Thinking points #2 Aria

1. "Without question, it would have pleased me to hear my teachers address me in Spanish when I entered the classroom. I would have felt much less afraid. I would have trusted them and responded with ease."
This quote reminded me of class. It reminded me of the day we were talking about how when a person who does not fit the scwaamp categories, scans a room when they first walk in, trying to find somewhere they feel will be comforting to sit. It reminded me of this because people scan a room, looking for people who are like them; gay, lesbian, black, latino, etc. It would make it alot easier for these people to walk into a classroom if the majority of people in it fit their category rather than the white persons. I could understand how Richard would have felt way more comfortable if he walked into class and his teacher was speaking Spanish, because that is was he was used to and that was his "comfort zone".

2. "At last, seven years old, I came to believe what had been technically true since my birth: I was an american citizen".
In this quote Richard tells how it took seven years of living in America to finally feel like an American citizen. His story that leads up to this tells that he didn't feel like one because he didn't speak the primary language. He spoke his private language at his house and that was the only language he was comfortable speaking. He shows that learning the American language, which is also white-based, is the only way he felt like a citizen. Even though he should of felt like one for seven years prior, because he technically was one because he was born in the U.S.

3. "They do not seem to realize that there are two ways a person is individualized. So they do not realize that while one suffers a diminished sense of private individually by becoming assimilated into public society, such assimilation makes possible the achievement of public individuality".
Richard is explaining that in order to achieve public individuality; become an individual within the American society, you have to loose your private individuality. He states that some people may think that publically and privatly individualized is the same thing, when really you can be one of two ways. And they don't realize that someone is suffering giving up their private identity to become and individual in society.

I really enjoyed reading Richard Rodriguez's story. It was an easier read out of many that we have read and it was easy to relate to. I thinked he way of telling about his life rather than just stating facts about it. He included some specific days that clearified some of the ideas he was talking about. I also could relate some of his words to stuff that we have talked about in class and some of the other stories we have read this semester. I really think this article helps in trying to understand how a bilingual student might feel while they are younger and some of the complications they might go through that teachers might not necessarily see.