Wednesday, May 03, 2006
Summer 1970
Most children are looking forward to summer vacation. The break from school means freedom, but my younger sister and I had a mission.
Our brother, who did not speak English, would soon be entering kindergarten. We were not allowed to speak English to him. My stepfather was fluent in four languages and could get by in three other languages. Being a child I did not understand why he did not want my brother to learn English.
Since I was the rebellious one, I decided to go against my stepfather’s rules. I did not want my brother to go to school not knowing what the teacher and his classmates were saying. While we had to be sneaky, we did accomplish our mission. Our brother did not have problems understanding what was going on at school.
Today my brother is not bilingual, he only speaks English.
