Immersion school parents

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, my kids go to an immersion private school and I would be doing them more harm than good trying to learn the language and use the same language at home to support them. I tried in the beginning but they are just leaps and bounds ahead of my ability to learn the it and my pronunciation and grammar are laughable compared to where they are in their ability to speak/read/write that second language. Unfortunately I missed the boat to fluently learn a second language, but my kids will be bilingual and that is what matters to me. They have plenty of ways to use and practice the language outside of school without my help.

OP here. Okay. I guess I must have different relationships with my kids. I want to know what they're learning, and they seem to have a fun time and take pride in trying to teach and correct me in my efforts. I guess I would feel pretty disappointed if (at least at this young age, preK3-2nd grade), I couldn't at least get a basic understanding of what they're learning in school. It seems a lot of parents don't really care about that.

Different strokes. Your parenting style is good for you. You don't need to criticize others' in order to feel better about yourself and your kids. Not sure why you "are struggling" to understand this. Seems like a veiled humble brag. Find something to do that can help build your inner self confidence. If that is learning a new language, so be it.

OP here. Honestly, I am more worried about the culture, like, is it worth it to be at this school. This isn't a humble brag. I'm honestly worried about the culture and fitting in.

Tell us the school.

In DCPS bilingual schools, am I wrong in thinking that half the kids are native speakers and the language is much more integrated into the school culture?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, my kids go to an immersion private school and I would be doing them more harm than good trying to learn the language and use the same language at home to support them. I tried in the beginning but they are just leaps and bounds ahead of my ability to learn the it and my pronunciation and grammar are laughable compared to where they are in their ability to speak/read/write that second language. Unfortunately I missed the boat to fluently learn a second language, but my kids will be bilingual and that is what matters to me. They have plenty of ways to use and practice the language outside of school without my help.

OP here. Okay. I guess I must have different relationships with my kids. I want to know what they're learning, and they seem to have a fun time and take pride in trying to teach and correct me in my efforts. I guess I would feel pretty disappointed if (at least at this young age, preK3-2nd grade), I couldn't at least get a basic understanding of what they're learning in school. It seems a lot of parents don't really care about that.

Different strokes. Your parenting style is good for you. You don't need to criticize others' in order to feel better about yourself and your kids. Not sure why you "are struggling" to understand this. Seems like a veiled humble brag. Find something to do that can help build your inner self confidence. If that is learning a new language, so be it.

OP here. Honestly, I am more worried about the culture, like, is it worth it to be at this school. This isn't a humble brag. I'm honestly worried about the culture and fitting in.

You won't fit in at any school if you are this critical of how other parents raise their kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, my kids go to an immersion private school and I would be doing them more harm than good trying to learn the language and use the same language at home to support them. I tried in the beginning but they are just leaps and bounds ahead of my ability to learn the it and my pronunciation and grammar are laughable compared to where they are in their ability to speak/read/write that second language. Unfortunately I missed the boat to fluently learn a second language, but my kids will be bilingual and that is what matters to me. They have plenty of ways to use and practice the language outside of school without my help.

OP here. Okay. I guess I must have different relationships with my kids. I want to know what they're learning, and they seem to have a fun time and take pride in trying to teach and correct me in my efforts. I guess I would feel pretty disappointed if (at least at this young age, preK3-2nd grade), I couldn't at least get a basic understanding of what they're learning in school. It seems a lot of parents don't really care about that.

Different strokes. Your parenting style is good for you. You don't need to criticize others' in order to feel better about yourself and your kids. Not sure why you "are struggling" to understand this. Seems like a veiled humble brag. Find something to do that can help build your inner self confidence. If that is learning a new language, so be it.

OP here. Honestly, I am more worried about the culture, like, is it worth it to be at this school. This isn't a humble brag. I'm honestly worried about the culture and fitting in.

Tell us the school.

In DCPS bilingual schools, am I wrong in thinking that half the kids are native speakers and the language is much more integrated into the school culture?

