Bilingual Education - Richard Rodrigues

 Overview: 

In this short text, we understand the main concern for many Hispanics. Learning a new language to adapt to a different society is something very difficult for someone to learn, and especially pick up on quickly. Demanding Hispanics to speak the language we know in order for them to even hold a conversation is completely wrong and we shouldn't have to force them to do so. Bilingualism isn't something that can be easily picked up on, it takes loads of time and even years to learn. We can infer the struggles that Rodrigues faced based on his interactions, he says "It would please me to hear my teachers address me when walking into the classroom." They would ask him questions throughout the day that he couldn't comprehend so he would sit there and mumble back. From mumbling he would daze off in complete silence waiting for the bell to ring. It was to the point where he wouldn't even be able to communicate with his parents or teachers and classmates. "I grew careless about listening to the sounds family members made when they spoke." 

Connections: 

In my inquiring minds classroom, I work with a student named Bryan who speaks nothing but Spanish. With the rest of the class speaking mainly English, the teacher especially makes sure not to call on him for anything. I personally think that is an awful way to go about it. This poor kid was trying to explain a story the other day about one of the kids punching him at lunch and couldn't get his point across so they ended up just brushing it off and sitting on the rug. My teacher honestly does the least amount of work to get by, I feel as though she doesn't really care about her interactions with her students or how she makes them feel overall. As long as her break is almost up or it's almost time to go home she is happy with whatever happens. It just goes to show how poorly our education system is getting. Bryan also tries speaking to the other kid in class but he can't get any point across because everyone kind of just looks at him and laughs. Then he smiles it off because he is too young to realize what is right and what is wrong. He is only 6 so I don't think his main concern at the moment is to learn English. I think he is more worried about fitting in and having fun. The teacher needs to be a bit more understanding when it comes to him and maybe have a Spanish speaking teacher in the classroom with her so she can translate the messages. Seeing Bryans reactions makes me feel as though he is in somewhat the same position as Rodrigues. The teacher looks at them both and they don't know how to react or answer her. The second I started reading this story I thought exactly of that student. 

https://www.carnegielearning.com/blog/why-supporting-spanish-speaking-students-is-critical-2022-report/