Rodriguez argues that it is imperative for minority children and adults to learn the most common public language in America, English. Rodriguez states that while you should retain your original language and heritage, you must learn to speak English in order to gain access to the "Culture Of Power".
- "In an instant, they agreed to give up the language (the sounds) that had revealed and accentuated our family's closeness." This quote is important because it shows what Rodriguez does not want to happen when a family is learning English. Rodriguez wants the readers to learn from his family's mistakes. Your family should be able to learn English, while retaining their original language and their closeness to each other.
- "The belief, the calming assurance that I belonged in public, had at last taken hold." This quote is important because it shows Rodriguez's realization that he was comfortably a member of the public culture. It is then that Rodriguez realizes that he has become "Americanized", by learning to speak English.
- "They do not seem to realize that there are two ways a person is individualized. So they do not realize that while one suffers a diminished sense of private individuality by becoming assimilated into public society, such assimilation makes possible the achievement of public individuality." This quote is important because it shows the importance that Rodriguez places on learning English. Learning English will allow people who spoke another language to have a voice in the American "Culture Of Power".
I found Rodriguez's article to be an easy read. A reader can tell that Rodriguez is grateful that he learned English because communicating in the most common public language in America is an important skill to have. However, it is easy to see that Rodriguez longs for the closeness he had with his family when they all spoke Spanish. I believe it is important for people to learn the most common languages of their country. However, I believe it is also extremely important to maintain your culture and heritage. Do you believe that assimilation into American society means giving up the values of your culture and heritage?
1 comment:
Your last question is the million dollar one: what is the relationship between schooo culture and home culture, between the dominant and the marginalized, between the culture of power and the diversity of people's communities? And then, how as teachers can we work to balance the tensions these create?
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