Last reading, comrades.
Richard Rodriguez, “Going Home Again” p. 75
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Last reading, comrades.
Richard Rodriguez, “Going Home Again” p. 75
Hallal ENC 1101 Class Blog 
Why does Rodriguez feel that he is no longer a part of the Spanish community just because he cannot speak and understand the language as well as he once did? Isn’t there more to the community than that?
Is it common for home cultures to be in tension with the cultures established within a college?
After reading “Going Home Again”, I am scared that when I go back to Miami for the first time since leaving, that I will not fit in because the culture is so different than it is here in Tallahassee. I feel like Miami will never be the same home that it once was.
Do you think not being able to speak Spanish makes him feel alone amongst his own people?
Do you thunk it is common for somebodys culture to completely change?
I kind of disagreed with this story because I think your roots make who you are and your culture will always be a part of you.
Why do they view education as a means to an end, when really it is just the beginning?
Wouldn’t knowing Spanish help him in his academic pursuits?
I can empathize with the author’s situation somewhat because I feel the relationship I have with my parents shifting dramatically. I guess we all have to grow up sometime.
Is communication the only thing needed to survive in a community?
Why can’t the Chicago students understand him and yet they feel frustrated?
I like this story a lot because I went through similar things moving to different countries.
Michelle
Why would there be a “cultural cost” for studying Renaissance English Literature?
What caused Rodrigeuz to inititally sever his ties with his Spanish culture?
I believe it is very important to embrace both your family and school cultures.
Renee Lemire
I understand that Rodriguez getting an education made his family a little different, but why did their communication and “family feeling” change? Why are they truly so awkward? You would think family stays the same and supports you whenever, I just found this awkward.
Why did Rodriquez’s parents “regret about how changed we had become, how much furhter away from one another we had grown?” Aren’t they supposed to be happy that him and his brother are finding themselves and making their way in the world? I do not get his parents.
I understand how,as we grow up and move on from living with our parents, we tend to shift and have our own identity, but I do not understand why his parents are being so selfish and regretting that they are growing apart. Everyone needs to grow up and find who they are.
Why did Rodrigues let his culture diminish when he moved away from his roots?
Do you think its possible to forget where you are from and completely change your culture?
Why would his family connection and communication change so much after he moved away? I always try to keep in touch with my parents and they support me with anything i want no matter how far i am.
I definitely understand what Rodrigues talks about when he leaves his culture back home and feels he suffered a “cultural loss.” Moving away from parents that portray your culture every day, to a community where the society is so different forces you to adapt. On the other hand, adaptation to new things should never change who you are or where you came from.
Why does the author feel increasing separation with each level of education in his life?
Why are “family life” and “classroom life” so different?
I believe it is important to stay close to your roots as well as expanding into other cultures. You don’t have to forget where you came from to do that.
Christie Gleason
Why does the author feel as though he becoming further separated with his community as he grows older?
why did the author sever the ties with his community?
Over all this reading has made me ponder the affects of coming to Tallahassee for school and how it may have affected my ties to my community back at home in Davie.
Palmer Harper
Why did the author feel the need to keep his educational success to himself?
Why did he have to decide to quit Spanish when he began his education?
I don’t think that the author needed to feel so unconnected with his Spanish culture just because he embraced the English culture.
Why couldn’t he keep both languages during his education?
Why didn’t his parents ever understand his goals for his college career?
I can’t relate to this story but it paints a good picture of how difficult it is for minorities in the education world of America.
Lauren Anthony
Why aren’t his parents proud of him for furthering his education?
Why doesn’t he speak Spanish to his family/Why does his family dislike when he responds in English?
Not that it matters but,even if his parents aren’t proud of him, I am.
Why was the author uneasy about his success?
Why does the author make it seem like the “scholarship boy” needs to let go of his family forever (is that how it really is?)?
I, too, have felt a mild separation from my family since coming to college, but not much – we still talk a lot and see each other when we can/
-Becky B.
Why does Rodriguez consider himself a “beneficiary of his condition” to a university janitor of the same race?
What is it exactly that he could lose by becoming what he calls a scholarship boy?
I took AP Spanish all four years of high school, and after not being involved in it in college, I have already forgotten 90% of it. I used to translate everything people would say into spanish as practice, but now I don’t even bother. That being said I understand where Rodriguez is coming from.
Louie Copley
Why did the author keep his accomplishes to himself?
Why don’t the author’s parents support his academics?
This story didn’t really apply to me and wasn’t a big fan.
Why does Rodriguez feel as though he has to choose one language to speak?]
Do you believe that most Hispanic families are not supportive of their children becoming more “Americanized.”
My little brother will have to go through this himself, hopefully not as extreme as Rodriguez’s case, but non the less he will be a bilingual student in America and will have to choose his dominate language.
why is the author so surprised to see so many different cultures/ economic classes of people in his educational community?
why did the author not speak spanish to his family?
i really liked how at the end the author was proud of his childhood and embraced the fact that he came from a barrio and transformed into such a well educated man.
Why does the author think that telling his family about his successes in life seems more like an interview than an emotional conversation?
Why must a “scholarship boy” separate himself from his family culturally and ethnically?
Although they were not as informed as native-born parents, I think the authors parents were proud of his accomplishments. I think he over thought the idea of his parents not being as educated as he was.
Why was communication so important?
Why didn’t the author tell people of his actions.
The education system in the text was very diverse.
Why does he believe his parents are hurt about him going further with his education?
Does Rodriquez consider himself the “scholarship boy” that Hoggart mentions?
I don’t understand why he sometimes felt guilty about going to school, it is a great opportunity for him.
What makes family and classroom life different?