(Maybe you can try to switch your child into Oyster or Bancroft or something)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, my kids go to an immersion private school and I would be doing them more harm than good trying to learn the language and use the same language at home to support them. I tried in the beginning but they are just leaps and bounds ahead of my ability to learn the it and my pronunciation and grammar are laughable compared to where they are in their ability to speak/read/write that second language. Unfortunately I missed the boat to fluently learn a second language, but my kids will be bilingual and that is what matters to me. They have plenty of ways to use and practice the language outside of school without my help.

OP here. Okay. I guess I must have different relationships with my kids. I want to know what they're learning, and they seem to have a fun time and take pride in trying to teach and correct me in my efforts. I guess I would feel pretty disappointed if (at least at this young age, preK3-2nd grade), I couldn't at least get a basic understanding of what they're learning in school. It seems a lot of parents don't really care about that.

Different strokes. Your parenting style is good for you. You don't need to criticize others' in order to feel better about yourself and your kids. Not sure why you "are struggling" to understand this. Seems like a veiled humble brag. Find something to do that can help build your inner self confidence. If that is learning a new language, so be it.

OP here. Honestly, I am more worried about the culture, like, is it worth it to be at this school. This isn't a humble brag. I'm honestly worried about the culture and fitting in.

It will be hard for you to fit in anywhere if you spend a kid's birthday party looking for all the ways you're superior to the other parents in attendance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, my kids go to an immersion private school and I would be doing them more harm than good trying to learn the language and use the same language at home to support them. I tried in the beginning but they are just leaps and bounds ahead of my ability to learn the it and my pronunciation and grammar are laughable compared to where they are in their ability to speak/read/write that second language. Unfortunately I missed the boat to fluently learn a second language, but my kids will be bilingual and that is what matters to me. They have plenty of ways to use and practice the language outside of school without my help.

OP here. Okay. I guess I must have different relationships with my kids. I want to know what they're learning, and they seem to have a fun time and take pride in trying to teach and correct me in my efforts. I guess I would feel pretty disappointed if (at least at this young age, preK3-2nd grade), I couldn't at least get a basic understanding of what they're learning in school. It seems a lot of parents don't really care about that.

Different strokes. Your parenting style is good for you. You don't need to criticize others' in order to feel better about yourself and your kids. Not sure why you "are struggling" to understand this. Seems like a veiled humble brag. Find something to do that can help build your inner self confidence. If that is learning a new language, so be it.

OP here. Honestly, I am more worried about the culture, like, is it worth it to be at this school. This isn't a humble brag. I'm honestly worried about the culture and fitting in.

Tell us the school.

In DCPS bilingual schools, am I wrong in thinking that half the kids are native speakers and the language is much more integrated into the school culture?

Yes, at most schools you would be wrong. Maybe it used to be that way but it isn't anymore, at least not after preschool. And if you're the type to judge other people's parenting, you won't be happy at any school.

[Anonymous]

My kids are an immersion school in DC and I speak the language; however they don't get invited to any birthday parties. People self-select at these schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oh, are we ranting about immersion in DC? Cool, here's mine:

It annoys me that immersion spots are awarded based on the lottery with no effort to show whether parents will be committed to the immersion aspect, which means that my tax dollars in DC go to provide immersion education to the kids of parents who DGAF about it and make no effort, while my kid was locked out of immersion programs due to bad lottery luck.

This is called public education. Everyone should get an equal chance. Unless it is an application school, then you don't get to rank people based on their "dedication" to the language. I pay tax dollars, too, and I am fine with everyone getting a chance to get in. You are ridiculous.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh, are we ranting about immersion in DC? Cool, here's mine:

It annoys me that immersion spots are awarded based on the lottery with no effort to show whether parents will be committed to the immersion aspect, which means that my tax dollars in DC go to provide immersion education to the kids of parents who DGAF about it and make no effort, while my kid was locked out of immersion programs due to bad lottery luck.

OP here. I hear you!!! This is part of my rant!!! Why are people putting their kids in an immersion school and not even encouraging their child to speak the language? There are classmates in 2nd grade who literally never speak the language! The teachers don't "push" them to speak so they stumble through, and without parents encouraging them to learn and try, it just seems.... Such a wasted opportunity. I absolutely would be supportive of the immersion schools to provide some weight to families who actually want to learn the language.

