Are all children’s education treated equally? In Luis J Rodriguez’s essay “Slurring Spanish” he reflects on his personal experiences while going through the educational system. Through his experience and observations from other students, he saw Spanish speaking students that are not treated the same as English speaking students. While in Lynda Barry’s essay, “The Sanctuary of School” she speaks on how her parents were neglectful and her escape was school. This was where Barry would be notice, but she fears that schools are no longer seeking to give the same attention to students as she received. Barry like Rodriguez felt that schools are treating student’s education differently. Though their personal experiences were very different Rodriguez
Through Rodriguez travels he has seen “Spanish speaking students are often seen as trouble”(Rodriguez 346). These student are not only “forced to speak English as soon as possible”, but this is done through “threat of punishment”(Rodriguez 346). Spanish students are not being received by the educational system but instead pushed away. They are punished for speaking Spanish and clearly not treated the same as English only speaking students. Their ability to speak Spanish brings a negative label on them, and it is apparent that the students are not important when considering their educational decisions. With “before and after school programs being cut” taxpayers are told “public schools are not made for babysitting” (Barry 63). Students grow by being apart of academic activities such as music and art. The students are not being considered and Rodriguez would recognize this through his experience. Instead of his ability to speak Spanish seen as a tool to be used with his education it was looked down upon. He was not considered in his education when he was, “pushed from class to class” and when getting to a teacher that he believed accepted him he was, “placed in the corner and told to play with blocks (Rodriguez 347). With him not being able to speak English, the school looked down upon him. They put no effort into getting him in a separate class that might be able to help him develop his English. This would take him to consideration with his needs to have the best possible
A student should never be denied the right to learn and become successful because of a different skin color, or because they speak a different language. “No saco nada de la escuela” by Luis Valdez is a play that discusses the racism in schools. The play starts with students going to elementary school and then ascending to middle school and college. At the beginning the students were not aware of what racism really was because of their innocence. However, the teacher that they had was very racist and bullied the students of color. That experience made the other kids realize that not everyone was the same and because of color or language they should be treated differently. There are five different students who take part of this play, two of those students were white, and there were two Chicanos and one black. That is great diversity of cultures. The teacher that the students have in elementary school was an example of the other professors they were going to have throughout their school years. Very arrogant and not understanding of the minority students. Their teachers were not really interested in teaching the minorities and always showed her discontent of having students of color. Their teachers didn’t believe that students who were part of a minority should be placed in the same classroom as the white students. Maybe that was because they didn’t know the potential a minority student could have. One Chicano student named Francisco never denied his roots and became very successful. He had many obstacles in his learning environment, but at the end he becomes a great example of perseverance. Francisco is the student who I think showed the greatest development in the play. He had to deal with racism all the time, but that didn't stop ...
America is often thought of as the land of equality and opportunity. We have fought for many things like all people being treated as equals and women’s rights and seen change, but one thing that has not seen a lot of change is the equality for the students in the American education system. Many people think that the American education system gives all students an equal chance to succeed, but minority students such as Hispanics, African-Americans, Asians, etc. have a harder time persevering in school than other students. Since our education system is based on strict disciplinary methods, curriculums for students that speak English, and funding for resources, the question that arrives in many people’s minds are, if all students are given an equal
Throughout Richards early childhood development he quickly understood that in order to succeed in America he would have to learn to confidently speak in English. Richard is Hispanic American and although he was born in America, Spanish was the only language that he was exposed to as a young child. He grew up in a home where Spanish flowed freely, but he soon realized outside of his home the language that he primarily knew was foreign. His parents spoke fluent Spanish along with all of his relatives. The brief encounters he experienced of his parents speaking English were only in public places and the proficiency was very poor. Rodriguez’s home was as a safety net for him and his Spanish speaking family with they are his only real connections to the outside world. It wasn’t until Richards encounter with his teachers that he and his family was heavily impressed on the importance of developing a public language. After the encouragement of the visit home from a teacher as a family
Even from an early age, Rodriguez is a successful student. Everyone is extremely proud of Rodriguez for earning awards and graduating to each subsequent level of his education. But all his success was not necessarily positive. In fact, we see that his education experience is a fairly negative one. One negative that Rodriguez endures is his solitude. Education compels him to distance himself from his family and heritage. According to Richard Hoggart, a British education theorist, this is a very natural process for a scholarship boy. Hoggart explains that the ?home and classroom are at cultural extremes,? (46). There is especially an opposition in Rodriguez?s home because his parents are poorly educated Mexicans. His home is filled with Spanish vernacular and English filled with many grammatical errors. Also, the home is filled with emotions and impetuosity, whereas the classroom lacks emotion and the teachers accentuate rational thinking and reflectiveness.
