, how does that theme appear within the text? If you’re taking this approach, remember to quote specific examples from the text. Literary analysis needs evidence in the form of quotes from the narrative.
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I understand and agree with Richard Rodriguez’s stance on bilingual education when he says and I quote, “It is not possible for a child – any child – ever to use his [their] family’s language in school” (page 2). I understand where he is coming from, but this is just my understanding on the subject matter. I also want to point out in his quote saying, “Not to understand this is to misunderstand the public uses of schooling and to trivialize the nature of intimate life – a family’s “language” (page 2). I believe the reason why he is in opposition to the Hispanic American social activists’ plan of the bilingual education program is because it may diminish the effects of intimacy of his family language. That is just one of many ways you can see the negative effects of the bilingual education program. Another way you can look at it is that being part of the bilingual education program is almost like a form of segregating the non-English speaking students from the other English speaking students. I believe schools in the US can effectively educate our multilingual students by creating a more diverse learning style that incorporates every student from any language speaking background. I believe as a teacher you must know each of your student’s individual needs and use that to create a unique teaching style. Also, based on this, it could also teach the English speaking students to have more compassion and try to understand the non-English speaking students more.
Marcus, you made me realized I missed the whole point of the story. I was too focused on answering the promoted and questioning his writing that I missed the fact that the whole story is about the intimacy the family language holds in someone life. You also state that the bilingual programs in schools diminsh the intimacy of the student and also creates segreation in the classroom but may I say if it is properly written, planned and executed by adiministration to allow students to speak their langauge instead of forcing english upon them, they would have more confidence in the classroom and motivation to learn English as they don’t feel bullied or pressured to code switch. I may add that it can also help students find friends who may speak the same language; or may motivate students to be more compassionate and learn another langauge which helps them become bilingual.
I agree with Marcus because it is true that each teacher must know each student’s personal needs, educational talking, if students need a translated version of any worksheet because is hard for them to understand the English one, then the teacher must know this and provide to the student. Like that the student can learn more effectively the course.
Marcus, I completely agree with your viewpoint on how the U.S should teach multilingual students. In order for anyone to have a proper learning experience, it’s important that the teacher understands each and every one of their students’ needs. Especially those who may not speak english. The classroom should in fact be a safe space for anyone to learn, which is why it’s especially crucial that it be very inclusive for a multilingual student.
Marcus , I think you made an interesting point on narrowing down on the intimacy within language in one’s life. I think that essentially language is the way we most express ourselves to others and when we differentiate the language we have in school with our peers or teachers it is unmatched to what we have with family. There is always an underlying meaning with family because of background and mutual understanding without explanation. Sometimes due to experiences between individuals.
I agree that family language is intimate, but the intimacy is not just due to the language the family is speaking. Familes all have their own way of communicating because of a shared history.
I can say to my sister or brother or one of my many cousins….”wait….listen, but, no, but riiiiiight? ” And, whoever I say that to in my family will burst out laughing…and say something like…”but wait, no, listen, but no, but right?”, and we’ll all laugh and keep it going. Any English speaker can understand the words, but they’re not laughing because they don’t know the story behind that language. They don’t know who we’re talking about or what was happening when that language emerged.
Rodriguez seems to ascribe Spanish to the private sphere, but there are many public ways of speaking Spanish for him and every other Spanish speaker. So…maybe you can’t use the family’s intimate language in school, but…couldn’t you use a more widely spoken version of Spanish?
I agree with you when you said, “ I believe as a teacher you must know each of your student’s individual needs and use that to create a unique teaching style.” In my school, I saw several students who could not comprehend such phrases and were unable to respond since they lacked sufficient understanding of the subject. As a result, pupils who spoke the same language would occasionally assist them. I believe that more should be done where they teach the local language based on the requirements of their pupils.
I completely agree with Marcus, when trying to make a student comfortable a teacher should make it a safe space for them to express themselves, but not just for them but for everyone else that way people can be more comfortable especially when in a change of surroundings that way everyone is able to express themselves freely and won’t be judged for being much more comfortable.
I agree Marcus that the bilingual program should probably not include a separate classroom for children that speak the different language, rather it should be the mixture of both. This is already implemented this way, though I do not know if it is by this specific program mentioned, I have heard from friends of duo lingo classrooms in towns with large Spanish speaking populations that teach Spanish and English together. Like Marcus said, this is the way to probably the best way to teach kids of non English and English because it makes them feel equal to theEnglish kids and it allows the English kids also to learn about non English and how to be more respectful.
