Una carta para mis estudiantes de herencia

It has been a while since I posted something on my blog.  Life has been busy with a new baby and a PhD in progress. However, this summer I was offered the opportunity to develop a heritage Spanish course that I will  teach online (hopefully) soon!  One of the things I want to include in my curriculum is an introduction letter for my heritage students, but I wanted to ensure the content focused on them and their previous and present language experiences. I finally sat down and had some time to write this letter and I just wanted to share it with you to either motivate you to write your own or use mine as a guide to discuss the linguistic oppression our heritage students have experienced. Let me know what you think and feel free to share your own below :) 

Dear Heritage Spanish Students, 
My hope is that this class teaches you more than how to speak what some call “proper Spanish”, “formal Spanish” or “castellano”. 
My hope is that you understand that the way you speak Spanish is not wrong, it’s perfectly correct and it makes you the unique person that you are. 
My hope is that in my class you continue to explore your cultural raices and that you understand that you belong y que eres ENOUGH. 
My hope is that mi clase empowers you with U.S. Latino history that probably never made it to your school’s curriculum because you had to learn mentiras sobre Cristóbal Colón . 
My hope is that if you feel that your español is “horrible”, “a shame”, or “not good enough” you understand that your Spanish “proficiency” is a result of the education inequalities in this country. 
My hope is that you understand that some of you were robbed of your heritage language for the simple fact that our language was not important enough. 
My hope is that you understand that the simple fact that this class is being offered, es progress, it’s a gift, es una oportunidad. Algunos de nuestros antepasados fueron golpeados for using their native tongue. 
My hope is that you understand that the way you feel about your Spanish is not your parent’s fault. See, they were brainwashed into thinking English was good enough. A common message from teachers to parents was (and in some places continues to be):      “Señora , your daughter will never make it in this country if you don’t stop speaking Spanish to her at home. English only, por favor”. 
My hope is that you understand that this class es una oportunidad de enamorate de tu idioma de herencia, de tu cultura, de tu gente y de tu comunidad. 
My hope is that you get angry enough to want to maintain your heritage language y así pasarlo de generacion a generacion because that’s your legal right. 
My hope is that you understand that NOW being bilingual is an asset and a commodity, but to you, it’s way more than that. El español es tu familia, tu comida, tu musica, tus emociones, tu identidad. 
My hope is that you are so empowered that when others tell you “Speak in English we are in America” you respond “Listen, como dice Anzaldúa, you can’t tame a wild tongue !”. 
Con amor, 
Su profesora de español