Hunger of Memory

Richard Rodriguez's Hunger of Memory is a memoir about his life, being a Mexican bilingual child born in a working class, Spanish speaking household and his experience attending a white catholic school. Rodriguez shares his story of what it felt like to learn with "gringos" and how he believes the reason why he became successful is because of the way he learned. Growing up in a Spanish speaking household and going to a school with whites, Rodriguez was always reminded by Spanish people his difference in power compared to the whites. Rodriguez says that he considers Spanish to be his private language and that he's glad he went to a school that was not bilingual because he felt like he had the obligation to learn the public language of society. Today, the people who support bilingual education believe students that go through Rodriguez's experience miss a lot by not being taught in their first language but Rodriguez thinks otherwise.

This reading reminded of The Silenced Dialogue by Lisa Delpit. Even though Rodriguez says he does not regret his early education it is still a fact that Richard felt that his power of culture was no match to the privileged whites while he was at school. He says so himself that he was shy and did not speak much because he was afraid about not knowing much English. This reading also reminds me of An Indian Father's Plea except for in Rodriguez's life his parents did the exact opposite of the Indian Father and wanted Rodriguez to embrace the "gringos" culture.

Volunteering at a dual language school, I can say that I believe bilingual education is the best choice for a child. They are less afraid to be themselves and can feel comfortable enough to know that the language spoken at home is accepted outside of the home. And for children who just know English, I especially believe since they are so young, it is easier for them to absorb another language and learn it easily which can benefit them greatly later on in life.