Thoughts regarding an excerpt from My Broken Language

 This seems like a very interesting story about a Puerto Rican girl and her experience's growing up in a hard working Puerto Rican family.  The portion of the story that I read started out where the mom tells her little daughter ((who is learning English) to go out into the woods, talk to the trees and introduce herself to nature.  This gave me a chuckle, because it brought back memories of the very first time I encountered an ESL classroom 30 years ago.  The teacher was an extremely friendly and upbeat teacher and she knew the importance of letting the students just talk.  Her room was always noisy but for good reason.  I could picture her telling her students to 'go out and talk to the trees'. And they probably would!!!!

I find the story interesting because the author has lived a childhood completely unlike my own.  The author tells the story of her journey through life with a mom who worked tirelessly day and night.  She questions why her grandfather never knew how to read, and was told about the hardships the family endured.  Formal schooling was perhaps  not prevalent, so skills were what brought food to the table in most families. Farming skills were of utmost importance in this particular family.  They grew and sold herbs and spices.  They knew the demand for these items for food, but also for medicinal purposes.  

I look forward to reading more of this book!  If anyone would like to have conversations about this, I welcome you!!!!!  

Comments

  1. DenaJune 26, 2021 at 8:20 AM

    Hi Ann,

    Thank you for the reflection on the part of the book you have read. I haven't read the book yet, but it is on my summer reading list. Probing question: What is it that surprises you the most about the author and her family? What is the connection you can make with the author and your students?

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