Why did the author keep his actions secret?
I was not a very big fan of this story.
Andrew Miller
Are career accomplishments more important than embracing your cultural roots/family?
Why is being a scholarship boy so important to the author when he seems to care so deeply about his family and culture, even if it is subconsciously?
I see where Rodriguez is coming from, but I feel like he could’ve balanced his scholastic work with his family more effectively if he truly wanted to.
Was it the Awkwardness he felt during family visits that caused him to want to switch communities to fit-in in the white/English community?
Why didn’t Rodriguez find pride in his culture or language? (he seemed almost embarrassed)
I saw bits and pieces of his writing that were evident that he was not a native English speaker; sentence fragments and structures that were a little confusing to follow, as though, being written down my a non-native speaker as he spoke the words.
Does the author write in a sophisticated vocabulary to emphasize the distance between his origin and his new scholarship boy habits?
Why do the students take the writers rejection to teach the Chicano class negatively or offensively?
Being the first person in my family to go to college and also being Latino, I found it very easy to relate to the writer’s reasoning.
I can’t really relate to what Richard Rodriquez is saying in this article as both of my parents are college grads but I have a buddy who has a similar case. My best friend is not the smartest kid but he gets decent grades. He comes from a family that isn’t doing well financially so growing up with him I knew what it was like for him. Neither his Mom or Dad went to college and got poor grades in school when they grew up leaving them with low paying jobs. Grades were very important to Mr Morales so not only did he stress that to Brett but me too. As young boys we never really understood what he was saying we were both more interested in sports as most boys are. Brett and I played on the same football,basketball,and baseball teams since we were 8. Once we got older we started to understand why he stressed grades so much as it’s hard to get a good job now a days. As our senior year in high school came around Brett had committed to Florida to play baseball and I had committed to play at FIU. It had been Brett’s dream since we were 10 to play baseball for Florida which is one of the top 10 baseball schools every year. But the big dilemma was Brett was good enough to go straight into pro ball as he qualified to enter the MLB draft last summer. Every single MLB team called asking him what his price would be to play for their organization. Everyone immediately thought “oh Brett’s headed straight to the pros”. It turned out all 32 MLB teams offered Brett a million dollars but Brett had asked respectively for 1.5 million to take care of his family. He turned down a million dollars to go play baseball and go to school at the University of Florida. After it was all said and done he was extremely happy which was weird to me. You just denied a million dollars to play baseball and you’re happy? He was honestly just happy to be the first one in his family to go to college. So I understand why Rodriquez feels like he shouldn’t talk about his success in front of his family because it really is a big deal to be the first one. It’s as if he doesn’t want to rub it in their face.
Why doesn’t the parents support him ?
Knowing a second language is always good to know .
Every community needs communication .
Was there another way that he could advance is education and still keep his knowledge of Spanish?
Why did everyone assume that he was associated with the Chicano culture and that what he wanted to do in life was related to that community?
I liked this example of a community paper, because I was not what i was expecting. i liked that it took another approach and examined a community that he was no longer a part of, but everyone kept associating him with.
I feel like I can connect to the story but in a different way, I feel like for me it would be with music. My parents were both in band when they were little, they weren’t virtuosos on their instruments but they still played. Me being the musician I am like going to college for music, playing gigs since I was a freshman in high school, and being the best musician in my city made my parents kind of feel like the parents in the story. I understand why they would feel this way since I am perfecting my skills immensely beyond the skill levels that either of them had when they were in music. The same goes for my brother he is now a junior in band and everyone is looking to him to fill my shoes as the best musician in the school. Music isn’t really his thing though so for him this is difficult, so I feel like in my situation both my parents and my brother feel the same way about me with my music as did his parents with him being so good at the English language, and just like in the story I feel kind of bad about it as well.
Isn’t it unusual for someone to not be able to communicate with their own family?
Why is he in such an awkward position that home isn’t a comfortable place for him to be?
I kinda connect to the author when he says his parents are probably proud, but there’s also a point where they don’t really understand what it is he studies. My dad is proud of me for making it this far in life, but doesn’t get why I want to be a music major.
Why did the author not share his educational success?
Why do you feel the author let their culture fade?
Sometimes talking to your family is hard.
How do you think the culture boundary makes him feel?
Why do people shy away from their natural roots? Do you agree or disagree with doing so?
I think no matter what situation is, remembering and embracing ones culture will always be important to everyone. I’m proud to be an American, I’m not sure how to think any other way.
Shouldn’t an education enhance the conversations the author has with his parents?
Is the author happy about becoming higher educated or is he mad because it has distance him from his family?
It would be hard to live in a family with two languages but it is beneficial to be bilingual
Is it that he does not like his culture which leads him to not wanting to take part in it?
Why would he want to fit into the white/ English community?
I can relate to what Richard wrote do to not being very into the Chinese culture and not being able to really communicate with my family.
Why doesn’t his parents support his educational goals?
Why would he stop speaking spanish when there are some kids who take entire classes in school just to learn to speak it?
The story didn’t apply to me since i come form an area where there aren’t a lot of spanish speakers, but i feel bad for kids that actually have this dilemma.
What are his reasons for not learning to speak Spanish fluently?
Being a part of a community is very important in life, so why does he want to fit in with the white community when it would be easier for him to try and be a part of his own community by learning the language?
He was definitely successful and he was able to overcome many weaknesses. I also understand that learning and knowing two languages is really tough; I have already forgotten most of the Spanish that I learned in high school.
Why did he study English Renaissance literature?
Why does he seem unenthusiastic to become a model for his community?
I can relate to the dry conversations I have with my parents when I visit.
Zachary Anders