Teaching Multilingual children and The Child's Struggle Against Silencing

     I only speak one language. I am not an immigrant. However I am living in a nation of them, and most of my family has emigrated from one place to another. They took the time and effort to come to this country and spent years learning how to speak English, get an education, a job and eventually a family an entirely new land.

                I want to be a teacher and I have no idea where my students will have come from, what their lives have been like up to that point, or what the best way to teach each individual student will be.

                 Reading "Teaching Multilingual Children " by Virginia Collier and " The Child's Struggle Against Silencing" by Richard Rodriguez really put me out of my comfort zone. I do not have my teaching degree yet so I have not experienced a wide variety of students, sure I've worked with children my whole life but by the time they've come to know me they've always had at least an okay grasp on the English language. There's been quite a few who speak Spanish or Portuguese, I do live in Rhode Island after all however they all spoke it as fluently as they spoke English.

                  I don't have a vast knowledge on the subject and I honestly struggled to relate in any way shape or form to the first piece. I had to read it a second time because I fell asleep the first. I had a hard time taking it's seriously because I have never known the struggle of a language barrier nor have I spent years trying to teach my way through the Gap in understanding. Also I will not be teaching for quite a few years and none of the classes I ever had in my experience in public schools had people speaking multiple languages, so all in all reading the peace felt more like choking it down.

                 However on the complete opposite hand I also read Rodriguez's piece and then I felt incredibly guilty. The part that really got to me was when he said "i determined to learn classroom English. Weeks after it happend: One day in school I raised my hand to volunteer an answer. I spoke out loud voice. And I did not think it remarkable that when the entire class understood." I was proud the Rodriguez achieved his goal, good for him! The next line really stood out in a different way entirely, "that day, I moved very far from the disadvantaged child I had been only days earlier"


                 I never really thought of being fluent in multiple languages as a disadvantage,  after all  it can get you a pretty nice scholarship .  I always thought of as something  that all smart people can do. Not something that would make people feel disadvantaged and even left out or the way that a classroom is viewed when you have to spend half your time in class translating what is being said.


                 The whole point of the first piece was for me to better understand and adapt to what my future children were going through and I was so preoccupied with my thoughts on the subject instead of thinking about them. The second piece was powerful because it reminded me of the impact I will have on my students and my ability to shape their lives for the worse for the better.


                  So I reread the first piece, again and this time I took what it said to heart. I reread certain sections didn't make sense and tried to place myself in Rodriguez's shoes so I could understand why these lessons that Collier was teaching would be helpful. It made me analyze how I normally act in a classroom situation and all in all both pieces give me a great introspection into my life in a classroom up until now. I also had a glimpse into my future and I hope I will be able to teach students struggling with the English language, who speak multiple languages including English fluently or just children struggling to grasp a concept in a way that is clear and concise so everyone has a better opportunity to learn.


Here is link to both pieces if you would like to read them.

I recommend you them in this order so that you can better understand Collier's piece.

Rodriguez's Piece

Collier's Piece 

Amazing Grace and White Privilege: Unpacking the invisible Knapsack

         White Privilege is not something frequently discussed by white people and this point is more than proven by the articles I read this week. The author of Amazing Grace , Jonathan Kozol and the author of White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack, Peggy Mcintosh it is clear to say that if something white Americans should think about significantly more often.

Amazing Grace brings up the standard of living that African-Americans can face in the United States of America. They live in conditions that white Americans almost never face despite being our own next door neighbors. Facing poverty-stricken conditions in ghettos full of crime such as prostitution, drug abuse, dealing and shootouts. All while trying to get a better life in a country that has the odds stacked against them in a desperate attempt to find a better life even in the midst murder and overdose. With citizens working multiple jobs off the books and using government Aid to put food on the table and even then people are forced to choose between medicine and Heat or or not even making enough money to pay rent in the first place. And on top of that they have to deal with the prejudices and stereotypes that lead two Less jobs for them to get and no way out of the situation they are born into just because of their skin color.

White privilege, on the other hand shows us a list of all the different ways we have privilege and don't even realize it. However in a very different way then Amazing Grace did, Amazing Grace pointed out a specific circumstance that record in New York in the early 90s while white privilege, on the other hand brings up all the little day-to-day things that affect the lives of African Americans and Waze the most Caucasian Americans would never even think about.

Personally, I never even thought about things like Band-Aids matching my skin color or dolls, posters, magazines and paintings featuring pictures of my race. I did not even consider the fact that I was never unwelcomed a certain neighborhood or be told that a certain area would not be available for my budget.

