I loved this article by Colleen A. Ruggieri! What I liked most was its inclusion of all minorities and that this article did not just focus on Hispanics as a minority in the United States. It opened with talking about 9/11 and the challenges that Iraqis who live in the U.S. have had to face with discrimination and tolerance based soley on their heritage. I personally remember when after the tragedy of 9/11 the television, and newspapers were blowing up with "United We Stand," and different logos saying that "tragedy transforms us, and it even has the power to make us stronger" (pg. 56). At the time, I liked these logos, but now looking back it at I realize that it was mostly the white Americans who were united, while these same people were discriminating against Iraqis or those of Middle Eastern heritage. The author then goes on to talk about America as the "melting pot," which I'm sure all of American citizens have heard that analogy. But what really got me was when she said that when John de Crevecouer "romanticized a nation that would embrace ethnicity. Ironically, he forgot to include groups such as the Native Americans and the African American" (pg. 57). John de Crevecouer wrote about this in 1782 before any Civil Rights had taken place, so his idea of a melting pot only included European males.
This article brings up some amazing points that all Americans should read, and some great tips, advice, and activities for teachers to appreciate ethnic diversity in their classrooms.
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I also wanted to add how differently language is looked at by other countries. In America, they expect those that come to visit from different countries to speak English. I went to France the summer going into my junior year of high school, and was excited to speak French there, but almost everyone that I came into contact there spoke English and would speak English to me, even if I tried to speak to them in French. They were also very helpful when I would try to speak to them in French and were excited that I was attempting to communicate with them in their language. It makes me sad to think of how attitudes are so different when it comes to language and how the United States says they are accepting, but truly are not.
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