One of his main points and I believe to be one of the central reasons behind him writing the book, is to state his harsh yet rightful opinion on bilingualists. Rodriguez states, "The bilingualists insist that a student should be reminded of his difference from others in mass society, his heritage. But they equate mere separateness with individuality" (27). Because he has personally been through that situation, he wants people to understand and support his opinion and possibly persuade them to have a certain opinion on bilingualists.
Richard Rodriguez offers an alternate yet equally profound truth: While our heritage and culture may remain forever tied to and expressed in our native or "home" language, only through the dominant language of our country (English in most cases) can we achieve a place in society that gives us a feeling that we belong amongst everyone else. The only way we can truly become a part of our community and fit in is to dominate the current spoken language. In the United States, the dominant language is Standard English. In this excerpt from "Aria," a chapter in his autobiography entitled "Hunger of Memory": The Education of Richard Rodriguez, Rodriguez discusses public and private languages, and agrees that his achievements in English separated him from his Spanish family and culture but also brought him "the belief, the calming assurance that [he] belonged in public." We as human beings want to feel we belong. We search for that place in society where we are most comfortable all our lives. One should consider the benefits of mastering the dominant language of the society they live in, but should also take into account the harm of taking your native language for granted. I will attempt to explore both of these considerations and examine Rodriguez place in life now, by stating the facts of who is now by the childhood decisions that were made.
Imagine seeing 10,000 of your classmates walking out of your school because they wanted a better education - a better way of life. In the 1960s’ Chicano students were being “pushed out”(Esparza) of school or being pushed towards vocational programs. East L.A was home to schools were “one out of every four Chicano’s completed high school”(Esparza). Instructors and the school board alike did not have an interest in helping Chicanos finish school to become someone other than a laborer and was expected of them to keep being a laborer. In “Taking Back the Schools”, Sal Castro a high school counselor claims, “I think the bottom line is the lack of concern of the teachers towards the kids and whether the kids were really getting an education or not...the reality set in that the teachers weren’t really concern for the kids.”(Esparza).
In Hunger of Memory, Richard Rodriguez situates his individual experiences with education in such a way as to expose what he sees as the fallacious logic behind bilingual education and affirmative action. He uses arguments to propagate the systematic problems with such programs. His autobiography explains in great detail the entangling problems all American children face by instituting bilingual programs and affirmative action endorsements.
Secondary education is a highly debated subject. Many critics of secondary education say that inner-city high schools and students are not receiving the same attention as students from non inner-city high schools. Two of the biggest concerns are the lack of school funding that inner-city high schools are receive and the low success rate in sending inner-city high schools graduates to college. Critics say that while inner-city high schools struggle to pay its teachers and educate its student’s non inner-city high schools don’t have to deal with the lack of school funding. Also students from non inner-city high school are not being given the opportunity to attend colleges once the students graduate. But opponents of these critics blame an entirely different issue; and that is illegal immigrant students over crowding and attending high school at the expense of taxpayers. It cost millions of dollars a year for illegal immigrant students to attend high school and this is the main reason why schools are experiencing budget problems. Teaching illegal immigrant students creates a difficult learning environment and that is why students in inner-city high schools are not moving on to a higher education. This paper will explore the controversy and issues of secondary education; it will expose the hidden truths and prove that illegal immigrants are taking a toll on the education system.
