"To succeed in the classroom, I needed psychologically to sever my ties with Spanish."
I disagree with this statement because I think it's possible to succeed academically while staying true to your background and family's traditions. I don't think it's necessary to cut ties with what you're already familiar with. Rather than seeing your past as something you once was a part of, look at it as a foundation that you've grown and developed from. Your views of your past may or may not change due to newly acquired knowledge, but it still represents a time in your life and that time deserves to be remembered.
I do understand Rodriquez's point about education altering children in ways beyond providing them with skills and further knowledge, but education shouldn't change who you are as a person or how you think entirely. Maintaining a connection to your past is a skill that also should be developed; however, most schools don't teach this type of skill.
I agree with your point of view on this statement. Who you are is who you are and you should never try to change that, especially when it comes down to your background. The best thing you can do is embrace it and try to turn it into an advantage, rather than something that is holding you back.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you completely on this point. A person should not have to abandon their family traditions and customs for academics. One of my good friends was raised in a Latino home and Spanish was her first language. She never had to sacrifice her culture and she still succeeds in school. Doing well academically is not an excuse for losing your sense of culture.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you about not having to abandon one's culture for the sake of education. I know a few of my friends who grew up in a very strict Arabic culture and never once abandoned their culture for the education or advancing in the world. Your culture is what makes you, you and to lose that is absurd.
ReplyDeleteI agree, and I would add that it would make you even more successful in the classroom. For example, if you were taking a foreign language class you would have the upper hand on any individual that only spoke one language. A language barrier does not prevent you from doing well in the classroom it is just an extra obstacle that some must overcome to be great.
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