To a somewhat extent I agree with Rodriguez‘s stance on bilingual education, on another hand though I do think it is possible for children to use their family languages in school because it makes them less timid in a social aspect but only with the help of the school administration with the child feel comfortable enough to speak in their home language with their peers & the administration. I believe schools in the US can effectively educate or multilingual students by allowing them to speak languages that are most comfortable in instead of forcibly breaking down a students confidence by telling them “speak English” or “ you’re saying this wrong, it’s like this” etc. I believe if education regarding language is more broaden than just a romantic languages in our education system, students will feel more comfortable. It would leave less room for language discrimination within students and administration.
Richard may have chose “aria” title for this piece because it’s the same in both languages but the pronunciation is different. This can lead to the theme appearing within the text that we are different but still the same. For example paragraph eight, page two he states “I was a listening child,carefully to hear the very different sounds of Spanish and English” then he proceeds later on in that paragraph by saying “[..] The sound of his voice said that he was a gringo; he belongs in public society”. This would suggest he differentiates people who speak Spanish or English by their pronouction which were further tell him self-consciously if they “belong in” society.
I agree with Asanti because it is true that US schools do not force students to speak English, students are free to speak in whatever language they feel comfortable in. I know this because when I was in Middle School and High School, I was one of those students. I didn’t speak English at all, so I was only able to communicate in Spanish with my friends and teachers, my family language helped me communicate when I didn’t speak English.
I fully agree with you Asanti, I believe the classroom has to be effective in making students feel most comfortable in order for them to learn properly. No multilingual student should ever be told to “speak english”, at that point it’s almost discriminatory. I also agree that certain languages should stop being taught as these romantic languages. It could be more inclusive for people. For this idea of these languages being ‘Love languages could lead to many people not taking the language as seriously.
Asanti, I think you were able to identify a different standpoint. It is a new understanding to me of being able to use family language in schools as an advantage towards comfortability. I think that is important to have that foundation in school but I don’t think it will come from being able to use family language. On the other hand, I agree that schools in the US can effectively educate our multilingual students. The acts of motiivating them to speak their language does allow students to feel free in a way.
Asanti, I totally agree with your statement. That’s actually one of the points I wanted to make in my discussion post but I guess I was more focused on whether I agree or disagree that I just chose to pick a side. The bilingual education program would definitely benefit non-English speakers because it caters to the students. Instead of the teachers force feeding them the American way, it’s best that the teachers learn how they can best teach their students and the bilingual education program would be a good start.
Also, I love how you brought up the title because it has a pretty significant meaning. I would like to add something because the title did also catch my interest, so I looked it up. I couldn’t really find a Spanish definition but I found that the word Aria is actually an Italian name for “song” or “melody”. I thought maybe since this reading talks about how family language sounds to the ears, that the title could also represent family language as a beautiful melody. Maybe? That’s just my take on it.
another interesting thing about “aria” is that they are solo pieces….only one singer sings an aria.
I agree with you since additional languages are now taught in schools so that native students and pupils from all backgrounds can comprehend and communicate with others, including the outside world. Teachers also never prevent pupils from using their native tongue to clarify or better grasp a topic in school.
I totally agree with Asanti freedom of speech should allow people to speak and communicate as they wish and they shouldn’t be told or be restricted from doing so because it is just a violation of their rights and people should be able to communicate with one another in whichever way they see is best for them.
I understand Rodriguez’s stance on bilingual education, but I don’t agree with it. In my opinion, it is possible, “for a child- any child- to use his family’s language in school”. (Page 2) A lot of children at school use their family language, to communicate with friends, teachers, etc. At school, you can meet a lot of people who speak the same language as you, besides English, and is important that you communicate with them. If you find someone who speaks the same home language as you at school you’re going to feel connected with this person, also share traditions and culture. “ I’d hear strangers on the radio and in the Mexican Catholic church across town speaking in Spanish, but I couldn’t really believe that Spanish was a public language, like English. Spanish speakers, rather, seemed related to me, for I sensed that we shared — through our language — the experience of feeling apart from Los gringos.” (Page 4) This is important because this supports my main idea that when you speak your home language outside the home, you can find people to who you can relate. If you are a bilingual person, doesn’t matter what’s your first language, if you are on the street, or at school, at someplace that is not your house and you hear somebody speaking your language you get happy. I don’t know if that only happens to me but I get excited every time I find someone who is Dominican and speaks my language, Spanish. My point here is that the same way Rodriguez says that, quoting, “ for I sensed that we shared – through our language — the experience of feeling apart from Los gringos”. When we speak our home language in school with some friends and/or teachers we have the feeling that we share something, like is unique for us and other people don’t understand just us because is connected by our language.
