Sense of Identity

July 8, 2017

San Clemente Community - The importance of speaking Quechua   

Some of the San Clemente community daughters.
Our group of students painted the mural, with
the world hello written in about 20 different
languages, 

Our stay at the San Clemente community had the greatest impact in my understanding of language, culture, and child development during the Ecuador Global Seminar. In EDS 117 a course on Language, Culture and Education, we discussed extensively how bilingual education plays a role in the development of children. Before taking this course, when I heard of bilingual education I only thought of courses designed in K-12 for students from immigrant families to learn English. Most of these courses are created to help facilitate the adoption of the English language while taking away their native language, in my case Spanish. The only reason I have been able to maintain my Spanish literacy is because my parents have enforced upon me to use it every day. Also, within my limited understanding of bilingual education, I did not understand how much of an impact knowing my native language played a role in my understanding of my family background, culture, and the world around me. In the San Clemente community, the Karanke people speak Quechua, an indigenous language that has been primarily maintained by elders of families and community schools. Most of their history is told orally, so if they do not maintain their language they lose their culture and sense of identity. In recent years, Ecuador has faced many challenges in their government by the constant change in presidents and constitution amendments. One of the changes they made that has highly impacted indigenous communities, has been the closing of most community schools and firing of teachers without a bachelor’s degree. Many of the teachers in indigenous communities that teach Quechua do not receive formal education because it is not taught in institutions of higher education. Many stay in their communities to teach their following generations, but with these new laws this stop them from teaching. As a result, the only way of preserving the language is through the elders’ enforcement and teaching of the language. However, with the constant need of the country to stay up to date with Western modernization, most children are encouraged to learn dominant languages such as English, Spanish, French, and German. 

Our group of students and the San Clemente parents and
leaders after we finished repainting
the community school. 

 By acquiring these dominant languages their opportunities expand and could change their course of life. However, if they do not learn their native language their culture, history, and identity is lost. Indigenous people are constantly overlooked and they have shown strong resistance to higher powers, but it takes the consciousness of everyone to advocate for the rights of others. In places of high diversity, it is important to implement government policies that support their identities and do not silence or disregard them. In a world that is constantly trying to stay up to date with modernization, it also overlooks stories, histories, and traditions that form the identity of groups of people, changing how the decedents of these groups understand the world around them. It denies them the ability to embrace who they are, changing how they see themselves and how society sees them. Clearly, this is a complex topic, but after taking this course and visiting the San Clemente community, I would like to be an advocate for the preservation and addition of teachings of languages and cultural teachings in our educational system.