Why Hebrew immersion at Sela?

[Anonymous]

I really don’t mean that to sound quite so confrontational, but I received an email promoting the school today, and I feel like I’m taking crazy pills: why is there a Hebrew language public charter school? I’m in an interfaith half Jewish/half not relationship, so I guess I’m kind of cheerfully befuddled - why on earth would people with no connection to Israel or Judaism want to learn Hebrew?

[Anonymous]

Sometimes it's the best school a person got into.

Sometimes a person's mom was a Classics major and never quite got over it.

[Anonymous]

I think people just like any language immersion around here and any alternative to the DCPS inbound. You could also ask this question about any of the bilingual charters. Few families really have a connection to that one language.

[Anonymous]

It’s also a very well run, well performing little school that does not have an impossible waitlist. The language is likely secondary to a good percentage of families there, but don’t mind it as an added bonus for the cognitive benefits of language exposure.

[Anonymous]

Your DC tax dollars at work.

[Anonymous]

What's wrong with having Hebrew as a language option at school? It's a fascinating language and has practical applications beyond reading religious texts. It's spoken in Israel, which has a vibrant science and technology sector, archeological sites, etc. Middle East diplomacy is a big deal. I think it's great for a school to offer selections beyond the usual Spanish and French. I know a non-Jewish person (a polyglot) who is now learning Hebrew and loves it.

[Anonymous]

The cynical view - I think this is a factor, though even the supporters of immerson programs try to deny it to others, as well as to themselves - if you have a program like this you (1) privilege those who can speak the language on one side in terms of difficulty of participation in the program, if not technically in terms of the DC lottery terms and (2) allow those who get comfortable with the program to create an in-culture; and (3) this is most important and most strenuously denied by the promoters - it allows the program to REJECT those who can't stick with the language program or NOT ALLOW ENTRY after "time frame X" by students outside the program. That means a language-focuse school gradually sheds students who can't hack it, and that tends to allow the program to be more exclusive and academic.

Most importantly, the students that schools (and parents) don't want are the homeless or near-homeless children of the uneducated and shiftless who are commonly behavior and academic problem children. Having a schooling requirement - the language - that requires more than just showing up at several stages: lottery, attendance, testing, year-to-year progress - functions to not allow these true loser students to continue to be in your kids' schools.

LOOK nobody knows how to deal with these kids and they make it hard for families to want to go to the "comprehensive" schools of last resort for their kids' schooling when they know disruptive losers will be their kids' fellow students.

But trying to keep your kids segregated from those kids is definitely part of the attraction of these language schools, the oddest of which probably remains this revived language of 1 country/10 million people that has no obvious use besides moving to Tel Aviv or passing your bar mitzvah.

SO, some people will deny what I'm talking about, but generally there's more truth in the BS I spewed above than they want to admit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The cynical view - I think this is a factor, though even the supporters of immerson programs try to deny it to others, as well as to themselves - if you have a program like this you (1) privilege those who can speak the language on one side in terms of difficulty of participation in the program, if not technically in terms of the DC lottery terms and (2) allow those who get comfortable with the program to create an in-culture; and (3) this is most important and most strenuously denied by the promoters - it allows the program to REJECT those who can't stick with the language program or NOT ALLOW ENTRY after "time frame X" by students outside the program. That means a language-focuse school gradually sheds students who can't hack it, and that tends to allow the program to be more exclusive and academic.

Most importantly, the students that schools (and parents) don't want are the homeless or near-homeless children of the uneducated and shiftless who are commonly behavior and academic problem children. Having a schooling requirement - the language - that requires more than just showing up at several stages: lottery, attendance, testing, year-to-year progress - functions to not allow these true loser students to continue to be in your kids' schools.

LOOK nobody knows how to deal with these kids and they make it hard for families to want to go to the "comprehensive" schools of last resort for their kids' schooling when they know disruptive losers will be their kids' fellow students.

But trying to keep your kids segregated from those kids is definitely part of the attraction of these language schools, the oddest of which probably remains this revived language of 1 country/10 million people that has no obvious use besides moving to Tel Aviv or passing your bar mitzvah.

SO, some people will deny what I'm talking about, but generally there's more truth in the BS I spewed above than they want to admit.

Sela accepts transfer students in later grades.

[Anonymous]

Sela is a great school. Wanted to throw that in here. Proud Sela parents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The cynical view - I think this is a factor, though even the supporters of immerson programs try to deny it to others, as well as to themselves - if you have a program like this you (1) privilege those who can speak the language on one side in terms of difficulty of participation in the program, if not technically in terms of the DC lottery terms and (2) allow those who get comfortable with the program to create an in-culture; and (3) this is most important and most strenuously denied by the promoters - it allows the program to REJECT those who can't stick with the language program or NOT ALLOW ENTRY after "time frame X" by students outside the program. That means a language-focuse school gradually sheds students who can't hack it, and that tends to allow the program to be more exclusive and academic.

Most importantly, the students that schools (and parents) don't want are the homeless or near-homeless children of the uneducated and shiftless who are commonly behavior and academic problem children. Having a schooling requirement - the language - that requires more than just showing up at several stages: lottery, attendance, testing, year-to-year progress - functions to not allow these true loser students to continue to be in your kids' schools.

LOOK nobody knows how to deal with these kids and they make it hard for families to want to go to the "comprehensive" schools of last resort for their kids' schooling when they know disruptive losers will be their kids' fellow students.

But trying to keep your kids segregated from those kids is definitely part of the attraction of these language schools, the oddest of which probably remains this revived language of 1 country/10 million people that has no obvious use besides moving to Tel Aviv or passing your bar mitzvah.

SO, some people will deny what I'm talking about, but generally there's more truth in the BS I spewed above than they want to admit.

This poster could not be more off base when it comes to Sela. I have a friend whose special needs/lower income child is at Sela with an IEP and they have been fantastic for this child, who is in the upper grades and has been there for years. Likewise, I have another friend whose child is more advanced and Sela has been great about trying to accommodate and challenge that child. Both kids are URM. (Sela has a large URM population).

I’ve only heard great things about the school and from what I hear the only reason people leave early is because of the middle school issue.

To answer the OP’s question, one of my friends with a kid there is a devout Christian and sees value in learning Hebrew because of the Hebrew scriptures, in addition to the fact that they think language immersion of any kind is great. They went there after getting shut out of other immersion programs but have decided to stay because it really is a fantastic school.

[Anonymous]

Why not Hebrew?

Also Jews are in an interesting situation but to learn Hebrew you do not have to learn or practice Judaism.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why not Hebrew?

Also Jews are in an interesting situation but to learn Hebrew you do not have to learn or practice Judaism.

Exactly!

[Anonymous]

Why do we learn any language ever?
All languages are valid.

[Anonymous]

Also - it would probably behoove a lot of christians who use the bible as a sword to read it in the original language - hebrew - as opposed to a translation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Also - it would probably behoove a lot of christians who use the bible as a sword to read it in the original language - hebrew - as opposed to a translation.

I’m the person above with the Christian friend who values Hebrew because of the Hebrew scriptures. The Old Testament (i e Hebrew scriptures) from the Christian bible, was written in Hebrew and Aramaic. The New Testament, which forms the essential core of Christianity and documents the life of Christ,’was written originally in Greek. So you are a little off base with the snark.

At any rate supposedly learning one Semitic language makes it easier to learn others (like Arabic and Amharic)—that is likely very valuable.