[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 10 (Tuesday, February 8, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E93]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


  OSCAR ZEPEDA WINS NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR BILINGUAL EDUCATION AWARD

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                             HON. ED PASTOR

                               of arizona

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 8, 2000

  Mr. PASTOR. Mr. Speaker, I rise before you today to proudly pay 
tribute to a fellow Arizonan--a little boy who lives in the Second 
Congressional District and who has proclaimed to the world his pride in 
being an American, an Arizonan, a Latino, and bilingual.
  Oscar Zepeda, from Tucson, has recently won the 2000 Nationwide 
Writing Contest for Bilingual Students in the sixth to eighth grade 
category sponsored by the National Association for Bilingual Education. 
This is a tremendous accomplishment as he competed against thousands of 
young boys and girls who live in all parts of the United States, who 
are bilingual in various languages, and who have recognized the 
importance of being bilingual in the 21st Century.
  Oscar will receive his award at the National Association for 
Bilingual Education's 29th Annual Conference to be held in San Antonio 
later this month. This is indeed a prestigious award in an acclaimed 
contest as the winner receives a $5,000 scholarship, roundtrip airfare 
and accommodation for himself, a member of his family, and his 
bilingual teacher, and free registration to the Conference.
  As all of us serving in Congress know, we sometimes have great and 
illustrious debates on the values and merits of bilingual education in 
our school systems. We all know that English is the language of 
economic opportunity within the United States, but sometimes we ignore 
the value of knowing and speaking another language. But, I wish all my 
colleagues would read Oscar's essay. Oscar is proud to be bilingual and 
he uses the simple arguments best expressed by a child to explain why 
we should cherish our differences and look to diversity as one of the 
strengths of our country.
  Oscar enjoys living in a bilingual world, and in fact, he would have 
it no other way. He can learn from and cherish his Latino side by 
celebrating the courage of Cesar Chavez and watching Tlemundo and 
Univision while also appreciating and developing his ``American side,'' 
as he puts it, by celebrating the accomplishments of Bill Clinton and 
watching MTV.
  Oscar closes his essay by asking the simple, but poignant question, 
``So why won't we just work together and make this an easier world for 
all of us?'' Mr. Speaker, I agree. Oscar and classmates have ignored 
the politics of bilingualism and just keep living their lives with the 
grace and courage and enthusiasm that is unique to children who are 
sometimes caught unknowingly in adult arguments. We should all feel 
proud for Oscar that he made a complex issue very simple.
  I hope all my colleagues will read Oscar's essay which I am 
submitting for the Record. Oscar, we are all proud of you and your 
accomplishments. But mainly, we are humbled by your words. And maybe, 
we can live up to your dream--that we ``just work together'' to make 
the world an easier place for us all.

                         Proud To Be Bilingual

       Proud to be bilingual is not a question, it's an answer 
     that you and I would give when asked why we're proud to be 
     bilingual. Being bilingual is a gift that GOD gave me, to use 
     and show other people what I can do with it. Sometimes I sit 
     and think if I weren't bilingual I wouldn't have a lot of the 
     things I have now. Some of them may be friends, a better 
     education and opportunities for better jobs in the future.
       I was talking to a staff member of a school the other day 
     that was speaking English very well. She started saying, ``I 
     hate it when students come in here and don't know how to 
     speak English''. ``I'm against bilingual education.'' ``They 
     should learn Spanish at home and English in school.'' 
     Meanwhile I was just looking around and ignoring her. Then I 
     laughed as she spoke in Spanish. It was the worst Spanish I 
     had ever heard, and she was saying that her mother had taught 
     her; what an insult to her mother. I can't understand why a 
     Mexican would deny her own native language; it was just 
     incredible to me.
       Let's come down to the facts of what being proud means. 
     Being proud means having something different and positive 
     from one another, therefore, this thing that's good should 
     make everybody proud of themselves. It doesn't matter if you 
     speak Chinese and Japanese, French and German, or Spanish and 
     English you're still bilingual and unique. Being different 
     means good. If we would all be the same, it would be a dull 
     world.
       I'm a Chicano (Mexican-American) and being proud of it 
     means being involved in everything that goes with it, from 
     supporting Cesar Chavez' N.F.W.A. (National Farm Workers 
     Association) to watching ``Telemundo and Univision'' to 
     speaking and practicing Spanish. I also have to be in touch 
     with my American side in order to be ``cool'', anything from 
     Bill Clinton to ``MTV and NBC'' to of course speaking 
     English. So why won't we just work together and make this an 
     easier world for all of us.

     

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