It's quite odd for me to stop and think about all the ways that my white privilege comes into play but at the end of the day it is real and I am benefiting from it so I need to be aware of that and do my best to help my fellow Americans reach the same standard of living that I have.

Changes are being made though

"Tru Color " is a Bandaid brand that comes in every shade range,

Barbie coming out with its first curvy and natural haired doll,

Non White entrepreneurs like Rihanna are making sure that inclusivity succeeds with make up in every possible shade

and movies like "Black Panther", "Into the Spiderverse" and most importantly "US" by the African American Director Jordan Peele are finally placing Black People in the spotlight.

U.S.A., Land of Limitations? by Nicholas Kristof

                    In this article called " U.S.A, Land of Limitations" by Nicholas Kristof the author argues that“talent is universal, but opportunity is not.” In other words people of all races, religions, ethnicities, and cultures born with Incredible intelligence and or skills they can make them a millionaire, however, it is important to remember that minorities don't always get the opportunity to use their talents because they are already too busy struggling to get by. Minorities often have a hard time getting a job let alone flourishing one the same capacity of white person is automatically able to. With struggles like discrimination, lack of accessibility, and an all-around terrible job market most minorities don't get an opportunity to make a job above minimum wage let alone a job where they can freely explore their talents and even profit from them.
Many different types of people are stereotypically known for openings small family-run businesses focusing on skills they are passionate about and making a lifelong career out of them. With various pizza places, delis, Chinese or restaurants doting the corners of almost every street in America. As much as people may mock or under appreciate careers like Bakers or family restaurants they are steady careers they can employ a whole family for many generations to come. While people tend to see small ethnic corner stores or “Exotic” restaurants as cheap, unsafe, dirty and or just plain Shady. So while all people have the opportunity to open and run a family business cast and possibly have a natural Talent for cooking or baking the local Italian restaurant with homemade pizza or pasta is always going to be seen as classier and comparison to the local Mexican joint. Though both families work hard day in and day out America has a preemptive racial bias leading to assumptions about a person place or thing just because of ties with certain races or cultures.

    Below is the first picture that shows up when I search up 

"Family Italian Restaurant"

A lovely family sitting and eating together in a home style dinning room.

Here is the first thing that appears when I search up 

"Family Chinese Restaurant"

   It is a mug shot from an article about a girl who was beat to death inside her family's Chinese restaurant.

Link to the article about the Chinese restaurant.

All About me

Hello!

My name Sophia Rose Ramirez and I am currently a Sophomore here at Rhode Island college getting my degree in secondary education and history. I am studying to become a High school history teaching since that has always been my dream job.

I recently made terrifying the decision to cut my hair and I could not imagine ever having long hair again. On days where I do not have work, I can be seen with some overdramatic eye shadow, my silver cross and several layers too many because I am seemingly always cold. (as seen in the picture of below wearing a long sleeve back shirt in the middle of august on an 89-degree day)

So, some little facts about me; I am an Aries, currently 19, my favorite color is purple and if you want me to get more specific than that I'd had to say I prefer a lavender over a deep dark purple any day of the week. I was born in raised in East Providence Rhode Island and went to East Providence Senior high school like everyone else in the neighborhood. I currently work at the east providence boys and girls club in Kiddiecare.

I have a chubby, caramel-colored guinea pig with patches of dark brown that is named Persephone. I got her when I had just started learning the Greek language at the time so it seemed very fitting. Her sister Aphrodite who had beautiful long black and white fur passed away last year just before the midnight service for Orthodox Easter. I also have a rather "simple minded" orange tomcat named Ducky. He tends to be seen accidentally walking to walls, slipping off tables and making an odd little noise that sounds like a duck quaking, hence the name.

I had taken Greek for five years and spoken it on the daily near constantly however somewhere along the line I learned Latin, and apparently, took one too many college classes but I have seemingly forgotten many bits and pieces. I can still more or less hold a decent conversation, read phrases and even some short paragraphs and write the necessities like my name, how old I am, and various household items and foods.

I the absence of studying the Greek language I have recently begun gardening all sorts of different plants, though mainly cacti and succulents. I was originally unaware that they came in all shapes, long, lanky, chubby or flat and in all colors from rich forest greens to chartreuse, jade, emerald, moss, olive, and even shades sea foam. Some are sharp, spiky and spiny; some are smooth and some are even some soft coated in a very thin layer of fuzz coating them. Regardless of there various physical attributes all of them have made their way into my hearts as a source of serenity on long stressful days.  Each of my fifty-nine plants has there own terracotta pot with names ranging from Scott and Tyler to more ill-fitting names for a cactus such as Jessabelle and Sebastian.