tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9367921.post116429630190362082..comments2024-03-26T09:40:00.710-06:00Comments on La Bloga: A Chicano Bilingual Teacher's Thanks-GivingContributing Bloguistas:http://www.blogger.com/profile/13054190814722049711noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9367921.post-1164573229602310892006-11-26T13:33:00.000-07:002006-11-26T13:33:00.000-07:00Rudy,That was really great and you made me reflect...Rudy,<BR/>That was really great and you made me reflect on my own classroom. Thanks for the motivation to give my students all that I can in the next 4 weeks.<BR/>BernadetteAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9367921.post-1164466996970965522006-11-25T08:03:00.000-07:002006-11-25T08:03:00.000-07:00Lucas,You sure seemed "to articulate well enough" ...Lucas,<BR/>You sure seemed "to articulate well enough" in your comment here.<BR/><BR/>Kind and good words. Profundos.<BR/><BR/>Consider a guest Bloga post next time you feel not "articulate enough."<BR/><BR/>Gracias,<BR/>RudyGAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9367921.post-1164343171968907822006-11-23T21:39:00.000-07:002006-11-23T21:39:00.000-07:00Thanks for that wonderful Thanksgiving message, Ru...Thanks for that wonderful Thanksgiving message, Rudy-- you just warmed my heart. <BR/><BR/>Ojala que Ud. tambien disfrute este Dia di Accion de Gracias!<BR/><BR/>I am in total agreement with you and I've thought this for a long time, but never been able to articulate as well as you-- I have much greater admiration for the values of the Wampanoag Indians than the hypocritical, violent, brutal Pilgrims and their Anglo successors. The Wampanoags best illustrate the values we should be handing to our children, not the Pilgrims.<BR/><BR/>BTW, my best wishes to you in your work as a bilingual teacher, you have my utmost admiration. I've been working as a school administrator, and there is a tremendous need for people like yourself to bridge these two languages for the United States of tomorrow. The future of this country is bilingual and multicultural, with Spanish equal to English and the many cultures of this land being equally celebrated, rather than the Anglo culture alone and the Anglo people lording themselves over the many other peoples whom they've displaced and exploited here.<BR/><BR/>Especially here in Arizona and California-- as well as in Texas, New Mexico and Florida, as I have been told by my fellow conferees-- the educational systems in general, from elementary schools through the universities, are all moving in the direction of Spanish-English dual medium teaching. (Contrary to some misconceptions, Prop. 227 in California didn't hurt these schools at all, it actually had provisions to strengthen them at all levels.)<BR/><BR/>In fact, the school systems in some counties in California have become almost entirely bilingual in their curricula, and a few universities in here are even starting up dual-medium instruction programs. There's a massive need for bilingual teachers, and I certainly hope that the education schools and student-teacher programs are helping to meet that need, while encouraging the construction and conversion of more dual-medium schools and adjustment of other elements of the educational system-- standardized testing, textbooks and the books used in literature curricula, for example-- to reflect this new reality. Moreover here in California, the high-level use of Spanish in education dates all the way back to the US war against Mexico in 1848 and the treaties and legal precedents that followed it. <BR/><BR/>The more that we make hiring of bilingual teachers and dual-medium teaching more natural in US schools especially in the SW and Florida, and the more that we encourage respect for people from all the cultures that have founded this nation rather than just the Anglos, the closer we will come to fostering the sort of society that respects the great contributions of the Wampanoags and others among the Indigenous Peoples as much as we idolize the Pilgrims today. That would be something historic in nature.<BR/><BR/>Gracias otra vez para su contribucion aqui tan perspicaz, y espero que Ud. va a continuar informar y escribirnos de sus pensamientos tan profundo.<BR/><BR/>Que pase un buen fin de semana, amigo!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9367921.post-1164317489810186932006-11-23T14:31:00.000-07:002006-11-23T14:31:00.000-07:00My father has taught for more than thirty years--t...My father has taught for more than thirty years--the last few have been second grade, which have been his greatest because of some of the scenarios you mentioned in your post. My wife teaches fourth grade, and in our house we have her students letters to her offering thanks and gratitude, teary-eyed apologies, and whimsical free-associations. <BR/><BR/>Your post is another reason why I read La Bloga each day. Thanks so much, Manuel LopezAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9367921.post-1164307979450112062006-11-23T11:52:00.000-07:002006-11-23T11:52:00.000-07:00Yes, Rudy, you are a lucky--and a good--man. Happy...Yes, Rudy, you are a lucky--and a good--man. Happy Thanksgiving to your family and everyone in La Blogaland!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com