week 11 Reflection of Chapters

Stories about the lives of multilingual children in public #12 schools.  pg 56-63: From the woman Warrior (pp.78-81); Mother Tongue (pp.169-173; My Hawaii pp. (179-183)

     These stories are really realistic and heart-wrenching to me. I remembered last year I saw a movie" Waiting for Superman" (2010) described the scenario in public schools and criticised the corrupt system. It's very important for teachers no matter pre-service or in-service, always understanding the importance of our career in terms of society or students' development. In my culture, there is a saying," Being a one-day teacher, being a life-long father." It doesn't mean you would become a foster parent but refers to the responsibility a teacher assumes and how much influence on students' lives.  

     I  like a quotation,"Education of the mind without education of the heart is no education at all." (-Aristotle) It specifically fits the first story "Wascicula ya he? Do you speak English?". The author compared the government school and convent school and brought up the issue of the Indian reservation. It hammers home that teaching with enthusiasm, even just a singing or allowing kids to be kids, teachers could pour the hope and joy into their lives.

    The second story manifests the ever-existing situation of language acquisition for immigrants-- the awkwardness during the transition. But the problem I concern is who can survive the "silent period" and still form the positive personality, or if the education system fails to have young generation self-identity formality, how much cost this society will pay. To me, every individual is the treasure for this society, policymakers should have this consciousness taking action to prevent more loss later.

   Go to the third story, I feel sorry mourning the Hawaiian. The on-the-wane Hawaiian was rich in metaphor and melodious once. This scenario mirrors the assimilation policy as well. If we couldn't recognize and appreciate the existence of diverse languages historically and geographically, "Aloha" will only be "Aloha" in our memory.