Richard Rodriguez's Aria

Richard Rodriguez's Aria
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What a compelling story about a "socially disadvantaged" child told by Rodriguez. This was a fairly short and easy read, but stacked with interesting experiences about  him. How would any of us know the affects it has on a child in a classroom if they don't speak the language? Some are obvious and quite clear, but he goes on to describe in detail exactly how he feels in the classroom, and the affects it starts to have at home.
As a student, he was shy, didn't like being called on by the teacher, and didn't even feel that the English language was "his to use". The English language was a "public" language to him. He'd rather be spoken to in Spanish while in the classroom. This is totally understandable as this was his Native language and  he was comfortable with it. He was scared to use English! The teachers started to notice Richard's behavior as well as his siblings. "Timid and shy" were how they described Richard. Well yes, of course! I would be too! At such a young age, I'd feel learning something new like another language would make me timid and shy as well.
To help Richard's progress along, the teachers visited his home and asked his parents to start using the English language at home. Here is a great article speaking of the type of support a bilingual student needs. http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2015/05/13/bilingual-students-need-support-in-their-native.html.
After the teachers visit in his home, the dynamic of the whole family started to change. The parents and all family members started using English more, but were interacting with each other differently because of it. Richard wasn't even sure what to call his parents any more. He didn't like the English words used to say mama' or papa', but didn't want to continue using what he always called them. It reminded him of how much things have changed.  As he grew more and more familiar with English sounds and how to use them, he realized he was truly an American citizen. He became more and more confident and spent less time at home. He made more friends and so did his siblings. He even mentioned that his parents were spending less time at home due to the confidence they had as well. His mother however, was uncomfortable with how the families interactions had changed. His father on the other hand, didn't seem to mind much at all  about the new quietness of the household. His father still used Spanish and spoke with emotions while doing so when he needed to.
Richard started to care less and less about the sounds at home, he grew inattentive,  but would still remember how things used to be. "Today I hear bilingual educators say that children lose a degree of 'individuality' by becoming assimilated into public society." "They do not seem to realize that there are two ways a person is individualized. So they do not realize that while one suffers a diminished sense of private individuality by becoming assimilated into public society, such assimilation makes possible the achievement of public individuality." Normally two quotes together like this isn't something of the norm, but I found them to be significant.
In closing, I found another article on how to recognize an ELL student, and the affects a second language has. http://www.education.com/reference/article/who-ell-english-language-learner/