FOX NEWS Home Video U.S. Option Business Entertainment Tech Science Health Travel Lifestyle World On Air E D U C A T I O N Linda Chavez: Richard Rodriguez Opinion towards the new Anti-bilingual Education Act 2016 Published December 16, 2016 FoxNews.com Richard Rodriguez a bilingual writer who was raised in San Francisco by his two immigrant parents. As a child, Rodriguez faced many obstacles in school, which shaped him not to want to speak his private language. He was forced to speak his public language at home to help his fluency in English. He grew up speaking his public language which influenced his future career and viewpoint against bilingual education. Rodriguez struggled to fit in with the rest of his classmates …show more content…
Later in the years he wrote his first book in 1982 titled The Hunger of Memory. In his autobiography, he explains to the reader his interpretation of Private Language and Public Language. Where private language is the language used to speak with his family and private language for society. Through the explicit novel, Rodriguez won a variety of awards, however, his strong stand against bilingual education brought discontent to many of the Mexican American people. Welcome to our education news, where we will discuss our new law which is the Anti-bilingual Education Act 2016. Tonight, Richard Rodriguez will give us his opinion on the new act established. First, however, we will discuss the disputable subject of bilingual education. LINDA CHAVEZ: Good Afternoon, joining us now in a cable exclusive Richard Rodriguez the famous American literary author who wrote Hunger of Memory! RICHARD RODRIGUEZ: Hey, Linda. Nice to be with you here in California. LINDA CHAVEZ: I would like, to begin with a few questions regarding the Anti-bilingual Act of 2016, in which forbids all children to speak their private language at schools. This Act automatically excludes the students' ability to express themselves using their private language. What are your thoughts towards this …show more content…
At a young age, I recognized my private and public identity as discrete from the rest. English as my unknown language with unrecognizable sounds, and as I was to speak English, there was always an audience. I grew up in isolation not being able to express myself like any other American citizen. My cultural background haunted me in a negative way that I became anxious to dominate the English language. I went through enough discrimination to the point that I value the Anti-bilingual Act. I do not want other young students to feel like they cannot fit in society and completely isolate themselves. LINDA CHAVEZ: Many Americans happen to be against the Act, they claim knowing more than one language is effective in a children's future for careers and jobs since our world revolves around different ethnicities. What do you think about this? RICHARD RODRIGUEZ: Personally, from my experience being bilingual is quite the controversy. Yes, it will benefit them, but to what extent? To the extent where they are being marginalized and silenced? To the point where it is more than just being able to speak two languages, where it becomes a racial problem? We cannot look at what benefits use we also have to look at the consequences and how it can affect one. I would say I am for the Anti-bilingual Act. LINDA CHAVEZ: What effect will this act have, not only in education but in our
A study at Johns Hopkins found that bilingual education teaches bilingualism without compromising English proficiency. Comparable studies have shown that students gain proficiency in the second language and outperform their nonimmersion peers on standardized reading in English. The Current Status of Bilingual Education Programs in Arizona In 2000, Arizona passed Proposition 203, which required English-only instruction in all public schools.
The Bilingual Education Act of 1968 has been said to be the first official federal recognition of the needs of students with limited English speaking ability (LESA). It addressed students of low income who were non- speaking and limited English speaking students. Later, many cases were brought about by people who stated that their 14th amendment was not being respected and therefore the Bilingual education act of 1968 had to be amended several
This had caused Richard to feel alienated at home, and at school, and felt ripped apart from his mother tongue, causing him in his adulthood to detest bilingual educators. I disagree with him. In his memoir Rodriguez
Rodriguez’ is able to immerse audience in his childhood experiences through vignettes, allowing them to relate to the author as well as develop an understanding as to why he does not support bilingual education. Though Rodriguez uses an extensive amount of vignettes, he also develops his claim through the periodic structure of his essay. The events of his childhood are not retold in the way they ordinarily would be, which is the linear order in which they occurred. Rather, Rodriguez chooses to introduce specific memories in a way that gradually leads up to his final argument.