Yup. And I have a rising 2nd grader in a non-immersion program and we pay for weekly language lessons and read books and watch movies in the target language to support language learning even though our kid is not in an immersion program. But many families in these programs can't even be bothered to download Duolingo and learn a few phrases. It's such a waste, frankly.

I also think ultimately it's a huge disservice to the kids because immersion does have a downside, in that kids sometimes acquire skills more slowly in math and ELA because of the focus on immersion language. That trade off is worth it if you are actually going to learn the language and the family will support in other areas to make sure the kids don't fall behind. But if you are just lazy and don't care, you wind up with a kid who doesn't speak the target language and is also grades behind in core subjects. These kids would be much better off in one of the many great DCPS elementary programs in DC (we are in one such program, our IB Title 1) where they get a lot of school-based support for core subjects plus extra tutoring support. But they are in an immersion program because they were told that DCPS schools are universally terrible and that immersion charters are universally great and never questioned it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh, are we ranting about immersion in DC? Cool, here's mine:

It annoys me that immersion spots are awarded based on the lottery with no effort to show whether parents will be committed to the immersion aspect, which means that my tax dollars in DC go to provide immersion education to the kids of parents who DGAF about it and make no effort, while my kid was locked out of immersion programs due to bad lottery luck.

This is called public education. Everyone should get an equal chance. Unless it is an application school, then you don't get to rank people based on their "dedication" to the language. I pay tax dollars, too, and I am fine with everyone getting a chance to get in. You are ridiculous.

+1 OP and this other poster are basically saying only kids who have parents just like me should have access to this resource. Buzz off, losers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh, are we ranting about immersion in DC? Cool, here's mine:

It annoys me that immersion spots are awarded based on the lottery with no effort to show whether parents will be committed to the immersion aspect, which means that my tax dollars in DC go to provide immersion education to the kids of parents who DGAF about it and make no effort, while my kid was locked out of immersion programs due to bad lottery luck.

OP here. I hear you!!! This is part of my rant!!! Why are people putting their kids in an immersion school and not even encouraging their child to speak the language? There are classmates in 2nd grade who literally never speak the language! The teachers don't "push" them to speak so they stumble through, and without parents encouraging them to learn and try, it just seems.... Such a wasted opportunity. I absolutely would be supportive of the immersion schools to provide some weight to families who actually want to learn the language.

Yup. And I have a rising 2nd grader in a non-immersion program and we pay for weekly language lessons and read books and watch movies in the target language to support language learning even though our kid is not in an immersion program. But many families in these programs can't even be bothered to download Duolingo and learn a few phrases. It's such a waste, frankly.

I also think ultimately it's a huge disservice to the kids because immersion does have a downside, in that kids sometimes acquire skills more slowly in math and ELA because of the focus on immersion language. That trade off is worth it if you are actually going to learn the language and the family will support in other areas to make sure the kids don't fall behind. But if you are just lazy and don't care, you wind up with a kid who doesn't speak the target language and is also grades behind in core subjects. These kids would be much better off in one of the many great DCPS elementary programs in DC (we are in one such program, our IB Title 1) where they get a lot of school-based support for core subjects plus extra tutoring support. But they are in an immersion program because they were told that DCPS schools are universally terrible and that immersion charters are universally great and never questioned it.

LOL you don't need Duolingo if you are in an immersion program. And children don't need their parents to speak the language in order to become fluent themselves. You don't even send your kid to an immersion school but you have all the answers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh, are we ranting about immersion in DC? Cool, here's mine:

It annoys me that immersion spots are awarded based on the lottery with no effort to show whether parents will be committed to the immersion aspect, which means that my tax dollars in DC go to provide immersion education to the kids of parents who DGAF about it and make no effort, while my kid was locked out of immersion programs due to bad lottery luck.

