Artist Statement

My current body of work “Bite Your Tongue” was inspired by the hotly debated topic of bilingual education. The concept of this work was born out of resentment in preparing to take the CTEL (California Teacher of English Learners) exam and my positive day-to-day interactions with my English language learner (ELL) middle school students.

Prior to taking the CTEL exam, I participated in a study group. At the first meeting, the facilitator in short said, “We have to get through this, don’t question why or you will be caught up in the politics of it, your job is to pass the exam.” In hindsight she was right, I got caught up in the “why” prompting me to investigate the controversies of bilingual education and the effects it had on my students. I sought the truth to set myself free.

Proponents of bilingual education attest that students who are in the process of learning a second language are better prepared if they become proficient in their primary language. In contrast, opponents argue that bilingual programs hinder students from acquiring English. In 1998, California voters passed Proposition 227, mandating English learners to be placed in a sheltered English immersion program. The theory is that “all students will learn English while being taught in English.”

Giving weight to the anti-bilingual movement was the termination of the Bilingual Education Act when congress enacted the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) in 2001. Education in a sense has been reduced to a formula, the driving factor being performance based test scores and federal funding attached to them.

“Bite your Tongue” is multilingual and multicultural. Like culture, the images and texts within the pieces are inherently coded, deciphered by those with pre-existing knowledge and a frame of reference. There were a series of self-imposed guidelines in creating this body of work. First, the artwork was made at school during school hours. Next, I asked and received assistance from my students in translating phrases, concepts, and ideas into their native tongues (being that there are more than 30 languages spoken at my school). For many of them, it was a chance within a school day for their culture and language to be acknowledged by an adult. It also became an opportunity for me to learn about their world through conversations ranging from family to culture to cuisine. Finally, the materials used to create the artwork came from the same pool of supplies that my students use as to blur the line between teacher and learner.

When I started to deconstruct my classroom, observing the English learner while simultaneously learning about theories of language acquisition, it became evident that those who pass and implement anti-bilingual policies understand little about education and more about de facto apartheid. To promote one universal standard for teaching children a new language is not education. Any experienced teacher will attest that each student learns at a different pace. Ultimately, the effectiveness of teaching a child English comes down to the quality of instruction.

c/s  

Bob Rob (Medina)

March 2008     

8 of the 20 images for Bite Your Tongue are on exhibit at the Sol Collective Gallery in Sacramento, CA during the month of March 2008 as part of The Combination Number Nine group show. You can visit the galley at www.solcollective.com

Almost two weeks after the Opening of the show, a two-alarm fire burned down the back of the gallery therefore closing the doors of The Sol Collective. You can read more info on their website.        

Fishing

Sick But True

Weight In Goldld

You Are What You Eat