Talking Point #2

Richard Rodriguez; "Aria"

Author's Argument:
Rodriguez argues that there are some children in the world and also people that don't like change, but changes need to be made whether it is for the better of the person or worse of the person.

Quotes:
1. "I would have evaded-and for how long could I have afforded to delay?-learning the great lesson of school, that I had a public identity."
People in this world try to avoid doing some tasks for as long as they can. In this case the narrator was trying to avoid talking in class for as long as possible. The narrator also didn't want to learn a different language because they were so comfortable to speaking their primary language that if they spoke another language it would only interfere with their primary language and maybe forget it. Change is hard and changes needed to be made in this case because without change the narrator wouldn't be able to succeed in the United States and in other places in the world because English is important in this world. Change is hard, but in many cases change needs to be made and here a change needed to be made for the better of the narrator.

2. "What they understood was that I needed to speak a public language. So their voices would search me out, asking me questions."
When a child has a problem in a classroom it is in many ways the teacher's responsibility to help that child get the help that they need so that they are able to get the help that they need. The narrator was struggling to speak English and was afraid to answer questions or even speak in the classroom. The teachers knew that and in order for the narrator's English to improve the teachers pushed him to the point where he/she decided to talk. The teachers then saw that the problem was bigger than they thought and in that case they brought the problem to the attention of the parents. The parents then decided that it was time to do something about it. Many children and also people need examples to do things. With the narrators parents now pushing it for their children to speak English they will see their family speaking English so it might push them to also speak it.

3. "After dinner each night, the family gathered to practice 'our' English."
Many times children are able to take things that they use at home and use them in the world. In this case the parents were teaching their children the English language. With the parents taking it upon themselves to teach their children the language and forcing them to use it in the household it will help them communicate in this country where English is the primary language and it is also the "language of the world." Children and also adults get worried and embarrassed when they mess something up but especially when they don't say something correctly. If the children see that not only are they struggling to speak but also the parents then they won't feel as bad about talking and will use the language more offend. Once the child can get pass using it in the household they can then take on the task of using it outside of the household.

Questions/Comments/Points to Share:
This article touches on a lot of points that are still in effect today. There are children in many places that have been taught one language and one language only. Even though that they might have been born in the United States doesn't mean that their first language is going to be English. If a person that comes from a Spanish family who speaks Spanish primary they will speak Spanish until English is brought into their life. You can see this is schools today in the United States. With more and more Spanish people immigrating to the United States there are more Spanish speaking people and even though the child is going to school where English is spoken once they leave the school Spanish is spoken all the way up to when they need to return to school. It is hard to breaks habits that a person might get into and breaking the language barrier to speak another language is a tough one.