This is called public education. Everyone should get an equal chance. Unless it is an application school, then you don't get to rank people based on their "dedication" to the language. I pay tax dollars, too, and I am fine with everyone getting a chance to get in. You are ridiculous.

Good for you, but I think it's a waste of money to send a bunch of kids through immersion programs where they will not get the support they need to get the benefit of the program. If the minority of kids are actually learning the language, it's a poor use of public funds.

Perhaps instead of charter programs offered to a fraction of the population via lottery, which have mixed results and can even hamper learning in core subjects when kids are poorly supported at home, it would make more sense to invest in better elementary language education throughout the district.

Also, bet you anything you have a kid at an immersion school and you are "fine" with everyone getting a chance because you won the lottery and got in. Funny how that works.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh, are we ranting about immersion in DC? Cool, here's mine:

It annoys me that immersion spots are awarded based on the lottery with no effort to show whether parents will be committed to the immersion aspect, which means that my tax dollars in DC go to provide immersion education to the kids of parents who DGAF about it and make no effort, while my kid was locked out of immersion programs due to bad lottery luck.

OP here. I hear you!!! This is part of my rant!!! Why are people putting their kids in an immersion school and not even encouraging their child to speak the language? There are classmates in 2nd grade who literally never speak the language! The teachers don't "push" them to speak so they stumble through, and without parents encouraging them to learn and try, it just seems.... Such a wasted opportunity. I absolutely would be supportive of the immersion schools to provide some weight to families who actually want to learn the language.

Yup. And I have a rising 2nd grader in a non-immersion program and we pay for weekly language lessons and read books and watch movies in the target language to support language learning even though our kid is not in an immersion program. But many families in these programs can't even be bothered to download Duolingo and learn a few phrases. It's such a waste, frankly.

I also think ultimately it's a huge disservice to the kids because immersion does have a downside, in that kids sometimes acquire skills more slowly in math and ELA because of the focus on immersion language. That trade off is worth it if you are actually going to learn the language and the family will support in other areas to make sure the kids don't fall behind. But if you are just lazy and don't care, you wind up with a kid who doesn't speak the target language and is also grades behind in core subjects. These kids would be much better off in one of the many great DCPS elementary programs in DC (we are in one such program, our IB Title 1) where they get a lot of school-based support for core subjects plus extra tutoring support. But they are in an immersion program because they were told that DCPS schools are universally terrible and that immersion charters are universally great and never questioned it.

LOL you don't need Duolingo if you are in an immersion program. And children don't need their parents to speak the language in order to become fluent themselves. You don't even send your kid to an immersion school but you have all the answers.

LOL sorry you didn't understand the comment but the point was not that the kids need Duolingo or that the parents need to be fluent, but that it's ridiculous when parents with kids in immersion programs don't bother to make even the tiniest effort to support the immersion program by making any effort themselves to even develop a passing familiarity with the target language. When you meet 2nd graders in Spanish immersion programs who can't count pass 10 in Spanish, you wonder what the heck the parents are doing. No one is asking for parents to be fluent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh, are we ranting about immersion in DC? Cool, here's mine:

It annoys me that immersion spots are awarded based on the lottery with no effort to show whether parents will be committed to the immersion aspect, which means that my tax dollars in DC go to provide immersion education to the kids of parents who DGAF about it and make no effort, while my kid was locked out of immersion programs due to bad lottery luck.

OP here. I hear you!!! This is part of my rant!!! Why are people putting their kids in an immersion school and not even encouraging their child to speak the language? There are classmates in 2nd grade who literally never speak the language! The teachers don't "push" them to speak so they stumble through, and without parents encouraging them to learn and try, it just seems.... Such a wasted opportunity. I absolutely would be supportive of the immersion schools to provide some weight to families who actually want to learn the language.

Yup. And I have a rising 2nd grader in a non-immersion program and we pay for weekly language lessons and read books and watch movies in the target language to support language learning even though our kid is not in an immersion program. But many families in these programs can't even be bothered to download Duolingo and learn a few phrases. It's such a waste, frankly.

