Talking Points #2 Rodriguez

Talking Points # 2 Rodriguez
Argument – I believe Rodriquez argues that for one to fit in America one (individual) must learn the English language.

Quotes.

1. “What I needed to learn in school was that I had the right- and the obligation- to speak the public language of los gringos.”
Right= Entitlement or freedom -a justified claim or entitlement, or the freedom to do something.
Obligation=Duty - something that must be done because of legal or moral duty
DOUBLE Standard Anyone? So if I read it correctly one has the choice to learn, but also has the obligation to learn. So it really isn’t a choice in the first place?
2. “Without question, it would have pleased me to hear my teachers address me in Spanish when I entered the classroom, I would have felt much less afraid. I would have trusted them and responded with ease. ”
This quote also shows how this poor child was being forced to do something he felt uncomfortable with. Was he not in bilingual classes? Why couldn’t the teachers understand that maybe if they did talk to him in Spanish he would feel more comfortable? In a way this seems like a way to force the children to learn the language.
3. “Is it possible for you and your husband to encourage your children to practice their English when they are at home? ….. In a instant, they agreed to give up the language (the sound) that had revealed and accentuated our family’s closeness.”
Do you think this was really necessary for them to do? Honestly coming from a home were my parents do not speak fluent English I personally believe they shouldn’t have even bothered to ask for such thing. Children will learn eventually asking them to practice the English language more at home I believe was not really needed simply because of that is caused in the reading.
4. “The family’s quiet was partly due to the fact that, as we children learned more and more English, we shared fewer and fewer words with our parents. Sentences needed to be spoken slowly when I child addressed his mother or father. ”
So are we being thought that once we learn the English language it’s ok to just forget about our main language and not worry about speaking with those who do not know the language?


ABOUT THE READING.

It actually wasn’t bad, easy read kept my attention because I could actually relate too many of the things happening in the story. He had many good points about multilingual individuals and how it hard for them to change.