Blog Post #3

3 Quotes

"After English became my primary language, I no longer knew what words to use in addressing my parents."

This quote made me feel kind of sad because Richard was very reluctant to learn English and it shows how much his world changed when he did learn it. Thus quote also shows how hard it is for kids who are bilingual to have to figure out when to use which language. Richard was confused because his parents forcing him to use English at home allowed him to actually learn the language but then he didn't know when it was okay to use his first language. It taught him that using his first language was "bad". The author even goes on to say how simple things like this were painful reminders of how much had changed in his life.

"My mother and father, for their part, responded differently, as their children spoke to them less. She grew restless, seemed troubled and anxious at the scarcity of words exchanged in the house."

This quote also made me sad because as the kids grew more accustomed to speaking English it became harder for them to speak with their parents. I can't imagine being their parents and having to help them speak more English and less Spanish so that they can have a better life but that meaning that you have less communication with them. It shows the love parents have for their children and how they will do anything to help them even if it means that it may hurt their relationship.

"At least not at home. Only when I was with them in public would I grow alert to their accents. Though, even then, their sounds caused me less and less concern. For I was increasingly confident of my own public identity."

This quote makes me feel mixed emotions. I feel happy for the author because they are gaining confidence in their English language learning abilities, but I feel sad that the author has to feel so on edge when he's out in public with his parents because of the way that they speak. Children shouldn't be made to feel like they should be embarrassed of their parents just because they don't speak English perfectly. Children's cultures and different abilities should be encouraged in the classroom.

Reading this article, I thought a lot about my placement. I am in an ESL classroom and the teacher is very encouraging of the students abilities in both Spanish and English which I thought was really awesome. In this article it seemed like Richard's teachers weren't as encouraging about his knowledge in Spanish. It seemed like they only wanted him to learn English and ignore the fact that he knew Spanish. I found an article about the benefits of being bilingual and I think that it offers a lot of good points on why teachers should encourage their Spanish speaking students to not loose touch of their Spanish speaking abilities.

Blog Post #2

Quotes

• "He doesn't answer me but smiles at the bears affectionately. "I saw a boy shot in the head right over there," he says a moment later, in a voice that does not sound particularly sad,.." 

I found this quote to be really sad. This little boy is only seven years old and has already seen more than I could ever imagine. I think the saddest part about this quote is that Cliffie doesn't really have emotions towards the situation. He says it in such a monotone way because to him its normal. It isn't abnormal to hear about murders and kids dying in his part of the city. Its just another part of his day to see horrible things that no person, let alone child should have to be exposed to. I think that this quote ties into what Kozol blames poverty on. I think Kozol feels that poverty continues because no one tries to get these kids out of these situations and the cycle just continues 

• "And lots of white people have expressed confusion about why it's controversial to broaden the #BlackLivesMatter movement to include people of all races."

I liked this quote because I feel like it is a very easy misunderstanding to have. When the #BlackLivesMatter movement first started, I was maybe a sophomore in high school and I fell into the category of really just not understanding why the hashtag couldn't be that All Lives Matter. I felt this way because I feel like all lives do matter and like everyone should be represented equally but after I read more into the idea behind black lives matter I completely understood the reason behind it. Black Lives need more representation. I liked this quote because it shows how easy it is to fall into the category of ignorance and how if you don't put in the research its so easy to be seen as ignorant or even racist, even when that is not your intention, and I think that is what the article is trying to point out.

• "The point is that they put a lot of things into our neighborhood that no one wants," she says. "The waste incinerator is just one more lovely way of showing their affection"."

I thought this quote was powerful because it tied into how I feel like Kozol blames poverty on society and how no one does anything to stop it. This quote shows how instead of trying to build the neighborhoods up or make them look nicer, the state just puts the things that no one wants to see or be around in the impoverished areas. Instead of putting money and resources into the Bronx to build it up and empower the people living there, the state just pushes them further down by making it a worse place to live. Once again this just reiterates the cycle of poverty leading to more poverty because the people see no other way out.

The whole time I was reading all I could think of was the US gymnast, John Orozco, who grew up in the Bronx. I'm a gymnast and growing up I always watched the meets on TV and whenever they showed John compete the commentators always focused on his past and how he came from almost nothing. They would talk about the hardships he had to endure and it always amazed me how he came from such a hard time to one of the best gymnasts in the country.

"U.S.A., Land of Limitations?"

Nicholas Kristof

Reflection

This article made me think a lot about the way in which my Dad grew up and all of the obstacles he had to overcome in order to give me and my family the life that we have. My Dad grew up in a family that struggled to make ends meet and he barely attended school. He somehow managed to graduate high school with a 0.9 GPA. After he graduated he spent time taking classes at a community college but soon realized that school just wasn't for him. He decided to enlist in the U.S marine corps and it truly changed his life for the better. 

The military taught him discipline and how to follow rules. It taught him how to work hard and how to handle criticism. It even brought him to my Mom as they met when he was stationed in North Carolina. The military gave my Dad the skills to change his economic status. 

The whole time that I was reading this article I thought of my Dad's family and how he only got out of his situation because he joined the military and pushed himself to work hard. His brothers however, stayed in Michigan and still struggle. They live in almost identical ways to that of the ways in which they were raised, just like what this article discusses.

I agreed with a lot of the aspects of this article because I see it first hand when my family goes to Michigan to visit. I see the hardships and how my cousins are now going through the same thing as their parents. They don't know how to get out of the economic "hole" that they are in and they don't have the information or resources to dig themselves out.

I found an article below about how the military has positively affected people's lives and I thought it was interesting so I attached it below.

https://www.sunshinewhispers.com/military-service-changed-life/ 

About Me

                                                             My puppy Lola and I

                                                                     My bestfriends

                                       I spend a lot of time doing gymnastics and I am on the RIC team

                           Me, my Mom, and my little sisters at my Dad's retirement party from the military