'Aria' Connections

          I made connections with Aria, by Richard Rodriguez, The Silenced Dialogue, by Lisa Delpit, and An Indian Father's Plea, by Robert Lake. The piece was about Rodriguez's struggle with public identity, learning a second language, and being a proud member of his family and people.
          In an Indian Father's Plea, a father is writing to a school to see if something could be done about the way his son's culture seemed to be stripped from him during school hours. I drew a connection here because it was almost the opposite in this article by Rodriguez. When it was brought to the attention of Richard's parents that they might want to help their child learn English, they immediately brought about change in their household. So much so that when they wanted to speak Spanish again, it was nearly impossible. In the Plea, it was the goal of the father to get his son an education in an American school without diminishing or discouraging his Native American culture, heritage, and education. They were willing to work as a team and were not willing to sacrifice. Richard's family on the other hand, was very ready to let their children assimilate in English speaking American culture.
           I also related this to The Silenced Dialogue. There was a culture of power, and it was very evident. When the Rodriguez kids could not speak English, the nuns went to their house and suggested (insisted) that the kids learn English. The parents did not feel as though they had a choice. They had to do what the culture of power was telling them. In this case, the culture was present in school the same way it was in society in general. The culture was the English speaking culture. In order to be a functioning member of this society, English was needed. There was no way to avoid the people in power, when they were such a minority they were unable to make their voices heard.