"Aria" - Richard Rodriguez (Reflection)

In this reading by Richard Rodriguez I related myself to every sentence written on each paragraph. I can start by saying that being in that situation that Rodriguez once was is like living in two worlds. I still live it on a daily basis. At my house no one speaks English, everyone communicate in Spanish even if we understand and speak English. During the beginning of my high school years I had many teachers talked about how I should speak English at home to ease my learning. But my parents never did unlike Rodriguez’s parents. Instead my mom would make my brother and I read in Spanish so we never forget our “roots” and also to have the advantage of being confident in two languages. My mom used to always say that English we would learn it at school so to speak Spanish at home, which it would be the only place where we can practice it. What Rodriguez’s parents did by adapting the English speaking to their house was a harm to their children. By doing that they gave no value to their first language.

I found disrespectful how the teachers went to their house basically to introduce to them the culture of power they live in now. The main point on the teachers’ visit was to express their belief that if Rodriguez’s parents adapt and speak English at home their children would do better in school. His parents couldn’t say no to their suggestion because as parents their wanted the best for their kids so they had to sacrifice their language. Most of the events that happened on Richard’s youth happened to me, my ignorance to the problem could’ve driven me to be influenced by my teachers but my mom prevented it from happening. “Their English voices slowly prying loose my ties to my other name, its three notes, Ri-car-do” now I understand Dr. Bogad’s effort on pronouncing everyone’s name properly. My name have meaning to my family and through out the years I’ve lived in the US many people have tried to call me different names just to make it easy for them. But now that I put mind to it, I have really let people take away the value that my parents gave to my name, the same way we give up many of our origins just to “get along” like Allan G. Johnson would say.