Blog Post #7 Aria By: Richard Rodriguez

 Aria

By: Richard Rodriguez 

Argument

 In the article, Aria, Rodriguez discusses his stance on bilingual education. The term bilingual education is defined as the teaching of academic content in two languages, in a native and second language. As the article continues, Rodriguez argues that the education system is wrong. He believes that all students should be taught in a language that everyone is able to use. His argument stems from his belief that "language gets learned as it gets used". Throughout the article, Rodriguez explains the struggles that bilingual children face when they are in an environment where English is the primary language of communication. He gives specific details from his childhood and how the English language changed his childhood/life. During the entirety of his childhood, Rodriguez fought to understand English. He argues that growing up, he had to learn how to speak English clearly in order to fit into society. His article brings attention to the struggle that children face by attending a school in a language that they do not regularly speak at home. 

    I can relate Rodriguez's story to my volunteer hours that I do with inspiring minds. For example, growing up Rodriguez spoke two languages. He spoke Spanish at home and English when he was in school. His story is similar to the children that I work with every week. For many of them, Spanish is their first language. However, when they come to school they are taught in English. At times it can be difficult for them to keep up with their classmates. Not only are they learning new material, but they have to learn it in English. Then they must translate it and do the work in Spanish. Finally, they then have to convert it back into English. However, during this whole process their peers just get to do the work because they understand English. 

This is a link to a ted talk that explores the limitations that are imposed on the educational exploration and future professional development of non-native English speakers through the absence of Core Bilingual Education. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19tEtc_vSqQ

 

Blog Post #6 "Literacy with an Attitude" By: Patrick J. Finn

Literacy with an Attitude

By: Patrick J. Finn 

Hyperlinks

    In Literacy with an Attitude, Finn discusses the different socioeconomic levels that exist within the school system. There are four different levels: executive elite, affluent professional, middle class, and working class schools. As the reading continues, Finn dissects the educational practices that are common for each. Of these four different levels, the working class schools are the poorest and the executive schools are the wealthiest. Throughout the reading, Finn discusses the different values that each school is characterized by. Some of these values include individualism and humanitarianism. It discusses the idea that education plays a role in society. 

https://www1.udel.edu/educ/whitson/897s05/files/hiddencurriculum.htm 

    This hyperlink discusses the social class and the hidden curriculum of work. This is relevant to Finn’s article because they both discuss how wealthier communities prepare their students better than poor communities. It comes back to the surrounding area having a major impact on what the school will have for opportunities and materials. 

https://amandafned.wordpress.com/2016/04/11/literacy-with-an-attitude-patrick-finn/

This hyperlink takes you to a video analysis. After watching the video, I can make a better connection to Finn’s writing. During the experiment that Finn writes about, all the students were given the same educational tools even though they were from different backgrounds. However, it would have been more beneficial if they were able to individually learn instead of memorize. This would set the students up to be more successful throughout their lives. 

The image below depicts a son asking his father if he can change his socioeconomic level. As you study the image you can see the concern on all the characters' faces. As your socioeconomic status is not as easy to change as one may think it is. Unlike what the newspaper article says, this is not surprising news. This is the reality that we live in. 

 

Blog Post #5 "Tatum, Defining Racism: Can We Talk?

Defining Racism: Can We Talk?

By: Tatum

"But if you are paying attention, the legacy of racism is not hard to see, and we are all affected by it."

Within this quote, Tatum is asking the reader whether or not they have ever been affected by racism. Whether they say yes or no, the answer is yes, we all have been affected by it. This quote is important because it sheds light on the fact that everyone has been a victim to racism. She then goes on to discuss that the impact of racism started when we were just in elementary school. How even when we were just children, we were segregated into racial groups. 

"We may not have polluted the air, but we need to take responsibility, along with others for cleaning it up."

This quote is important because unfortunately many people are guilty of exactly just that. If no one is prejudiced towards them/if they consider themselves not racist, they believe that the issue of racism has nothing to do with them at all. However, they could not be anymore wrong. This quote stresses that in order to end racism we need to make a collaborative effort. They say that there is one race and it is the human race. Therefore, in order to achieve this one human race we need to speak out and fight for change.

"We have to be able to talk about it in order to change it." 

Personally, I feel that this quote speaks for itself. Although discussions of racism can be difficult, they are discussions that need to be had. There are many times in which people feel uncomfortable discussing these topics and therefore they get swept under the rug. However, instead of dismissing these real world issues, we need to face them head on. Talking about these issues will help us to better educate ourselves about these injustices. This education will help to bring change. 

This is a brief video that addresses how it takes more than one to end racism:

https://humanrights.gov.au/our-work/race-discrimination/projects/national-anti-racism-strategy-and-racism-it-stops-me-campaign 

Video Analysis