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Emma McLaughlin
Prompt #2

In my Loras college liberal arts education, I have seen the interconnectedness of the

world especially between my majors of Elementary Education and Spanish. As more and more

people speak Spanish as their primary language, my desire to understand and speak Spanish

grew. In my everyday life on campus, in the community and in my other courses, I can see that

Spanish is an invaluable skill. One example of the interconnectedness of these is learning about

English language learners and representation of Spanish and Spanish speakers in society.

In my education courses, we have learned the importance of strong educators for English

language learners, specifically Spanish speakers. These students become some of the most

vulnerable in the schools but strong and intentional education can help these students adjust and

flourish in their classrooms. Students who learn English in their schools, go through steps of

adjustment to learn English even having the opportunity for their schoolwork and exams to be

taken in their first language. There should be a plan and a knowledgeable educator to help

English language learners succeed with their academic plans. Students whose first language isn’t

English and become bilingual often are able to find many benefits in their bilingualism such as

job opportunities, aiding others in their community, and an aptitude to more successful learning.

In the Dubuque community and many other parts of the United States, language immersion

programs and bilingual schools are playing larger roles in the education system as parents make

decisions on where to send their children to school and if they choose to prioritize language in

their students' education. The waiting lists and need for bilingual educators is evidence that

Spanish has value and the value continues to grow within our culture and society.

While in many perspectives, bilingualism is an exceptional asset, bilingualism is a

characteristic that can also separate groups of people. In my Spanish courses, we studied the
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representation or misrepresentation of Hispanic people in society, especially surrounding

immigration and programs like DACA in the United States. In both casual conversations and

lengthy study of types of Hispanic people and cultures, my Spanish courses have opened up my

mind to see the importance and necessity of Spanish speakers and bilingual people in our society.

They are the backbone of many industries and further the mix of cultures in our society. There

are negative chances for people to assume they know a person's citizenship status or education

level because of their bilingualism and treat the bilingual person based on their assumptions.

These are the reactions I have researched and seen firsthand in my family and my Loras

community, however my Spanish courses and Education courses prove to me that bilingualism is

an asset and something so many people strive to achieve because of the many benefits it provides

in our mixing pot of cultures and languages.

This example of the power and asset that bilingualism is in both my education courses

and Spanish courses shows the character that my two fields of study have; a genuine curiosity for

furthering education and accepting all people. In the past three years of my education at Loras

College, I have learned the value of diversity in all communities, the power a language can have

and the importance of passionate professors. The close and tight knit community that Loras

provides is a parallel to the interconnectedness of courses in each major and other majors. In

turn, the liberal arts education proves that the world is smaller than we think and each aspect of

our lives plays a role in other aspects and the lives of other people. The importance of education,

geunitity, authentic acceptance and the power of bilingualism are evident in my education and

follow me into my life outside of the Loras community as well.