How to Tame a Wild Tongue

Question: In this story, the author is describes how a language is being taken away from a group of people. She describes how the Mexican Americans who live down south speak improper or slang Spanish. Many people in society want to get rid of the language and not allow them to speak it in public schools, work, etc. America is supposed to be a country full of many nations, after all we are called the "melting pot". How can society take away a language from a group of people?

Comment: I agree with the author and do not think it is okay to take a language away from someone. By taking away a certain ethnic groups language, you're taking away their identity. People in the world are known for their background and where they come from. Taking away a language is like changing a person from who they are. A language means a lot and many people are proud to be their ethnicity is.

Critique: I really enjoyed this reading because it shows how cruel a society can be. America is a free country and it is not okay to ban someone from speaking a language. These people might have not even wanted to live in the country in the first place but because the border line is getting lower they had no choice but to move. A language represents a person and who they are. It is illegal and unfair to take away someone's identity. The author clearly wrote how her and her family feels about being judged and having who they are being taken away from them.

American Born Chinese

Question: Jin Wang was born in the United States and spoke perfect English. When coming into his new class, the teacher introduced him and said that he was from China. All the kids looked at him different and would make fun of him. Jin was just like the other kids, except he had a Chinese background. Why did the other children bully him around if he said he was from San Francisco?

Comment: I really enjoyed this reading because I can see where Jin is coming from. Being a new student in a class isn't easy especially when other kids take an advantage of the fact that you are new and start to bully you around. At the end when the other new Chinese boy was being introduced to the class, the teacher made the same mistake. At first, Jin didn't really want to be his best friend. Later on, he realizes Wei-Chen like the same things he does. This caused them to be best friends. I really enjoyed this part because t was a little funny how the teachers made mistakes with both of the boys names and backgrounds. That was already one thing they had in common.

Critique: Overall I think this was a very good reading. It shows to other kids how it feels to be a new student and maybe some can even relate to a story. It shows you how stereotypical society is and even though Jin was born in America they considered him to be different only because he was Chinese.