is ignorance truly bliss? Heritage in Education
In my argument, I want to explore how people in the United States view the existence of other cultures and heritages that share this country. The American education system puts a huge emphasis on the importance of learning English to the point that it is near cult-like. Because of this, languages and cultures do not have a significant, if any, place in the education system. By incorporating the essay "Should Writers Use They Own English" by Vershawn Young and Daniel Villa’s "No Nos Dejaremos: Writing in Spanish as an Act of Resistance", I argue that the system should stop ignoring the existence and importance of heritage languages and embrace these different cultures. This change would also encourage students to explore different cultures and writers to get mobility in their writing. I also use a blog post written by Rajit Bhandari to explore broad advantages of multilingualism and an interview about me to give a view of an individual's experience of Spanish in an English-heavy world. I also included a small paragraph that offers an explanation of the "lost generation" within the US and how it is growing every year. I then explore countering points that none of my sources do not really describe within their arguments. I decide to describe the patriotism in the US and the importance of English on the global scale. My argument is but a narrow focus of my group's broader theme of heritage languages and the role they serve in the United States. Common themes that I explore that the other members of the group explore include personal experience, how languages other than English are generally oppressed by "Standard English", and viewing some of the narrative of specific languages (Spanish, Hindi, Farsi and Hebrew).
Click here for my essay and here for my group's exhibition!
Click here for my essay and here for my group's exhibition!