I support the notion that bilingualism should be promoted and developed from an early age, and I consider the United States to be one of the worst, and best, countries in the world as far as language acquisition is concerned. It is the best because of the numerous opportunities for practice and purposeful use of the languages we are studying or learning, present in our multi-ethnic and multi-lingual societies. Whether or not we choose, as individuals, to take advantage of those opportunities is altogether another matter. In my opinion, far too many people avoid approaching and learning about the many different ethnic enclaves in the U.S. for a variety of reasons, including but not limited to personal prejudices or ignorance. For its misuse and disrespect of resources, I consider the U.S. one of the worst-off countries in the world, linguistically speaking.

In our global and increasingly interdependent world, I believe that the hypocritical practice of "separate but equal" that we so commonly see around us must be changed, and eventually will be changed, even if only for economic purposes. Separate means separate, and inherently unequal. But I would imagine that this will become all too clear to us when those who are separated and commonly refered to as "minorities" become the majority in population within the next couple of decades. This will bring changes in many facets of our society, which I won't go into at present. My goal in teaching Spanish at the high school level is to equip my students with language skills and cultural knowledge and understanding that they can take with them into their adulthood, so that they are prepared to successfully live in the changing face of today's society with respect, acceptance (not tolerance), and understanding of what their place is within our ethnically diverse local communities.

It is from this stand-point that I plan to teach my Spanish classes. I hope to open up unexplored worlds for my students, and to present them with today's contemporary Latin America and Spain along with important historical forces that have changed the faces of Spanish-speaking countries throughout their relatively brief histories. I hope to expand the students' horizons so that they base their opinions on the complex whole, rather than on the seemingly homogenous (Spanish-speaking) immigrant population that is a common part of their everyday lives in Southern California.

In short, Spanish class is about more than mariachis, Taco Bell, bull fights, and foreign food aisles in the grocery stores. It's about people with whom my students will probably be surprised to realize how much they have in common. It's about a rich and diverse history that spans across four continents and twenty one countries. It's about family practices and respect, not necessarily admiration, for differences. It's about getting facts directly from the source, in the native language of the people, and formulating an educated and critical opinion based on all of the information, not just what CBS or NBC has deemed newsworthy. Perhaps most importantly, it is about conversing and expressing oneself in an educated and poised manner in one of the fastest-growing languages in our society today.

I believe these are skills that will be extremely useful throughout my students' lives, no matter what their chosen profession will be or where they choose to reside.

AATSP