Talking Point #2 - -Toungue Tied

Richard Rodriguez: Aria, Tongue Tied

Premise:
family
tradition
language
bilingual
embarrassment
resisted
English
Spanish
silence
shyness
public society
private society


Author's Argument:
Richard Rodriguez argues that teachers need to recognize that their are two ways a person is individualized, privately and publicly; and teachers also need to realize that a child maybe silenced or shy because of the difference of language used in the classroom and at home.

Evidence:
1. ".. there are two ways a person is individualized. So they do not realize that while one suffers a diminished sense of private individuality by becoming assimilated into public society, such assimilation makes possible the achievement of public individuality" (39). Rodriguez is showing that teachers need to recognize that children are different in public/private situations.

2. "We remained a loving family, but one greatly changed. No longer so close; no longer bound tight by the pleasing and troubling knowledge of our public separateness" (36). This quote reveals the changes of his family and how the English language impacted the family also. The loss of their language is like losing their individuality and tradition.

3. "Because I wrongly imagined that English was intrinsically a public language and Spanish an intrinsically private one, I easily noted the difference between classroom language and the language of of home. At school, words were directed to a general audience of listeners. Words were meaningfully ordered. And the point was not self-expression alone but to make oneself understood by many others" (34). Here Rodriguez identifies the difference between the two settings public-private and how the language at school is directed to a general audience.

Questions/Comments/Points to Share:
I really liked reading this article, I thought it was really easy to read and it was eye opening. It helped me recognize what I need to be aware of when becoming a teacher. I think it is upsetting that teachers can be intimidating to children that seem shy or timid, when they don't really know the specific reason. Teachers need to recognize that children are brought up around the language that is most spoken at home and it can be hard to change what they are so used to. Teachers must be aware of the different cultures that make up their students and try not to ruin their private individuality. At the same time teachers should try to make possible the achievement of public individuality.