I come from a family of architects, engineers and bankers. My family members attained their higher education degrees in the former Soviet Union, and here, that doesn’t play a huge role. My mother has two Masters Degrees in Economics and in Business that she acquired in her home country of Ukraine. Coming from a family where most of my family members went to college, it was expected that I, a first generation American, would attend as well. There was never a question of whether or not I would go to college; it was a question of what I would study when I went to college.
Given that my parents were immigrants, it was sometimes difficult to practice at home the language I learned in school. This, however, is a hardly a difficulty, given that I am white and of the middle class. I had a lot more privilege and benefits than other children of immigrants. I was able to apply to gifted & talented programs and receive tutoring when needed. My reading and writing did not particularly suffer due to my parents being immigrants. Reading a lot helped me improve my writing, and in turn, help my mother slightly with her English. I’m still surprised and so proud of her coming to a foreign country, learning the language, breaking the glass ceiling daily, and becoming a manager database administrator for the NYC government. It was much easier for me than it was for her, but she always stressed that I need to study hard and go to college.
While I was thinking about the paper and the English language, I noticed how much it was stressed for my mom to know the language well. English is marketable. For my generation and onward it is easy to forget the native language if we’re so fixated on being Americanized and learn the language that will bring us more wealth and stability. I found this to be remarkably true because a few days ago I noticed my Russian is slowly getting worse, since I have no dependency on it. I wonder if this is a trend among immigrants who put all their efforts in to be a part of this society, and ultimately forget their roots. This is especially easy to do with White Americans who claim that “this is America, you have to speak English.”
I agreed with what you said about how difficult and important it was to learn the English language in order to adapt to America. Even though this is America, it is extremely difficult to succeed without speaking proper English and your family faced the same difficulties that other immigrants had to face even besides the fact that your family had a great background.
I share a similar respect for my parents as you do for yours. What they have been able to achieve in a foreign country, where they barely understood the native language, is truly applaudable. We should look up to our parents and see them as role models for ourselves. Considering the fact that we had a much easier start in this country, we should be able to achieve success way beyond theirs.