I really enjoyed listening to Jacqueline Rioja Verlarde and I appreciated the amount of factual information that she presented in her lecture. I believe that it's always beneficial to start with the facts and build from there. I always knew that the population of Latinas in America was increasing, but I was unaware of of how quickly this was occurring because in Milford (where I teach), the growth is much slower.

I also thought that her introduction approach was intriguing. As a "white American," I rarely consider where I'm "from" and my ethnic background rarely factors into my life. My great-grandparents all immigrated from Poland and spoke Polish, but once they passed away, the extent of any celebration of culture in our family is special bread at Easter and my great-grandmother's recipe for a Polish cookie that I loved as a child. However, I believe that as the student population at Milford becomes more diverse, it is essential that I consider the importance of where students are from because for some students, that truly shapes who they are and who they will become. On a side note, I also found the quote about the frustration of people calling themselves "American" to be very interesting. I've never thought twice about calling myself an American and we're surrounded daily by proud "Americans," but the quote reminded me that there's a certain level of often unintentional arrogance in the term. It helps me remember that if we truly want to be welcoming and accepting of others, we really have to consider how everything (language included) shapes the perspective others take of us.