Blog 3 Alyssa Petrarca
Blog 3
Aria
Richard Rodriguez
After reading Aria it was apparent to me that many students who speak another language must feel detached or lost. Coming into a classroom that is full of English language speakers when you speak Spanish or another language is very intimidating. This connects to a situation that is occurring in the classroom I'm currently volunteering in. Theirs two students in the class who only speak Spanish and know a tiny bit of English. When I first observed them it was obvious to me they didn't know what the teacher was saying. They would wait for everyone in the class to do something first so they could see what they were doing then proceed to do the same. I thought about myself and being put in that position and how hard it must be to sit in a classroom all day having no idea what the teacher is saying. Rodriguez's family was asked to transform there household into speaking English so they could practice understanding the language better. His family didn't know English as well as the children did but as soon as they started practicing more the sibling's were able to speak the English language. Rodriguez says how he felt like he was actually apart of society. How much better is was to be around people that he could understand and not feel lost or confused. One of the students in my class doesn't have the same opportunity Rodriguez had. He goes home to a Spanish speaking household were no one in his family speaks English. He is only able to practice the language at school were he is placed in an English learner classroom. This makes in ten times more challenging for him to learn the language. As a future educator I want to be able to learn Spanish so I can have the opportunity to help students learn English and never have to feel detached from society or lost.
Comments: I am going to take what I have learned from this reading to help me when I'm volunteering with students who don't speak English. I will try my hardest to still make the students feel loved and show that I do care about their education.
It's sad that the two kids don't understand what the teacher is saying, but it's really good that they're picking up what the other students around them are doing. But it's even sadder that the teacher isn't doing anything to help the students understand.
ReplyDeleteFeeling lost and confused is part of growing up. While it is sad that he felt isolated due to the barrier in his school i think it is even sadder that he had to adapt and lose part of who he was as an individual. Schools should help to promote diversity not instill their own values and beliefs into the students. They should make more of an effort to help him understand rather than the reverse.
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