David Rogers: Cosechando Bilingual Talent Since 1996!

Meeting David Rogers in 1997 at the second annual La Cosecha Dual-Language Education Conference in Albuquerque was memorable. That our meeting occurred just a few dozen feet from live giraffes, elephants, lions, chimps, and other exotic fauna, made that meeting even more memorable. You read that correctly. The conference had been such a success the year before, David and crew had to move it from Dolores Gonzalez Elementary School to the Rio Grande Zoo, which was located conveniently across the street from the school. Since then, thousands of multilingual educators and I have looked forward every fall to attending the conference, which is now so large it has long since outgrown the zoo and has to be held in multiple venues in Albuquerque and Santa Fe on alternate years. In this episode, David explains how, growing up in Belleville, New Jersey in the 1960s, his early interest in languages led to becoming a dual-language teacher, a Peace Corps volunteer, and, ultimately, the founder of La Cosecha. He also explains how his identity as a white, English-speaking educator has not hindered his ability to contribute productively to dual-language education locally, nationally, and internationally. The conference this year will take place from November 13-16 in Santa Fe, New Mexico. We also discuss language as a problem, language as a right, and language as a resource. [Note: We recently learned that Dr. Tove Skutnabb-Kangas, who we reference in this episode, passed away on May 29, 2023. Please find the link to her professional website below.]

Dual Language Education New Mexico: https://www.dlenm.org
La Cosecha Dual-Language Conference: https://www.lacosechaconference.org/
Tove Skutnabb-Kangas: http://www.tove-skutnabb-kangas.org/