#7 Richard Rodriguez

 

Richard Rodriguez noticed the difference between language at home and language at school at a very young age. He notes this, “incongruity - the clash of two worlds, the faces and voices of school intruding upon the familiar setting of home” (Rodriguez 35). The author argues that while being bilingual is beneficial to the individual, it also causes conflicts between their private and personal identities. While he learned English at school, he spoke Spanish at home until his teachers, Catholic nuns, came to his house to encourage the use of English at home. This resulted in silence due to the conflict between languages. Rather than speaking both English and Spanish, the family focused on building Rodriguez’s public identity that would influence his academics and professional career in the future. 

The main argument in this piece is 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” (Rodriguez 39). While Richard’s family spoke less at home, he spoke more English out in public. The question becomes, was this shift in speaking beneficial or detrimental to Richard? On one hand, he was able to improve his English speaking skills which would be helpful in a predominantly English-speaking Catholic school. On the other hand, his family grew apart due to the silence that invaded their home. He noticed his father’s comfort ability with Spanish which brings me to wonder if focusing on English was the best choice. But did Rodriguez have a choice? While his family was not forced to speak English, they chose to in order to do what they believed was best for their child at the time. 

Thoughts for class: This makes me think of how different countries outside of the United States encourage learning multiple languages. Why is this not important to our country? Will this become more important? Learning another or several other languages is helpful professionally to interact with different people and personally because it creates more connections in our brains. 

https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/opinion/commentary/story/2022-03-10/dual-langage-programs-bilingual-english-spanish

After looking at this article, I learned that being able to speak more than one language can, “enhance memory, concentration, problem-solving, critical thinking and multitasking skills - and it improve long term academic achievement” (Kelley). This “bridges the gap” between home and school lives which is something that Rodriguez views as lacking in his piece. By having dual-language programs, steps toward narrowing race and class educational gaps can be taken.