Richard Rodriguez

For a bit of background information about Rodriguez, click over to his “Off Camera” biography at the Online NewsHour site. You'll also find a photo there, as well as links to some of his essays.

Here's a biography from the Pacific News Service with another photo and some more links. Compare it to the one above. Why, do you think, the information presented differs in these two cases?

This interview with Rodriguez, which revolves around the metaphor of the Melting Pot, provides other glimpses of the author's life. It's from Insight and Outlook, and was conducted shortly after the publication of his book Days of Obligation.

To put bilingual education in the United States into a broader historical context, study this brief history of the subject, which traces the movement back to the middle of the 19th Century.

Interested in doing more research about bilingual education, but not sure where to start looking? This directory at Google.com should give you plenty of ideas.

If you'd like some starting points to research governmental and academic aspects of bilingual education, this “Electronic Textbook” will help you on your way.

Looking for a way to narrow a research topic? The National Clearinghouse for English Language Acquisition's website offers much detailed information about things like finding out about state resources and promoting cultural understanding in schools.

Read this review of Days of Obligation from World Literature Today. After reading the review, are you interested in reading the book? Why or why not?

For further reading, here is an essay Rodriguez wrote for PBS about speaking Spanish in United States. What thematic links can you make from this reading to “Aria”?

On a different topic, here's an essay by the author about the declining crime rate in 1996. How does the tone differ here from the reading in your text?