Spanish Lessons

Spanish Lessons is about a woman named Christine Marlin who was born to Mexican-American parents. While growing up, she encountered racism from in her peers in grade school. Later on, she encountered racism from her professor. The discrimination was simply based on her heritage and her second language.

Today, I believe America is still adjusting to immigrants, especially from Mexico. Audiences can find FOX commentators often complaining of immigrants, espcially from Mexico. There is also a stereo type against immigrants who speak Spanish. We view them as invading our country, taking our jobs, taking over the english language, etc. Christine was even stereo typed in her college english class as being "ignorant" based on her skin color.

On an academic level, I believe colleges and school systems overcome the boundaries of racism. Colleges encourage students to recognize their heritage. Scholarships are given to students who do well in school but also have a certain ethnic background. There are school organizations concerning students with a certain ethnic background. We have holidays and months to celebrate different heritages, like black history month. At ohio university, we have majors in different languages, african american studies, european studies, study of asian cultures, etc. We also have studies concerning religion and different world religions around the world that contribute greatly towards regional cultures.

These steps are a process to eliminate the damage of racism and discrimination that our country has done decades before.

Our country contains large populations from different ethnic groups. These ethnic groups find it hard to recognize their own individuality among the masses since cultures are beginning to blend into the american culture.

My background is heavily Irish, Polish, and English. My own family often celebrates Polish tradiations mainly through food dishes and family gatherings. We also cover the Irish tradition through drinking. I am also Native American. My grandma is 1/4 native american and she has always had a constant interest in Native Americans.

Every one should recognize their individuality among the masses especially through race and heritage. They could explain our upbringing, education, religion, our parents history, etc. To put it blunty, it's a part of who we are.