"A Secret Education in the Media"

Christensen's "Unlearning the Myths That Bind Us"

I think that most of us are aware that the media definitely impacts our daily life and perspectives. Children are even more impressionable; like sponges waiting to absorb anything we feed them. TV, games, the internet, etc... It all silently affects them. 

I personally remember being one of those girls that loved to play princess and patiently waited for my prince to find me, like this

When really I should have been more like this:

Young girls such as myself learning that men are supposed to "save" them is just one example of the way media can influence youngsters. 

It's not just TV, it seems as though everyone has such strong opinions about everything on social media.

Remember Facebook trolls?

This freedom to share our ideas and opinions behind the safety of our keyboards, brings out so much more opportunity to spread negativity, and young people can more easily pick up on that.

It's not all bad though. Personally, I think that social media offers everyone a way to feel connected to the world around them. Especially youth, who are often confined to their homes and classrooms. We can talk to people our age from around the world, giving us a more global perspective and helping us to debunk stereotypes about other countries.

Garcia vs. Rodriguez

This week I'm going to be discussing the differences between Richard Rodriguez  and Ofelia Garcia's take on being bilingual.

The main idea that Rodriguez tries to convey in the reading "Aria", is that sometimes being bilingual causes internal conflict. When you come to the U.S. as a non English speaker, not only will you struggle with integrating into a new culture, you also may not be given a fair chance by other Americans if they realize that you don't speak English. you might even get a few of these looks if you speak another language...

"Speak English"🙄

Rodriguez believed the best option for him to become successful, was to stop speaking Spanish at home, that way he could learn English faster. However, by doing this, he sacrificed a part of his identity. Rodriguez's relationship with his Spanish reminds me of the poem "My Spanish" by Melissa Lozada.

I can relate more to Garcia's approach of translanguaging. English is my first language but when I moved to DR, I had to learn to speak Spanish. I have never abandoned my Spanish because it has become such a huge part of who I am. I am able to build relationships with so many people in both English and Spanish. The best way to describe being bilingual is through the words of Charlemagne....