I agree, or many bilingual students, people may be more comfortable speaking their native language in school, but in the end, people have a right to freedom of speech and those rights shouldn’t be stripped from them just because some people may believe that speaking only English in school is what’s best for students but it is up to the student to do what they think is best for themselves.
I agree totally with Odilenia, as I believe Spanish has a much different representation from English in America. English is a widely spoken language that is not really attached to a culture or to any meaning at all rather than the mainly spoken language in America especially by white people. Spanish, on the other hand, is usually attached to some sort of culture, and as Odilenia says, people who speak Spanish can relate by having “ the experience of feeling apart from Los gringos”. English does not have this unifying factor, as white people are the dominating population and English is the dominating language. Spanish can represent something that is defying that, so it has a sort of home as something not influenced by white people.
I like how you’ve quoted the text in here. Very effective.
In many ways I agree and disagree with Richard Rodriguez’s stance on this matter. I agree in the sense that the nature behind a family’s language should not be trivialized upon, therefore it should be kept at home. However I find that a multilingual student may not be able to find themselves in a proper learning environment without being able to feel comfortable. For them feeling comfortable could mean wanting to use that language they use at home. So instead of trying to prohibit that aspect, it should be allowed and encouraged. Only because it may be able to help the student in the long run, Do I think a U.S school can effectively teach multilingual students? Yes, but only if the student is made to feel fully confident within the classroom, instead of having the pressure to speak English in order to fit in within the learning environment. I find that the U.S education system needs to be more accepting of students in situations like these, meaning that the classroom should be a diverse and welcoming place for anyone to learn, not just for the English speakers. The best way a multilingual student could learn in my opinion is to not feel like an outcast, to be as included in all opportunities as the rest of the English speaking students. As well as not enforcing the English language upon them, it’s something that should be learned over time within their academic development, and should not be seen as a requirement.
Your take on having bilingual education as an option to students is an excellent idea! Students should definitely have the ability to choose which language that they can effectively communicate in. By not imposing a language that they may not necessarily even want to learn, perhaps we can focus on making multilingual students more articulate and comfortable in sharing ideas in their native tongue.
I don’t think that it is really possible for a child or any child to ever implement the use of their “family’s language” in school. It all ties back to interpretation and understanding. Without explanation certain uses of language are unable to dissect. What my brother may be able to understand through the slang we use when we speak another individual may take a different approach and misunderstand. I see that to be because of their unfamiliarity with the background my brother and I have. When we are able to have various ways of communicating with language it enables us to learn more about individuals. The language we use for our loved ones is generally more intimate than we would have for people we are unfamiliar with. Which leads me to express that although I feel this is true, schools in the US still do have the ability to effectively educate our multilingual students. I think the way the US educational system can do this is by hiring teachers of those ethinic backgrounds to supply their students with a personal connection to their intersectionality.
Shantal, I really find your perspective to be interesting, and incredibly intuitive. I agree that the use of language at home could be misunderstood if used in a school environment, the way we say things to our siblings, we would never say to a teacher. I also agree with the idea that hiring teachers with a more ethic background could prove to be helpful for students that are multilingual. Not only would it give them a more personal connection, but I believe it would allow them to feel confident in many ways.
Shantal, I agree with your statement. Teaching a particular language that students speak will never come close to the way we speak with our friends and family because it’s more up close and personal. It’s like, if you don’t come where we come from, then you don’t really know us. But on the other hand, hiring teachers from the same background as the students would bring language learning closer to a personal level because the students could actually relate to the teacher, which would make the students feel more at home.
I understand your statement Shantal, it is true that the way we talked to our loved ones is more intimate, but that’s just the way we talk not the language we use. If you speak Spanish with your loved ones you speak Spanish in a specific way, you use slang, you play around, etc. But you also can speak Spanish outside your house even though it would be more serious Spanish.
Totally onboard with this.
“The language we use for our loved ones is typically more intimate than we would have for individuals we don’t know,” you remarked, and I agree. It’s not always feasible to describe things in English the way we do in our home tongue. As an example, there are several various meanings of “you” in our country, such as তুই, তুমি, and আপনি. We chose this based on our feelings for that specific person.
