"Aria" by Richard Rodriguez

"Aria" by Richard Rodriguez captures what it is like to grow up in a spanish speaking home but have to integrate into an english speaking society.

Rodriguez says, "Supporters of bilingual education today imply that students like me miss a great
deal by not being taught in their family's language" (34)
This quote is important because it's not how Rodriguez feels about bilingual education. During his article he addresses the fact that if his teachers and other classmates would have spoken spanish in the classroom he would have never gotten comfortable speaking english in public.

"At last, seven years old, I came to believe what had been technically true
since my birth: I was an American citizen." (36)
This quote had  a lot of value to me. Although Richard had always been an american citizen he only felt that way after he was able to communicate fluently in english. It's easy to make non-native english speakers feel this way but I always remind myself that America is a melting pot and many different cultures come here to be free from what ever they are experiencing. Not every person that comes to America will speak english right away but that doesn't make them any less American. Richard should have felt american his whole life regardless of what language he speaks.

"Today I hear bilingual educators say that children lose a degree of individual-
ity' by becoming assimilated into public society." (38)
Richard explains this quote by talking about private individuality and public individuality. In order to achieve public individuality one must diminish their private individuality. I feel as though there shouldn't have to be two different types of individuality. A person should be allowed to have different parts of themselves. In this case a person can speak two languages openly without having to hide it or keep one at a lower level when in public. Individuality
 is about being true to who you are and that includes different cultures and languages.


Below is a link to an article that explains 5 reasons that Bilingual Education should be allowed
https://www.theedadvocate.org/bilingual-education-5-reasons-it-should-be-required/

Class notes: This article gave me insight on the struggles of being a bilingual student. A lot of my friends here at RIC are bilingual and communicate to their parents in a language other than english. However, they've told me that they now feel more comfortable speaking english than their 1st language. I think it's interesting that America as a society force children and parents to integrate into our society by only speaking one language publicly. I believe that it is important to embrace what makes you different and celebrate it. I wish that bilingual education was more popular when I was growing up that way I could communicate with more people and relate to them more.

Kozal and Roose articles

Reflection: Jonathon Kozal's article, "Amazing Grace", gave me a lot of insight on how the poor community lives. Although it takes place in the 1900s, I can imagine that things have only changed slightly. I wasn't surprised to hear the hardships that these people faced but having quotes from children and parents made a difference on how I viewed things. I think it's easy to forget that these are people too and that their lives matter just as much as mine does. I think it's easy to push their needs aside because it's not your life that you're worrying about, it's someone else's. Hearing anecdotes from the little boy, Cliffie, pulled at my heartstrings. It made me think about each of these people and how we need to stand together as a community in order to help these groups of people that don't have the resources to help themselves.

Notes for class discussion: I have to say that I am not completely sure who or what Kozal blames for poverty in Mott Haven. I would like to say that he's blaming it on the community as a whole (beyond Mott Haven) for their actions and assistance in making Mott Haven the way that it is. The truth is that although Kozal had anecdotes throughout his article, it was hard for me to identify the reason he was telling these stories.
Link to reading: Jonathan Kozal "Amazing Grace"

 The next time someone says 'all lives matter,' show them these 5 paragraphs by Kevin Roose has many powerful quotes that express what this article is talking about. 

" The real issue is that, while strictly true, "All Lives Matter" is a tone-deaf slogan that distracts from the real problems black people in America face. "

This quote packed a punch for me. It directly relates to the article because Roose goes on to discuss why and how this is true. This quote wakes the reader up to pay attention for what they are about to read. 

"That's the situation of the "black lives matter" movement. Culture, laws, the arts, religion, and everyone else repeatedly suggest that all lives should matter. Clearly, that message already abounds in our society." 

It is well known by the community that the laws should be upheld for all types of people. The truth is that this is not the case. Roose makes it clear that what people know and what they do are two very different statements. This quote helps set up the reader for the points that Roose will discuss. 

"It's a way of dismissing the statement by falsely suggesting that it means "only black lives matter," when that is obviously not the case. And so saying "all lives matter" as a direct response to "black lives matter" is essentially saying that we should just go back to ignoring the problem."

This quote helped distinguish why its important that black lives matter exists. Yes, all lives matter, but everyone is not being treated the same way the the black community is and it's important that they have this movement so that other people recognize that. 

Notes for class: This article gave me better insight on the difference between the black lives matter movement and the all lives matter one. It also helped me to realize how important it is that the black community has this movement and we can not take it away from them.

"USA, Land of Limitations?" Nicholas Kristof Response

Reflection:  Nicholas Kristof's "USA, Land of Limitations?"

Upon reading this article I didn't quite understand it at first. I read over two or three times before I started to understand how different my life is from the lives of those that Kristof is describing. He writes about wage gaps and the differences between people who were raised poor or born into families with money. He says,"Remember that disadvantage is less about income than environment". He writes a few different examples that explain that disadvantages can be related to undiagnosed health problems or even how many times a child is hugged. Reading that made my heart break. I never had to worry about those things. I came from a family that had enough time to spend with me and could make enough money to take me to the doctor when I wasn't feeling well. I was not at a disadvantage growing up and it has shaped the way that I've looked at the world.

Sometimes it's hard to admit that one is born with privilege but I know that I was. It makes me think about how different my life would have been if I was born into a different economic class. I never have to worry about if there will be food on the table or if I have enough money to put gas in my car. I'm lucky enough to have my grandparents help me pay for college and as Kristof says, it is because they did well that they are able to help me. I will never have to face the world where I won't succeed at something during my lifetime. I was set up to do well and that isn't true for everyone. I feel as though something needs to change so that everyone can have an equal opportunity to succeed.

Although I understand the basis of this article I'm not sure that I could highlight all of Kristof's points and explain the article to someone. It felt like he mostly had anecdotes with some facts sprinkled in. I'm interested to see what others from class took away from this.

information on the Equal Opportunity Act

A little about me

My two parents and my brother

Hi everyone, Allyson here!

 There's not too much to share about myself but I'll give you the basics.

I'm double majoring in math and secondary ed, although I contemplate changing my major every time my classes get a little harder. If I were to change it, I'd most likely switch to being a psych major. There's something about the brain and the way that people act that just interests me to no end.

I've never been too athletic but my favorite thing to do is ride horses. I had gotten my first horse when I was just 10 years old and I've been riding ever since.

I spent my time over the summer working and teaching myself how to code. It doesn't seem like much fun but I had to keep my mind active and I did enjoy making money.

Along with working I spent a lot of time with my friends and my family. I value my relationships with people more than anything. Sooo here's a few pictures of the closest people in my life.