"Aria" - Richard Rodriguez - Hyperlink

In Rodriguez's article, he discusses the problems when told to speak English as his primary language instead of Spanish in his household. Growing up, Rodriguez grew up speaking Spanish with his family members around the home. Arriving to school, Rodriguez had to speak the public language which was English. Because his English was not as strong and he rarely spoke, his teachers told his parents to start speaking English at home. Relationships within the family started to weaken once Rodriguez's parents starting speaking to him and his siblings in English instead of Spanish. Because of the sudden change, Rodriguez and his siblings grew quiet and rarely talked to their parents around the house. Practicing and using English at home morphed into silent dinners, no conversation, as well as relationships growing apart.

No one should ever be deprived of their first language in order to fit in the norm of society. I may sound like I'm contradicting myself (which I kind of am) but it does help if you are growing up in America to learn English. It makes things easier because as Rodriguez said, it is the primary language. Same situation if I were to move to Spain. It would help that I knew how to fluently speak Spanish. Everyone has the right to choose whatever language they want to speak and shouldn't be confronted or discriminated about it.

https://abc7.com/education/spanish-speaking-student-told-to-speak-american/2539228/

I read an article about a protest at Cliffside Park High School in New Jersey after a student speaking Spanish in the classroom was told by her teacher to "speak American." Students walked out upon hearing of the incident and the whole thing was caught on video. The teacher said, "I'm fed up with you speaking Spanish, I told you to practice your English." The link above is the article as well as the video.

Both of these articles discuss teachers trying to stop students from speaking their primary language and commit to English instead. America is a melting pot where people come from different backgrounds. Diversity is huge and we shouldn't be discouraging other languages. It's an advantage to speak two languages and also shows who that person is. Their language is part of their identity and no one has the right to take that away.

"White Privilege" - McIntosh; All Lives Matter - Reflection

In Peggy McIntosh's article, "White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack," I believe she does a thorough job explaining the premise and idea behind white privilege. The definition of white privilege is, "the level of societal advantage that comes with being seen as the norm in America" (Christine Emba). In this case, if you are born white in America, then you have an advantage. Peggy explains this in her article by listing the daily effects of white privilege. The statements that she lists could differ for someone who is of color. Reading this article made me think about my own race. When she said white people are brought up not recognizing white privilege, she's right. I never realized it until I was much older. However, it's not like my parents were going to sit me down and tell me about it. There is no need to explain it because it is not a negative thing. This could be in comparison to a person of color explaining racism to their child. White privilege is basically the norm for white people. Since it's the norm, they don't realize they have it. Personally, saying I have "white privilege" makes me uncomfortable. I don't want to feel more entitled or privileged based on my skin color. But that's just the way it is. Because I was born white, I'm already at an advantage according to society's standards.

An article written by Kevin Roose explains the conflict with saying "All Live Matter" in response to "Black Lives Matter." The Black Lives Matter movement is an activist movement that campaigns against violence and racism towards black people. With that being said, where it is true that all lives matter, saying that in response ignores the problem at hand. That is what Roose is discussing in his article. He also talks about the difference between a white woman being killed and a black man being killed. A white woman who is killed is considered news whereas a black man who is killed is not. Reflecting back on McIntosh's article, this is where white privilege comes into play. I agree with Roose. Saying "All Lives Matter" is taking away from the problem and disregarding it. The BLM movement was created to acknowledge and campaign against violence and racism towards black people. In my opinion, saying "All Lives Matter" is disrupting and shutting down the original BLM movement.

Question: Why do people feel it's appropriate to respond to Black Lives Matter with All Lives Matter?

"What is White Privilege?" - Christine Emba
-This link leads to Christine Emba's article. This is where I found the definition for white privilege.

U.S.A., Land Of Limitations? - Nicholas Kristof - Quotes

In the article, "U.S.A., Land of Limitations?" by Nicholas Kristof, he acknowledges that society has created barriers and class gaps based off of peoples' beginnings and how they were raised in the United States. Society determines the success of someone based on these two factors. For this piece, I've chosen three quotes that I feel relate to the main idea of this article...

1) "Talent is universal, but opportunity is not."

-Even though there is so much talent to offer, there are not a lot of opportunities given. This relates to the text because there are many talented people who may not be given an opportunity because of their struggles. Kristof uses his friend Rick Goff as an example. Rick was talented and hard working but faced different struggles since birth which affected the outcome of his life.

2) '"The chance of a person who was born to a family in the bottom 10 percent of the income distribution rising to the top 10 percent as an adult is about the same as the chance that a dad who is 5 feet 6 inches tall having a son who grows up to be over 6 feet 1 inch tall," Krueger observed in a speech. "It happens, but not often."'

-This quote is comparing the success of a child born in the bottom 10 percent to a son growing 6 feet 1 inch tall with a 5 feet 6 inch tall dad. It's a possibility, but doesn't usually happen. This comparison opens up a new perspective of how to view the main idea. A child born into a family that is in the bottom 10 percent is more so not likely to be given opportunities that will enhance their success. The child can rise to the top 10 percent as an adult but it's not likely that they will because of their beginning as well as the way society has developed it's standards.

3) 'They grow up not in "land of opportunity," but in the kind of socially rigid hierarchies that our ancestors fled, the kind of society in which your outcome is largely determined by your beginning.'

-More children live in poverty now and because that is their lifestyle, they are not given as many opportunities. They are growing up in a systematic hierarchy where they are categorized and controlled by different classes based on their upbringing and beginning. Their success is ultimately based on where they are from and how they were brought up instead of who they are.

Our ancestors did not want to live in a society that was based off of a hierarchy. My question is, how did we as a society end up revolving back to this type of system? If our ancestors did not want this and as Kristof said, "fled" from it, then how did we come back to this?

*This hyperlink discusses the different social classes in America*
 Social Hierarchy in America

Introduction

This is my second year at Rhode Island College and I am majoring in Health and Physical Education. I've always wanted to become an educator and since I love staying active and playing sports, HPE was perfect for me. After college, I would like to teach PE at the elementary school level. 

I am a part of the RIC women's tennis team. Last year we were undefeated and became LEC conference champs and made it to the second round of NCAA's.

I am a supervisor at Launch Trampoline Park in Warwick, RI. It's a very fun, active environment and I highly recommend visiting.