I agree with Shantal completely, in that home languages can never be replicated at school. I feel that home language is often inside jokes and slang that has the sort of feeling of “you had to be there”, as so it can never been fully understood by teacher to learn to help the child feel more comfortable. I think your point to hire teachers of the same ethnicity and language would be so great for so many children to feel represented and comfortable in the classroom to excel to their full potential.
I respect Rodriguez as a writer, “Aria” is a beautiful piece of work. I don’t, however, agree with his stance on bilingual education. I do think it’s possible that bilingual classes could be used (and have been used) to unofficially segregate speakers of other languages within an institution. That way, the teachers — many of them with no background in second language acquisition– wouldn’t have to face the fact that they’re out of their depth with regard to teaching these students. But, to not have it at all? That seems negligent to me….what are those kids supposed to do? Sink or swim in an English only classroom?
My real issue with Rodriguez’s stance is that it’s so binary–yes or no. How about both? I actually think ALL students should have a bilingual education. Why can’t classes be taught bilingually all the time. I know that’s a complicated proposition. After all, there are many languages represented in the bilingual classroom. However, many students travel to schools–magnet. charter, specialized etc, Maybe they could travel to participate in an English/Spanish/Mandarin classroom or a French/Yoruba/Russian classroom. The grammar school and junior high school I attended had very large Spanish-speaking population, the high school had large Mandarin. Korean, Bengali, Hindi, Spanish and Cantonese speaking populations. In any of those contexts, I would have happily joined a classroom where there was partial instruction in any of those languages. I mean…why not? It makes you smarter.
Caitlin, I agree with your statement about the bilingual education program being a program to unofficially segregate bilingual students from the English speaking students. That was also one of my thoughts that I had against it. And also, it would be pretty cool if all language classes were taught bilingually or even multilingually. It would open multiple perspectives of how to learn a language and ultimately make you smarter.
I can connect to Rodriguez’s perspective on his family and how they used to communicate in their original tongue at home. That’s because in Bangladesh (my native country), we’ve always been aware of how people regard individuals who can communicate in English. There used to be a notion that speaking English fluently made you hip. They also used to acquire higher-paying employment than someone who didn’t know much standard English. My cousins who were born here attempted to flex even after they arrived by speaking English in a family gathering. After witnessing all of these things, I’ve decided that I shouldn’t use Bangla in public since it would make others believe I’m slum and ignorant. We don’t speak English at home, just like Rodriguez. We also believe that it is much simpler to express your sentiments in Bengali than in English and that after a long day of contact with a language we did not grow up with, it should not be utilized at our home. But there is one point on which I disagree with Rodriguez: he believes that we should not be allowed to speak our native language at school. I believe that everyone, regardless of where they are, has the freedom to do or do their own thing. It is entirely up to you whether or not you choose to participate. Even in high school, we spoke to my peers in my original tongue to better comprehend what was going on.
I find it interesting how you explain that a shift of language use carries many different biases and judgements. This made me reflect on my own language use and how I am able to decide which type of language I use base on the domain and what I want to convey to others.
This point I agree with. I also agreed with Rodriguez’s point, but in a social context I don’t see why one shouldn’t be able to use their home language. I think that idea leads to ostracization and close-minded attitudes about other cultures. There’s a reason why people see English as “superior” to other languages (white supremacy,) and it deeply affects the way people view cultures other than American white ones.
I acknowledge Rodriguez’s stance on bilingual education but do not agree with it. I believe a child should be able to use their family’s language in school. Not being able to speak their home language at school is stripping them of their culture and since they’re children they could easily forget it or grow up speaking it broken since they didn’t interact enough with it. Also, Speaking two languages fluently is really helpful and could help beneficially impact them in the future. I believe schools in the US can effectively educate multilingual students by teaching them (classes) in both languages equally.
While I have come to agree with Rodriguez’s stance on bilingual education, I completely understand your point. I personally think that language classes of an individual’s mother tongue can be extremely useful as a tool to expose them more to their language. In implementing this in schools, I think that coming across using our family language in a more academic view can come with many great benefits, such as developing the skill of translation.
