Rodriguez; Question

Question:
I have not had the opportunity to work with a student who speaks a dual language. I questioned if the child only speaks in their native language at school, does this inhibit the student from learning to speak English?

It seems as if there needs to be a balance between using both languages in school. Rodrigues states in his article, " Without question, it would have pleased me to hear my teachers address me in Spanish when I entered the classroom. I would have felt much less afraid. I would have trusted them and responded with ease.

How many children feel that way when learning a new language? I am amazed that a family would be asked to give up their native language to adopt a new, not so familiar language. I think it is great that the parents want to help their child but to give up a piece of who they are is really sad. What happened to meeting/talking with a family before the start of school to learn about concerns, priorities, traditions, background and respecting who the family as a whole?

I agree with the statement that is made in the article, "Today I hear bilingual educators say that children lose a degree of "individuality" by becoming assimilated into public society. I feel when we only allow the child to speak one language and abandon their native language, we are taking away a piece of who the person is.