It was almost like he was learning two languages at once. This made it a bit more difficult for him and his parents to understand what the whole schooling/ education system was. Rodriguez spent a lot of his time reading while Hoggart says, “reading is a woman’s game.” (PDF). By him saying this, he is implying that men are more likely and more accustomed to do activities outside, while women are supposed to stay inside and read. Rodriguez’s parents did not understand this whole concept because of their lack of the language. This changed Rodriguez’s life in a very big and impactful way. The education helped Rodriguez in a weird way with him saying that “ If, because of my schooling, I had grown culturally separated from my parents, my education finally had given me ways of speaking and caring about that fact.” (355). This means that he had grown distant to his parent from being involved with his parents through the whole education process. It took time away from them being together, taught him different cultures, and made him make decision in which his parents were not fond
Valenzuela utilizes various compilations of research to construct her exceptional argument regarding the issue of subtractive schooling with regards to 2nd generational immigrant students. She thoroughly analyzes and assesses the multitude of differences between 1st generation and 2nd generation students and their affinity for education. She divides the topic into 3 categories and asserts how each one adds to the issue of inadequate education for Mexican/Mexican-American students in the US public school system. Her research is conducted at Seguin (pseudonym) High School in Houston, Texas. She examines the effects of substandard education in regards to the students and their academic performance. She uses quantitative and qualitative research
Is it possible to make vital life changes to become a better person at heart? Who’s the one that can help you? The only person that will get you up on your feet is yourself, and you have to believe deeply to make those changes. In this essay there are many main points that are being brought across to explain the problems and wisdom that arose from Baca’s life as an inmate. It talks about how he was grown up into an adult and the tragedies that he had to face in order to become one. Later I fallow steps that lead to the purpose and rhetorical appeals of Baca’s essay. The purpose dealt with the cause and effect piece and problem/ solution structure.
In the United States, there has been an increase in in the number of children from Spanish speaking backgrounds. The English Language Learners, commonly known as ELL’s, are being placed in Special Education without being properly tested for a learning disability. However there are a large number of ELL’s with learning disabilities in elementary grades that truly have a learning disability and are over looked. Many school districts have problems placing ELL’s. As a result these students end up in special education whether they have a learning disability or language impairment. Teachers are also indecisive when dealing with ELL’s. Most teachers recommend that ELL’s be placed in special education from day one. It is not because the child has a learning disability, it’s because most teachers are not properly trained to interact with ELL’s. Teachers also find it difficult, due to lack of training, having ELL’s with learning disabilities in their classrooms. More teachers would find their selves comfortable if they had training in dealing with ELL’s and ELL’s with learning disabilities. This paper discusses the issues and the concerns teachers have in dealing with ELLs and ELLs with disabilities, the challenges of identifying individuals with learning disabilities, and what type of assessments classify English Language Learners as having a learning disability.
He shows this when he talks about how he became less disadvantaged when he learned English. Rodriguez illustrates ”I spoke in a loud voice. And I did not think it remarkable when the entire class understood. That day, I moved very far from the disadvantaged child I had been only days earlier”( 95-98). He calls himself disadvantaged because before he could not function in the classroom, due to him only knowing Spanish. But as he learns English he feels as though he can succeed. He also portrays this when he talks of how there would be other people in his home after school other than his family. Rodriguez states “When I arrived home there would often be neighborhood kids in the house”(132-133). This shows being bilingual is not a priority rather to understand English because now he has friends. He feels he can truly be apart of the world he lives in
When speaking of the learning disabled, bilingual student, one must consider some dimensions to the issue of assessment within a particularly specialized light. This special population reflects both the learning disabled (LD) and the bilingual student. For purposes of this discussion, it is presumed that most all members of this specialized segment are Hispanic. This is largely the case within a practical context, although as the literature points out, pre-considerations must be afforded for bilingual education (students) Ñ as well as those members of the Hispanic community who reflect a variety of backgrounds, including Puerto Ricans, Dominicans, Cubans, etc. To this extent, it is the view of this author that the challenges for the bilingual, learning disabled, and special education educator are particularly complex. To begin with, it is important to look at the many variables that exist within the aforementioned components. These components include English as a Second Language (ESL), the extent to which Hispanic students speak English at home, the extent to which Spanish speaking students speak Spanish at home, the extent to which parents are involved or assume an active role in this overall effort, and finally the impact this has on teaching the learning disabled in a classroom setting Ñ and more specifically Ñ when employing the assistance of a translator. It is the view of this author that, too often, curriculum-based assessment is hampered with some biases, to which extent it is the aim of this author to address some of these. David P. Dolson (1985) offers us some insight into the importance of these relationships, stating that the most essential factor between academic achievement and scholastic performance on the part of the Hispanic child is directly related to the effect of Spanish home language. He challenges an assumption by many educators that Hispanic students from Spanish language homes do less well in schools than Hispanic students from primarily English speaking homes. The direction of the difference on each of ten scholastic variables indicates that students from additive bilingual homes have a conspicuous advantage when compared to counterparts from subtractive bilingual homes.