Angelica, I found myself comparing your experience with the institution of education (school) with that of our current assigned reading (Rodriguez) and with "From Outside, In" (Mellix) which isn't assigned yet but I read out of order. Anyway... it is a sad statement that people are made to feel so alienated by the language they speak - or their different dialect or accent. I believe it forces people to the belief that they must live two lives - one where they are comfortable speaking their native language and one where they are expected to speak Standard American English (SAE). Even when people speak English, if it isn't SAE, the language can stigmatize them.
Alicia and Liz, I can't relate to being young and excited about reading and writing. I think this is because my learning was all incentive based. I did what I was told, when I was told, and how I was told. It wasn't until I was in my late 20's that I truly began to enjoy reading. I'll leave the rest of that story for the next autobiographical post.
Have a great weekend ladies!
No comments:
Post a Comment