Reflection on "Aria" by Richard Rodriguez

    I have long envied bilingual people.  I think the ability to speak two or more languages is awesome, door-opening and interesting.  With that being said I believe that it is of the utmost importance that immigrants coming to live in this country learn the language and this article has strengthened that belief.  To not learn the language of a country you move to is ignorant, how do you expect to get along in the society? or communicate with people? For whatever reason some people believe that society should adjust itself to accommodate immigrants who do not speak the language, but does that really make sense?  If you move to Italy, should your teachers immediately teach in english on your behalf?  Because we live in an immigrant friendly country some people believe that we should cater to their disadvantages.  Rodriguez offers the perfect counter argument to those people advocating for bilingual education.  His experiences that he outlines in "Aria" exhibit the benefits of being forced to learn the language of society.  He claims, even though it made his relationship with his parents deteriorate, that by being "americanized" by learning english, he became part of the public realm.
    I see a lot of Lisa Delpit's argument in this article.  Delpit argues that it is the white educator's duty to assimilate colored students with the culture of power, in order for them to find success.  Rodriguez would agree with Delpit and could back up his successes with evidence of being force to learn english (or in other words, the culture of power).  The Delpit article seems to be creeping its way into every article i read for this class, proving its relevance and legitimacy.
    Like I said earlier though, I believe that being bilingual is a great thing.  It is a shame that it can be a burden to balance the "public language" and the "private language," but it is a burden worth carrying (in my opinion).  If speaking your native tongue is a way to keep your culture alive, then by all means do so, however, what I'm saying is, don't be so naive as to not learn the language of the culture as well.  This is another Delpit argument, one culture is wrong, but in order to be successful one must be familiar and comfortable with the culture of power.
    As teachers, I believe, that it is important to always have this in the back of our minds.  To be patient with students and considerate of whatever background they are coming from.