Reflection for Mr. Larievy's class

I truly enjoyed the knowledge Mr. Larievy shared with us about the history of bilingual education. What really captivated me was the influence of waves of immigration in prior years and how the results of assimilation in those times, still highly effect our current systems. I never realized how Eastern European immigrants were isolated and segregated, in comparison to longer standing German immigrants. I had no idea German was voted on twice to nearly become the national language. I definitely see how history is repeating itself and you would think we would learn by now how to create sustainable change, but then I realize that all of this information is new to me and others and how it takes us time to become informed and then finally act. We must first come into the age, as educated grad students, and hopefully sooner for high school students, in order to sort through the cloudy mess of injustice over the years to become well informed citizens that create change. While on the journey we battle our own stereotypes and familial influences that have been created due to ignorance and oppression. It's really a constant cycle. But what baffles my mind the most is when I hear fifth and sixth generation immigrants from various parts of the world, who now coin themselves as "Americans" speak of how their families would have considered bilingual education and ELL a luxury. If I went back in time and asked their parents, grandparents and great grandparents if they would have liked to keep their native language, heritage and their culture and not experience bigotry, I'm sure they would answer yes. Imagine how rich in culture our society would be today if we would not have tormented those before us. I imagine these ancestors turning in their graves, at the sound of their descendants bashing the very rights they would have liked to have had. Why don't they understand this???

Thank you, Mr. Larievy for your passion and commitment to awareness and action!

-Melissa