After reading both of the stories i realized that i really enjoyed Esmeralda Santiago’s “When i was Puerto Rican” way more because i could relate to his situation on things though Howard Gardner’s “Five Minds for the Future” was more compelling because it had a lot more reading to it. I liked “When i was Puerto Rican” because i know a lot of people who don’t speak english very well but at the end of the day we are U.S. Citizens that shouldn’t be judged by how they speak or who they are. Howard Gardner made some good points about how the mind and us not understanding others can be seen in a very different way. He explains why we feel very different from other and how people should be treated. Overall, Both of the stories were really enjoyable but i liked Esmeralda’s a lot more.
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After doing the readings my attention drew to Bilal Rahmani’s story. I say so because when reading it I realized that i can relate to him. Many moments such as is time in city tech when he was talking about how he was not really feeling college. I could relate to this because when i started off at city tech I felt the same way but just like Bilal I had a eye opener just like he did that helped me keep going.
After reading both texts “When I Was Puerto Rican”, by Esmeralda Santiago and “Five Minds for the Future” by Howard Gardner, I found Esmeralda Santigo’s “When I was Puerto Rican to be more interesting. This was because I can relate to her story. My parents’ first language wasn’t always English. Their first language was Twi in which there was a language barrier when speaking to others. They had to learn how to speak English. It wasn’t easy like Santiago, they struggled. It was her school experience that I found very enjoyable. When Santiago was trying her best to speak English she made some mistakes, it was enough for her to communicate to others. Santiago persisted that she be placed in the eighth grade. Despite being placed with the “dumb” kids she was able to persevere and obtain the highest grades on the midterms.
After reviewing both texts, “When I Was Puerto Rican”, by Esmeralda Santiago and “Five Minds for the Future” by Howard Gardne, I enjoyed reading Esmeralda Santiago’s story far more than Howard Gardne because I can make a connection with the story Esmeralda wrote and as readers when we connect the text to self we have a better understanding/focus on what we’re reading, adding on the story by Esmeralda was more entertaining and easier to understand on the contrary “Five Minds for the Future” as my classmates stated it felt like reading a research paper something I wouldn’t read willingly it wasn’t something I relate to. Adding on to my previous statement Esmeralda’s story was far more entertaining to read since it discussed challenges she had to overcome when migrating here as a child which discusses her learning a new language and being underestimated by being put in a class with not-so-smart kids or as quotes “where the dumbest most undesirable people were placed” and I connect to that because growing up with Latino parents English wasn’t my first language so growing up in school it was difficult to overcome challenges I was encountered with so I understood her perspective when writing this, Therefore “When I Was Puerto Rican” by Esmeralda Santiago was the text I liked best due my ability to relate the text to self and having a better understanding of the text.
As I complete both readings, When i was Puerto Rican seems to grab my attention . As I relate to the coming of age and sense of not knowing and going through the motion. As she allows the people around her to shape her opinions and her general conceptions of the things that are around her like, men, sexuality as well as questioning everything she’s learned and if its enough to provide her with stability as she asks herself these questions late being more concerned with escaping her area being ,New York as she does not feel welcome and logs to fit it which is just something i relate to and seems more movie like. Which just further grabbed my intrest .
After reading both Esmeralda Santiago’s “When I Was Puerto Rican” and Howard Gardner’s “Five Minds for the Future”, I decided that Esmeraldas Santiago’s short passage is more relatable and entertaining. Coming from a ninety percent Spanish speaking household Santiago’s Passage resonated with me. With Spanish being my first language it was a struggle to learn English especially in a household that didn’t practice it. Throughout the passage Santiago shares her childhood experiences with learning English. We read that because of her inability to speak fluent English she was nearly sent to 7th grade. I personally connected with this because I wasn’t able to move on the 4th grade making me repeat the 3rd grade because my English skills were not up to par. Esmeralda was then placed in a unruly class that wasn’t an optimal learning environment. Relating to this experience environments like class 8-23 discourage students from trying to or even wanting to engage with the class. This shows her will to persevere with accomplishing her goal of not being left back. For me Howard Gardner’s “Five Minds for the Future” felt more like a book, while with Esmeralda Santiago’s “When I Was Puerto Rican” I felt more of a Personal connection.