I think that Rodriguez’s stance on bilingual education is incorrect. In my opinion, a child should be able to use their family’s language wherever they may be and they should not be restricted from representing themselves and their culture. Having that type of restriction when outside of their home is in fact detrimental to their culture and can, in fact, strip them from their culture. I also feel that this will also tend to make students uncomfortable and sort of pretend to be someone that they are not, that a better class environment overall should allow students to represent themselves and present themselves as they wish. While I do relate to Rodriguez in that I speak my native language, in my case, Spanish in my home. I feel that people should feel more comfortable expressing themselves as they wish, it isn’t fair for someone to not be themselves no matter the situation or the surrounding that that person may be in. You also have to take into consideration what being bilingual can do for you in the future, in the sense that most successful people can speak more than one language. The problem with Rodriguez’s statement in my opinion is that he makes it seem like speaking a language that isn’t your native language outside you’re home is some sort of unwritten rule, which it shouldn’t be for anybody. Overall, while Rodriguez makes some valid points about language, there should not be any sort of restrictions on speaking a language when outside of your home, and people should feel free to express themselves in whichever way they see fit.
I would say I agreed that it not not possible for any child to his family language in school, but I do not agree that it disqualifies introducing ‘family’ language specifically into schools like the bilingual education. I understand that family language is language that is individualized to each family by their backgrounds, ethnicities, hometowns, and personal humor and slang that cannot be replicated in the school environment. Teachers would never be able to understand these family languages of each child. School language cannot be this diverse because of specific vocabulary or generalization that is needed. While I understand this applies to all children, I still support introducing the home language of a child into the school environment. Some home languages have much more in common with school language. For example, for me as an English-only speaker in my American New York Family I understand school English American New York language than someone else who doesn’t speak English at home at all and may not be from here. Allowing these home languages or just different languages into the classroom will help students who struggle more feel safer and have an easier time adapting while allowing for students to learn more languages and terms. I believe teachers should be trained to communicate in some of the most common languages and practice basic communications in multiple language. Schools should have people that are able to translate and promote the use of both languages.
I disagree with your stance, to some extent. I believe that bilingual education is a nice idea but would only work for languages like Spanish or Mandarin, widely spoken languages that millions around the world speak. But what if a student comes in that speaks a lesser spoken language? There are too many factors to consider that make bilingual education worth it, in my opinion. Having teachers fluent in many languages is a nice idea but very hard to accomplish.
I find bilingual education to be such a fascinating topic, as it is so different compared to the education that we have all grown up with. Richard Rodriguez’s stance on bilingual education came as an even bigger shock to me, as I had assumed he longed for an environment where he was free to express himself in a seemingly more liberated way. However, as I read through this chapter, I had come to understand his reasoning behind his stance, and I agree with it. The way which Rodriguez comes to base his opinions on comes from this idea that language is able to be distinctive. And it is through this distinction where we form communities, sharing more than just language, but culture and a sense of camaraderie. It is a way in which we recognize and connect with one another. By having it kept in this intimate environment, one is able to value it more. Therefore, although it is more than possible for a child to use their family’s language in school, I would also be against it because it takes away from it being called a family language. Because it may not impact others in the way in which it can, I would refrain from taking away such a special quality of being able to communicate with a close, tight-knit community of those that speak the same mother tongue. Schools in the US should instead aim to expose their students to these different cultures and backgrounds and focus on building a welcoming school community.
His stance on bilingual education came as a shock to me too. But with his explanation I began to understand it more, and you captured the point he was trying to get across perfectly. I believed that students shouldn’t use their family language at school for different reasons than you did, but your explanation makes sense as well.
I agree (somewhat) with Rodriguez’s stance on bilingual education. While increasing one’s literacy skills in their mother tongue would be beneficial, it would come at the cost of stunted growth with their English learning. English is the most predominantly-spoken language in the United States, so one would be put at a severe disadvantage not having proper communicative skills in that area. That isn’t to say native Spanish, Urdu, or French speakers should cease all usage of those languages, just that in an academic context the main focus should be English, especially at younger ages, as that will make navigating through life in America a bit easier.
With that said, I believe without a doubt that schools in the United States can effectively educate multilingual students. Placing a focus on helping students through their mistakes rather than punishing them will be the most important thing to focus on when educating multilingual students. The argument that children cannot use their family’s language when in school can easily be twisted to enforce bigotry instead of embrace cultural diversity. For example, a teacher could prevent all usage of a student’s home language, and punish them for using it, in order to “help” them increase their skills in English. Or another scenario, in which a student could be punished or berated for saying something incorrectly in English as a result of it being their second language. An emphasis should be placed on helping rather than hurting students in order to prevent that from occurring.