Hunger of Memory pgs. 1-73

In Hunger of Memory, Richard Rodriguez tells of his childhood and adult experiences in the American education system. When arguing against bilingual education he writes:

Today I hear bilingual educators say that children lose a degree of individuality by becoming assimilated into public society… They do not seem to realize that there are two ways a person is individualized…The fact is that only in private—with intimates—is separateness a prerequisite for individuality…In public, by contrast, full individuality is achieved, paradoxically, by those who are able to consider themselves members of the crowd. Thus it happened for me: Only when I was able to think of myself as an American, no longer an alien in gringo society, could I see the rights and opportunities necessary for full public individuality. (26-27)

Rodriguez argues against bilingual education because, as he says, it separates one from his public individuality. When schools insist that children be taught in their native language (in order to remind them of their separateness, their heritage), they distinctly remove them from public society and any chance of having a public identity whatsoever. Because Rodriguez was forced to learn English from an early age in school, he was at first very aware and afraid of the differences    between himself and his fellow pupils; however, as he became more and more fluent in English he began to value the power it gave him to be a competent and extremely intelligent member of society.
    Later in his memoir, Rodriguez recalls the differing reactions his parents had to his education. While his mother constantly encouraged his learning and praised his achievements, his father “never verbally encouraged his children’s academic success;” however, he “recognized that education…could enable a person to escape from a life of mere labor” (58). This passage, along with many references the author makes to his family life, strikes me as a poignant reminder of my own father’s family life. His parents, too, were immigrants to America with very little education and, perhaps less so than Rodriguez’s parents, little ability to speak and write English. From their perspective, the desire to work hard and a strong education was everything one needed for a successful life in America. Like Rodriguez, my father struggled to learn English at an early age in Catholic school. Although my father barely succeeded in graduating college, his work ethic enabled him to go on to become a very successful businessman. My brother, sister and I, along with my father’s only brother’s children, represented an even greater future for my grandparents. And when my oldest cousin became the first person in our family to graduate college, and my grandfather was there to see it, it was a very proud moment for everyone in our family. Education isn’t a guarantee for success, but it gives one the opportunity for a greater life than the generation before.