After reading Howard Gamer’s “Five Minds of the Future” and Esmeralda Santiago’s “When I was Puerto Rican”, I believe that Santiago’s essay was more enjoyable than Gamer’s essay. Santiago’s essay was not only much shorter, but its story was more interesting to follow along while reading. While going through Santiago’s essay, I was hooked on her school experience, her arguing with Mr. Grant to let her go into eighth grade and then finally compromised to let her take eighth grade classes until December to see how she does. Santiago worked hard and ended up surprising her peers and teachers by scoring high in the English, science, and social studies midterms, proving that she was as smart as she said. Although Gamer’s had a good essay and had nice structure, for example, separating his essay into different parts based on the topics he wrote about, and including a pre-reading. I found myself scrolling through the essay often trying to figure out how much more I had to read.
After reading Esmeralda Santiago’s “When I Was Puerto Rican” and Howard Gamer’s “Five Minds of the Future”. I enjoyed it the most reading Esmeraldas Santiago one because it was a short story and kind of relatable to me. After all, Santiago went through the same struggles as I did when I first got into this country. she went through the language barrier and the fact that she and I always tried our best to speak English even though we were bad at it we were placed with the other kids instead of with the kids that spoke English but I persevered and didn’t get left back any grade and I thank mom for it because she would push me to read books and do stuff so I can learn the language faster and thanks to her I was able to handle after myself just enough to keep up with the other kids. and I also like this story better because it shows a different case than what we have been reading. this shows a girl trying to get over the struggles of learning and adapting to a new environment that is new to her and thanks to her perseverance she got through it.
After reading both Esmeralda Santiago’s “When I Was Puerto Rican” and Howard Garner’s “Five Minds of the Future”, I decided that I enjoyed Esmeralda’s short story and was more entertained by it overall. Generally, I’d say I always prefer a story where an author goes into specific details about their past experiences and tells a story rather than a “story” that’s  just more on the informative/educational side. Esmeralda’s story is even slightly relatable to me, my mother experiences the same difficulties due to language barriers and my sister or I would always be her translators. Seeing how stubborn Esmeralda was about wanting to be in the 8th grade because she was about to be placed in 7th was also enjoyable and just being a casual reader, it still made me glad that she got her way. Even the dialogue was a great addition, Esmeralda trying her best to speak English and although she made mistakes, it was enough to get her point across. Then, seeing her persevere in her classes despite being placed amongst the “dumb” kids and having one of the highest scores on her midterms was an extremely difficult accomplishment considering she had just started learning English a few months ago.Â
The passage “Five Minds For The Future” by Howard Gardner describes Gardner’s point of view on the human mind and human development. Gardner describes the many mindsets and the effects of those mindsets. Although the topic covered in Garnder’s passage may present beneficial information to humans, the passage “When I Was Puerto Rican” by Esmeralda Santiago presents personal events that happened during her childhood, which I believe is more intriguing and entertaining. The events play an important role in making the passage relatable to many readers and ultimately hooking the reader.
Many could argue Gardner’s passage is as relatable to the reader as Santiago’s is but I’d argue any attempt to emphasize with the reader is not Gardner’s Intent. Garnder’s passage focuses on informing the readers, which is not as attractive as an entertaining story that the readers can personally relate to. Gardner presents examples of the many different mindsets such as ” Disciplined”, “synthesizing”, “creating”, and finally “respectful and ethical.” All examples provide important information but it create a dull passage that loses my interest quickly.
Attracting the Reader’s Interest at the start of the passage is an important objective. It guarantees the reader will be more interested and read the majority of the passage. In the passage “When I Was Puerto Rican” Santiago begins talking about her first day of school and her “mami” walking her. She then describes her school as “a stone building that loomed over Graham Avenue, its concrete yard enclosed by an iron fence with spikes at the top,” resulting in the use of imagery. Santiago’s detailed memory of her school helped me imagine the event and drew a memory of me first seeing my elementary school as a giant intimidating building. The start of the passage presents an event that I and many other readers can relate to, whether it was a joyful or scary memory. Santiago presented a more entertaining passage with the use of her relatable childhood stories, making it a more favorable reading for me.