I also think ultimately it's a huge disservice to the kids because immersion does have a downside, in that kids sometimes acquire skills more slowly in math and ELA because of the focus on immersion language. That trade off is worth it if you are actually going to learn the language and the family will support in other areas to make sure the kids don't fall behind. But if you are just lazy and don't care, you wind up with a kid who doesn't speak the target language and is also grades behind in core subjects. These kids would be much better off in one of the many great DCPS elementary programs in DC (we are in one such program, our IB Title 1) where they get a lot of school-based support for core subjects plus extra tutoring support. But they are in an immersion program because they were told that DCPS schools are universally terrible and that immersion charters are universally great and never questioned it.

LOL you don't need Duolingo if you are in an immersion program. And children don't need their parents to speak the language in order to become fluent themselves. You don't even send your kid to an immersion school but you have all the answers.

LOL sorry you didn't understand the comment but the point was not that the kids need Duolingo or that the parents need to be fluent, but that it's ridiculous when parents with kids in immersion programs don't bother to make even the tiniest effort to support the immersion program by making any effort themselves to even develop a passing familiarity with the target language. When you meet 2nd graders in Spanish immersion programs who can't count pass 10 in Spanish, you wonder what the heck the parents are doing. No one is asking for parents to be fluent.

If the kids can't count past 10 in the target language in 2nd grade, that is on the SCHOOL, not the parents. That reflects a terrible program that cannot be fixed by any amount of supplementation by a non-native speaker at home. You should read up on how additional language are acquired because you don't really understand what you are talking about.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh, are we ranting about immersion in DC? Cool, here's mine:

It annoys me that immersion spots are awarded based on the lottery with no effort to show whether parents will be committed to the immersion aspect, which means that my tax dollars in DC go to provide immersion education to the kids of parents who DGAF about it and make no effort, while my kid was locked out of immersion programs due to bad lottery luck.

This is called public education. Everyone should get an equal chance. Unless it is an application school, then you don't get to rank people based on their "dedication" to the language. I pay tax dollars, too, and I am fine with everyone getting a chance to get in. You are ridiculous.

Good for you, but I think it's a waste of money to send a bunch of kids through immersion programs where they will not get the support they need to get the benefit of the program. If the minority of kids are actually learning the language, it's a poor use of public funds.

Perhaps instead of charter programs offered to a fraction of the population via lottery, which have mixed results and can even hamper learning in core subjects when kids are poorly supported at home, it would make more sense to invest in better elementary language education throughout the district.

Also, bet you anything you have a kid at an immersion school and you are "fine" with everyone getting a chance because you won the lottery and got in. Funny how that works.

You lose the bet. My kids are in immersion private school. I pay for the privilege. I still think public education should be open to all who want to apply. I still pay taxes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh, are we ranting about immersion in DC? Cool, here's mine:

It annoys me that immersion spots are awarded based on the lottery with no effort to show whether parents will be committed to the immersion aspect, which means that my tax dollars in DC go to provide immersion education to the kids of parents who DGAF about it and make no effort, while my kid was locked out of immersion programs due to bad lottery luck.

This is called public education. Everyone should get an equal chance. Unless it is an application school, then you don't get to rank people based on their "dedication" to the language. I pay tax dollars, too, and I am fine with everyone getting a chance to get in. You are ridiculous.

+1 OP and this other poster are basically saying only kids who have parents just like me should have access to this resource. Buzz off, losers.

False. They are saying that people who don't give a flying f*** about immersion probably shouldn't be in immersion. There are lots of ways to support immersion, but doing absolutely nothing isn't one of them.

I'd support an option where parents or caregivers in immersion programs had to attend a couple programs through the year on how to support language learning at home, where families who didn't bother to show up for 3-4 hours of instruction over the course of a full year would be unenrolled. I'm sure you will scream at me that this is an unreasonable expectation, and I know it would never happen because it would be deemed inequitable, but I personally think it would be a better way to run these programs.

There are a lot of kids in immersion programs in DC who aren't learning the language AND are not getting a good basic education either (in part because they aren't learning the language). Who does that help? Why would you defend that system?