Blog 7: Rodriguez

Quotes: Image: https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.researchgate.net%2Fpublication%2F268333350%2Ffigure%2Ffig3%2FAS%3A271927734435867%401441844033078%2FAn-illustration-of-the-monolingual-vs-bilingual-aging-brain-In-monolinguals-aging-is.png&tbnid=PY6Th6x5r9GsoM&vet=12ahUKEwj5gf_CuZSCAxUzMFkFHXtJBcsQMygCegQIARBY..i&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.researchgate.net%2Ffigure%2FAn-illustration-of-the-monolingual-vs-bilingual-aging-brain-In-monolinguals-aging-is_fig3_268333350&docid=ZOzWPQIPuacIeM&w=850&h=389&q=bilingual%20uses%20both%20sides%20of%20brain&client=safari&ved=2ahUKEwj5gf_CuZSCAxUzMFkFHXtJBcsQMygCegQIARBY Video: "Research shows that you have to leverage students' linguistic backgrounds in order to educate them... even if the goal is to expand their repertoire" Vogel expresses that students should still use words from their native languages even though it seems counterintuitive in a mostly English-speaking classroom. Being bilingual allows students to have new and engaging experiences in their classroom and allows teachers to explore new skills, especially if they don't speak the language. I am reminded of Delpit's codes of power. One of the rules is that power is enacted in the classroom. Power is unleashed when teachers always assume they are the experts and neglect student experiences. This is not always the case as seen with students who speak a different language that their teacher is unfamiliar with. Teachers must try and learn the language in this case, not the other way around. One of the tips that teachers give from Bedford Hills school is "View students' language backgrounds as resources in their learning" This quote means creating a classroom culture that is inviting and includes everyone. Languages should be treated as tools, not as an inconvenience. These quotes support the main ideas of Vogel's videos. As teachers, we are co-learners. We may think that we are the ones learning a new language. However, this is what bilingual students are doing all day long. We need to think of learning our students' language as a responsibility as a privilege instead of a burden. "Aria" quotes "I moved very far from the disadvantaged child I had been only days earlier. The belief, the calming assurance that I had belonged in public had at last taken hold." Spanish was considered a private language to the author because English was considered the public language. It is so sad that Rodirguez' family could not be themselves to fit in. The quote above supports Rodriguez' main point that varying cultures must assimilate into others and lose their sense of individuality to fit in. https://www.nordangliaeducation.com/bvis-hcmc/news/2022/04/02/the-benefits-of-bilingual-education