The United States does not have an official national language policy defining specific language policies and practices for schools. Many states have passed language policy legislation that mandates the use of English over other languages. Language policy in here is explicit government language planning. The definition of language planning offered by Ricento captures this state of affairs well: “deliberate efforts to influence the behaviour of others with respect to the acquisition, structure, and functional allocations of their language codes” (2007:292). This raises the question: who plans what for whom and why? One can argue that not having an official language policy can be detrimental and harmful especially when taking into consideration immigrant youth whose mother tongue is that other than English. As we discussed in lecture, many states have passed only-English speaking laws. So the question: who plans what for whom and why? becomes of crucial when studying social justice rights for all. Unlike the United States, Italy has recently - about 20 years ago, made Italian the official national language. So I ask again: who plans what for whom and why? Who benefits and who doesn’t? How does this affect citizens and immigrant youth? What other policies have taken into effect that question/target the education of both citizens of Italy and immigrant youth.
My family immigrated to the United States as farm workers, and settled in Wapato, a small town in Washington State. The first couple of months my parents, my three siblings, and I slept on the floor huddled together against the cold of winter. My brother and I, ages fourteen and seven, quickly learned responsibility. We cared for our infant niece, completed the household chores, cooked, and still need to finish our studying before our parents returned from long, tiring days at work. When I was ten, I experienced first-hand how demanding it is to work in the agricultural industry. I was lucky to go to attend college, my siblings on the other hand weren’t so lucky. My parents didn’t have any form of education because they were required to help out around the home. I was fortunate to have stumbled across people in high school that spoke to me about college and helped me apply. Therefore, I can relate to the struggles that Italian immigrants are going through.
As I look back at my experiences and compare them to struggles of immigrant youth in Italy; I believe that we are facing the same problem manifested in a different form and influenced by different factors. In terms of education, the doors that are open for immigrant youth are hidden if not blocked by current laws that are taking into effect. From guest lectures, I learned that pursuing education for Italian citizens is a hard and obtaining/securing a job is next to impossible. And, if that is the case for Italian citizens, then I can only wonder how much harder it is for immigrants to have equal rights of attending a public school? College? A job? Benefits?
That is not say, that all schools back home and in Italy face the same struggles – in terms of funding, qualified teachers, resources etc. When we visited schools – I was really surprised to hear that the community, teachers and parents are volunteering their time to create a sense of home within the school. People of various cultures, backgrounds, languages are coming together and are lending a helping hand to one another. This strong sense of community keeps their children in school and out of trouble; making this environment one to admire, look up to and serves as a role model for other schools. However, I ask myself: how many schools are like this one? Will Italy pass laws that will force this community to disintegrate?
Doors that are closed are imposed by others that fear that they will lose their power. Hence, when considering citizens and immigrants of any country; which of the two groups are at risk to not obtain an education? Equal rights? A job? Benefits? To answer these questions it is important to also consider the question: who plans what for whom and why? I believe that the United States facing similar struggles as Italy. So I ask: what makes the struggles of immigrants back in the United States not as visible as what Italian immigrants are facing?
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