My personal experience being multilingual is that i am able to freely express myself in words or phrases that come natural to me. Being able to speak Vietnamese, English, and French with ease while using some commonly known phrases from the Japanese language. Martin Espada and Richard Rodriguez, two authors that speak Spanish and English have different standpoints on the subject of bilingualism. In Martin Espada’s essay “The New Bathroom Policy at English High School” explains the need to maintain cultural identity through bilingualism, while in Richard Rodriguez’s exert “Hunger of Memory” depicts the necessity of becoming bilingual to be able to function well in society. “The New Bathroom Policy at English High School” by Martin Espada explores
Lesley states that bilingual education is “an educational program in which two languages are medium of instruction.” (P. 11) Before specifically discuss about California, as a whole, the United States never has been officially announced as a bilingual or multilingual country. Despite the fact that the U.S. adapts the method of assimilation, bilingual schools exist early as pre-World War I (P. 18). And then, with Bilingual Education Act of 1967 brings a rebirth and structural bilingual education back to schools and districts (P.
There are more qualified teachers and resources put in to place for Spanish speakers. I firmly believe that Bilingual Education programs help students acquire English, while preventing them from becoming academically deficient. A good education in your first language will positively impact your ability to acquire a second language. I have experienced this benefit firsthand while learning Spanish and becoming bilingual. I believe it would be incredibly demoralizing to be forced to learn a second-language without having an opportunity to develop a solid base in your first language.
However, the journey to learning a new language at a young age is something his parents can never relate to. Richard Rodriguez shares many experiences with his parents once they move to the United States
Thus, statements like, “I have OCD,” or “I’m depressed” will not be used haphazardly in our speeches. Looking at Richards Memoir of a Bilingual Childhood, reading the memoir published in 1981 is a privilege that many may not have if they depend on print reading. The memoir provides various aspects of language using narration, description, comparison, and contrast while arguing against bilingual education. Through the experiences that Rodriguez went through as a child, readers are able to understand the confusion that bilingual education brings to children at a young age. Online reading is necessary for the people of this digital era because it provides them with information about the past, present, and future while ensuring that they stay abreast of the changes that take place in terms of language, science, and history, among other subjects.
In the current political climate of the United States, immigration is an extremely hot topic. Every single person – qualified or not - thinks they have something of worth to add to the heated debate, leading to some increasingly polarized views across the nation. From the day of its founding, America has been a country based on an idealized diverse and multicultural society where every single person is free to be exactly who they want to be. If the government legislated English as the national language, the multicultural and multilingual society the States worked so hard for will be driven multiple steps backward in the process. The culture one grows up in forms the basis of their personality from the moment they are born.
This fight is something we should continue not only for Spanish but for other languages and cultures. Learning the public language will always be something beneficial. However, culture, language, and our voices are things to
Patricia Gándara writes about the crippling segregation within our modern school system for Latino students in her essay Overcoming Triple Segregation. She examines the Latin American’s struggle for education by pointing out how not only are they segregated racially; but socioeconomically and linguistically. Gándara states that segregation towards Latinos will result small amounts of academic success and fewer citizens entering the workforce. Then the article takes a turn to advocate the use of bilingual classrooms, stating that by assimilating them into our culture, they will be able to become successful future contributing members of society. Gándara states that Latinos are forced to overcome the racial hostility placed before them, a lack
His narrative shows this support and how having instruction in Spanish and English allows him to have higher academics. In less than ten years, one third of students attending public schools will not know English when starting Kindergarten. Are schools and teachers ready for this and will push for bilingual instruction? Is America ready for this? As for now, there is mixed perspectives.
But, in contrast to bilingual programs, English immersion programs have a greater emphasis on English reading and writing proficiency integrating non-English speakers into general education classrooms with little or no use of their native language. The goal of EI programs is to use makes English language proficiency a priority in the students’ academic life, because English immersion supporters argue that English first is better for students trying to learn and assimilate in America. Educators in favor of bilingual education argue against the use of English immersion programs, claiming that the utilization of the student’s native language is just as imperative as the English language. The debate on which program is better for assimilation continues to create controversy. Several states have gone as far as banning bilingual programs in their school districts in favor of adopting English immersion programs, while other states do the opposite.
Before talking about the arguments for and against the bilingual education, it is essential to define this notion. Bilingual education is often mixed with bilingualism, but those notions are slightly different. The bilingualism characterizes someone who “has the minimum ability to complete fluency in more than one language” (Hornby, 1977), whereas the bilingual education is “the use of two languages as a media of instruction for a child or a group of children in part or all of the school curriculum” (Cohen, 1975). Thus, bilingual education is taught mainly through school, unlike bilingualism which can be acquired thanks to two parents who gives two different native languages to their child.