When I was a small child my mom came to the realization that I did not speak English. I was about 4. Age 5 was right around the corner and so was kindergarten. I was going to leave my mother's constant supervision and go to school for the first time.
Who know how this crossed my mother's mind, but she realized that we only spoke Spanish at home. All our family friends spoke Spanish. All we spoke, was Spanish. However, in school, they spoke English.
Keep in mind, it was the 70s. Latinos were relatively new to Boston. And this was YEARS before bilingual education. My mother knew that no one at school spoke Spanish and that I would be left to fend for myself.
Knowing how quickly children learn languages, she decided to put me into "day care" twice a week. Hopefully, hanging around with American kids would help me pick up the language so I would not be completely helpless at school. I always thought it was funny that my mom thought I had to hang around with American kids, I was born here, wouldn't that make me American too? But I digress.....
My mom searches high and low for a day care where at least one person spoke Spanish... in case of an emergency. She found a day care down the street where one of the teachers took 4 years of high school Spanish....basically the equivalent of nothing. But beggars can't be chooser and she signed me up.
It was my first day and I didn't know anyone. None of my regular friends were there. The teacher comes up to me and says something in Spanish. She's met with a very confused look from a 4 year old. She repeats what she says...another confused response. She tries a third time. I just sighed and said "Why don't you just speak to me in English....your Spanish is horrible."
A few hours later, my mom comes to pick me up. The teacher lets her know that I speak perfect English. My mom is absolutely floored and says "Why didn't you tell me?!?" To which I respond, "You didn't ask!" (Yes, I was a smart-ass from the very beginning!)
After my mom collected herself from the shock of not knowing her only child secretly spoke more than one language, she asked me how I learned it.
Sesame Street. The Electric Company. 3-2-1 Contact. Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood. Zoom.
I learned English by watching PBS. Grover could count to 10 in Spanish, as far as I was concerned, he was bilingual. And thanks to PBS, WGBH (the Boston PBS affiliate - incidentally where I work now), the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and Viewers Like You...now so was I.
Pubic Television..... It's a good thing.
