Quezada

Jessica Quezada
LRC 416
October 16, 2014
Home Engagement Reflection
Growing up family was an important part of my life. My dad was the only person in my
family that held a job, and my mom stayed at home to care for my sisters and I. My dad came
home at 5:30 ever evening and I could always count on him being home during the weekends. If
there was ever an event at my school he would take the time out of his day to accompany me and
my mom. Since my mom was a stay at home mom I was with her anytime that I was not at
school. This also meant that she was involved in a lot of my school activities. If there was ever
an event going on at the school she would come with my sisters and I. She was also the person
that would regularly help me with my homework when needed. Growing up my family was a
great source of support, they were consistently there for me when I needed them, and they were
also greatly involved in my school life. There are many people who have had bad experiences
during their elementary school years, but for me it was the complete opposite. I always enjoyed
going to school, and I remember thinking it was fun. As a child I dont remember struggling with
school and this is probably part of the reason I enjoyed it so much. I was bilingual student, and
the school I attended at the time had a lot of bilingual classrooms, so I felt that the school was a
place where I was accepted, and understood.
The family that I am doing my home engagements with this year is of Hispanic descent.
Living in a city that is so close to the border I think that people have very strong feeling towards
this particular race. In this day in age because of the big controversies surrounding our borders
there are a lot of negative connotations that are placed on Hispanics. Many people think that

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people that are migrating from Mexico are coming to the United States to take the jobs of
Americans, and they often feel they should stay in their own country. I think that people in
general feel that Hispanics are likely to socialize only with people they who are like them, which
might make them seem reserved. Sometimes people also feel that they are reluctant to learn to
speak English since many of them dont. All of this might make people feel that Mexicans are
closed of and not willing to conform to the American culture.
My perception of the family was completely different than the stereotype that surrounds
them. The simple fact that they allowed me to come into their home was a sign that they were
open and welcoming individuals. When I got to interact with the family for a more extended
period of time my perceptions of them did not change. I wasnt sure what to expect of the father
since I never had the chance to meet him, or even speak to him before the first home visit
interaction. He arrived at the home at the end of the first engagement, and had the opportunity to
interact with him for the 10-15 minutes that we were there. After meeting the dad, my perception
of him was much like my perception of the mother. He too was very open to talking to us, and
inviting us into his home. Overall the family was completely different than what their culture is
usually perceived as.
My student Eva is bilingual, and she speaks both English and Spanish, all of her immediate
family posses the same skill. The most obvious job that Evas language serves is for
communication with others. She uses both the English and Spanish language to communicate
with her immediate family, which includes her two brothers and her parents. She uses more
English than Spanish when communicating but there are times when her mom specifically asks
her to communicate in Spanish so that she keeps practicing the language. However the Spanish
language is used regularly when she spends time with her grandmother. Evas grandmother only

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speaks Spanish, and she is often responsible for watching over Eva and her brother when their
parents are working late. This means that Eva must use Spanish to communicate with her; this is
when she uses the language more regularly. The Spanish language is also used at school, since
there are many students in the class who are bilingual. Even though I have not observed this too
often, I have seen Eva help student who primarily speaks Spanish. Sometimes she talks to them
in Spanish, and other times she will translate words for them. One of her best friends in the class
primarily speaks Spanish so she uses the language to communicate with her.
Literacy is also a major way in which Eva uses language. In her home Eva is read to in both
English and Spanish. This means that she uses her knowledge of both languages when in comes
to interacting with literature. Evas mom mentioned that she prefers reading to Eva in Spanish
whenever possible since it is a way to keep the language alive. During the first home interaction
she mentioned that she had already started to use the literacy backpack that had gone home with
Eva, and she had read the book that was in bilingual.
Another one of the common ways in which Eva uses language is for the completion of
homework assignments; this also translates into her schoolwork. Even though Eva is flexible in
both languages she completes any of her homework assignments in English. The last thing I
noticed about the linguistics in Evas home is the kind of language that is used. The language
used was very casual which tends to apply to many families, but it is another aspect to keep in
mind when providing instruction in the classroom.
These are some of the most common ways in which Evan interacts with both oral and
written language. These activities are common in many households but despite this fact, I an still
able to use this information in order to guide the instruction in the classroom. Since I know that
most of the written language she uses is in a more formal setting this means that she will most

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likely be most comfortable completing any assignments in that setting. Another aspect of her
language that can be incorporated into the classroom is the use of bilingual books. These
resources can be made available in the classroom library, as well as during read aloud sessions.
In the time that I have been in the classroom we have only had one read aloud session that was
bilingual. Another point to think about would be the kind of language that is used at home. Since
Eva is surrounded by informal language much like the one many people use in their home
settings, it would make sense if she were unfamiliar with some of the terminology that we use in
school. It is simply important to be aware of this vocabulary a child will bring into the
classroom, and modify your language so that they understand the information that is trying to be
conveyed.
I can relate to Evas use of language, because it is very similar to the way I used language
when I was her age. At school I basically only spoke English unless I had to communicate with
someone who didnt speak English proficiently. On the other hand a home the primary language
that was spoken was Spanish, many of the books that I read, and the events that I attended were
in Spanish. For the first couple of years of elementary school I went to a school that was
considered to be bilingual which meant that I received content instruction in Spanish during
some portions of the day. I remember enjoying my time at the school, and I believe it was
because using Spanish was something that I did so regularly outside of school, and it was fun to
showcase that I school. If the kinds of connections that were made for me were also made for
Eva, it is possible that she would gain more from the content being presented at school.