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.