Linda Prieto’s “The Sting of Social Hierarchies.”

“Not only were my siblings and I expected to negotiate the English-speaking world by translating for our parents at school, the doctor’s office, and when paying bills, but were also expected to ser acomedidos, to jump in and translate for others around us, whether we knew them or not. This is why I understood that I am privileged to be bilingual. I learned this alongside the knowledge that in public school, bilingualism is not valued and speaking Spanish is considered a deficit. Only mainstream youth are accommodated.”

This passage struck me because I so clearly see how these two different interpretations of bilingualism are communicated in my current student-teaching placement. While observing my CT teach French I, I have noticed that she frequently asks her “Spanish speakers” if a new word or conjugation looks similar in Spanish. She also made it a point in the beginning of the unit to emphasize the importance of learning multiple languages and assessing what other languages students speak. Because she established this norm from the beginning, my French II students continue to share with me observations they have made about what we are learning in regards to other languages they speak.

I have also had the opportunity to observe an ESL class in my high school. Prior to observing the class, the teacher told me that her students viewed this class as an opportunity to “finally speak Spanish.” She found this very frustrating and saw this as her students being lazy. While observing the class, she tried to get the students back on task while they were chatting by saying “no Spanish!” I left the observation grateful to get back into my French classroom. Next semester, I will be doing an ESL placement, and I’m motivated to establish a classroom culture where we celebrate students’ fluency in other languages. However, I’m afraid the ESL classroom in my current placement is probably more of the norm.