Importance Of Education : A Walk Through My Education

I slowly began losing the language I used to speak so much, Spanish. As the years went by in Elementary

Spanish has been crucial to me for my whole life because it shows that I’m bilingual. Not only do I use it in school, but also at home with my family. For the most part, this language has been with me since I was a little girl. I began to speak Spanish at age two and learned how to write it at age four. My parents helped me practice Spanish by speaking it. They also told me read Spanish books out loud, so I could speak it fluently. Luckily I went to Mexico when I was seven, but I only went that one time, so I haven't been able to practice with my whole family. In addition, I’ve had Spanish classes since kindergarten and now as a junior I continue to learn new things. As a teenager, I seem to use it more in my daily life, because my parents only speak Spanish which is how I’ve gained experience. For example, when my parents took me to Mexico at age seven, I learned to speak with all my family.

I was only nine years old, the year 1991. I had to navigate from an English speaking classroom to a Spanish speaking home. From eight in the morning I was given instruction in English by my professors at school. After three in the afternoon at home I engaged in Spanish conversation with my mother, father, and siblings. When the summer vacation came around, it was back to speaking español only, and then I regained the Mexican accent that had faded away during the school year.

I now speak English and Spanish because I managed to keep my first language. I had bilingual classes up to fifth grade. Because my parents did not speak a word of English, I had to translate for them regularly, which was also a way to practice my English

Spanish is my native language, however, my mother advised my siblings and I to speak only English. This was because she was afraid that we would be rejected from professional careers if our English wasn 't unaccented, fluent, and similar in refinement to the working class whites. With time, I became a fluent English speaker with a developed Central American accent but like, any other young girl, I thought nothing of it. That is until one event, in particular, occurred that would cast a shadow of embarrassment onto my Spanish language. This event not only led me to desert my entire native language but a sense of my cultural identity, as well.

Being born of 2 immigrant parents, who work menial jobs and have no education has always had its weight on me. Neither one of my parents are high school graduates and no one in my family has obtained a collegiate education. I have been able to experience first hand how difficult a life with no education is. I recall other students sharing how their parents provided aid with their homework and read to them, knowing I did not get to experience that made me gloomy. I had no other choice but to learn everything on my own and then attempt to teach my parents. This peculiar lifestyle has pushed me harder in academics and has given me a genuine appreciation for the value of an education.

As a child, I had to navigate from an English speaking classroom to a Spanish speaking home. From eight in the morning I was given instruction in English by my professors at school. After three in the afternoon at home I engaged in Spanish conversation with my mother, father, and siblings. When the summer vacation came around, it was back to speaking Spanish only, and then I regained the Mexican accent that had faded away during the school year.

This was not surprising, nor was it an issue, since my parents both spoke Spanish at home. I recall my mother carrying around a Spanish-to-English dictionary religiously, pulling it out in grocery stores or doctor’s appointments to able to communicate with the strangers around her. The language barrier first became an issue at age four, when I was set to start preschool. I could not go in blindly, and so in the months leading up to the day my parents spent hours teaching me the little English they had acquired.

At home, I first spoke Spanish. My parents came from Mexico to Turlock, California in the 90's and could not speak English sufficiently. Before I was born, the majority of my family were born in Jalisco, Mexico. As a child, my parents taught me how to speak Spanish and I learned English from a tutor who came to my house to teach basic phrases and writing in Spanish and English. This way, I could be fluent with both. I am grateful that my parents assigned me to the program, which prepared me for elementary school. For this reason, I still suspect that without that program I could not be in Honors and AP classes that I have today. What additionally motivates me to speak Spanish efficiently is that I have been able to assist others by translating, and the skill teaches me further of another culture. When I am in Mexico, I feel comfortable and I enjoy speaking Spanish in stores and in the plazas around the towns. Not only that, but I love being able to talk to family fluently. Overall, speaking Spanish feels important to me in order to be closer to my family and the culture.

When I was very young and started to talk I learned Spanish everyone in my world of fewer than 10 people only spoke Spanish or would only watch Spanish television. When my mom would drop me off at my babysitter Ana’s house, she would only speak to me in Spanish and we would only watch Spanish soap operas and news. Around the time I turned 3 I remember my dad only started talking to me in English I would get so mad because I could never understand what he was saying to me. I eventually got tired of not understanding what my dad was saying to me so I would only watch television in English. My favorite show was Dora

As a native Spanish speaker and coming to this country five years ago from Colombia, It never crossed my mind that I would start learning another language. Even at home my mother would

As a young girl, I remember the uneasiness that would wash over me when I had to speak Spanish. Always seeking familial approbation, my bloomed cheeks were testament to my lack of proficiency with the Spanish language. My family constantly picked out the words I mispronounced or misplaced in my sentences. On several occasions, my grandparents would give me an ultimatum: to speak Spanish or not to speak at all.

My mother only spoke spanish, but I learned to speak it by observing and listening to her, as well as my father. She told me she read me books, numbers and the vowels in spanish, yet I don’t remember when that occurred. What I do remember is running excitedly to the sofa, waiting for “Dora the Explorer” to get on. Watching and guessing Dora’s questions was a fun adventure for me, plus

I was immediately introduced to a brand new language. I was kind of stunned at first, but then my mom would take a Spanish word like “mochila,” that I knew, and then tell me the English version which was “backpack.” She did that for a whole year I even learned some new words in English that I didn’t even know in Spanish. I couldn’t believe I had learned two languages within 4 years. And then suddenly the day had come the first day of school, kindergarten. I was really nervous, but my mom told me “Everything was going to be fine,” and I believed her. I walked into class and I saw kids running up to a wall with shelves labeled “Cubbies!” I didn’t know what to do so I followed them and left my

Spanish was my first language so I’ve been speaking it since I was born. This is due to me coming from a Spanish speaking family. My English didn't develop until I was around four or five when I started school. Once I was able to speak English, my mom didn't allow me to speak it at home.