Compulsory Spanish as a Special for 5th-Graders in MoCo?

[Anonymous]

My son came home from first day of school at Chevy Chase Elementary and announced that Spanish had replaced Computer Lab as a (required) special. Big surprise. I have long favored an earlier start in MoCo for foreign languages than 6th grade, but I am not sure it should be at the expense of computer literacy and I wish there were a choice between at least two languages.

Are all the MoCo elementaries instituting instruction in Spanish in 5th grade? Do the other elementaries still teach computer literacy in 5th grade?

[Anonymous]

I had not heard of that and it's not in place at my children's schools.

However, I think the MCPS ES computer labs are a big waste of time. I would prefer the language option.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I had not heard of that and it's not in place at my children's schools.

However, I think the MCPS ES computer labs are a big waste of time. I would prefer the language option.

OP here. I agree with you that there are good and bad computer labs, but the problem is, if Spanish is required, it's not an "option." DS has to take French in the future (because all the other family members speak French), so this one year of dabbling in Spanish is a waste of time. We all know that one year of Spanish taught at this grade level is not going to be very useful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are all the MoCo elementaries instituting instruction in Spanish in 5th grade? Do the other elementaries still teach computer literacy in 5th grade?

At College Gardens, the language special is Chinese. They removed Spanish as the language special last year because of the school's Chinese Immersion program. Honestly, I wish it were Spanish because I can't try to communicate/fake my way through Chinese words with my son, but I can make reasonable guesses at Spanish. (I had Latin and French in high school, French in college.)

I am not aware of computer literacy as a special, but my son is in 1st grade this year, not 5th.

[Anonymous]

OP, study of any language is good for the brain. It isn't a waste of time and could even help with French language learning later. Go with it!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, study of any language is good for the brain. It isn't a waste of time and could even help with French language learning later. Go with it!

You are preaching to the converted! I, OP, am a big fan of multilingialism. My children are trilingual at home (in addition to French and Latin that the older ones learn later in school, as DH and I did). However, every course of study has an opportunity cost. In this case, it seems that CCES fifth-graders are having to give up computer lab for compulsory Spanish. If a foreign language is to be compulsory (and I am glad that it is, for I have long favored an earlier start to foreign-language instruction), I would have liked a choice between two languages, at least. One year of Spanish at this level will not give DS any fluency (and it will be just one year, for DS will start French next year at Westland Middle, as his elder siblings did.

[Anonymous]

Any computer skills you teach kids today are going to be outdated in a couple of years. Couple that with the fact that kids are pretty good at teaching themselves to use technology in their free time and computer education in schools really seems like a waste of time.

You might want to check out this link. It is a study on the effects of the push toward computer-based education in schools called "Fool's Gold: A Critical Look at Computers in Childhood."

“The fundamental dilemma of computer-based instruction and other ITbased educational technologies is that their cost effectiveness compared to other forms of instruction — for example, smaller class sizes, self-paced learning, peer teaching, small group learning, innovative curricula, and in-class tutors — has never been proven.”—U.S. National Science Board, Science & Engineering Indicators — 1998.

http://drupal6.allianceforchildhood.org/fools_gold

[Anonymous]

Yep -- I've already reached the point where my 10 year old son does tech support for me -- and he didn't learn any of that in his MCPS classes!

I do realize that many MCPS students don't have access to computers at home, though.

[Anonymous]

I thought MCPS was no longer funding languages in ES. At College Gardens, they replaced spanish with a volunteer (untrained/uncertified) teacher from China due to funding issues. Since the kids were mostly watching Chinese videos they stopped that and are now just using Chinese culture lessons to fill the IB requirement for languages. We'll see..got to be better than last year...

[Anonymous]

OP here. I just returned from CCES Back-to-School night. There I learned that the computer-lab teaching position was cut, and the teacher who taught computer lab is now teaching writing to fifth-graders. From the description tonight, seems that the writing instruction will incorporate use of technology. It seems that computer lab was renamed "writing."

And I want to address the idea that kids get enough knowledge of computer technology from using computers at home. This is not necessarily true. My kids use the computer for fun at home, but we have Macs at home, and I got an e-mail last year from my DD's eighth-grade teacher telling me that DD was woefully lacking in skills needed to use the Microsoft-system computers at school, including making necessary Power Point presentations. I was shocked because DH is in the computer business and our house has the latest in computer technology. So, no, playing on the computer at home is not enough computer literacy.

[Anonymous]

Read the link to the report. The main point is, what is so intellectually meaningful about learning powerpoint?

[Anonymous]

Do they actually teach them things like Powerpoint in computer lab, though?

I have a Mac at home too, and use MS Office for Mac so that I can be compatible with work. So that might be something to try.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Read the link to the report. The main point is, what is so intellectually meaningful about learning powerpoint?

It's wasn't that Powerpoint is intellectually meaningful; no one claimed that. The problem was that my DC was to make a Powerpoint presentation in class and hadn't learned how. DC had come from a school that hadn't taught Powerpoint, while other students in his class presumably had somehow learned Powerpoint.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I just returned from CCES Back-to-School night. There I learned that the computer-lab teaching position was cut, and the teacher who taught computer lab is now teaching writing to fifth-graders. From the description tonight, seems that the writing instruction will incorporate use of technology. It seems that computer lab was renamed "writing."

And I want to address the idea that kids get enough knowledge of computer technology from using computers at home. This is not necessarily true. My kids use the computer for fun at home, but we have Macs at home, and I got an e-mail last year from my DD's eighth-grade teacher telling me that DD was woefully lacking in skills needed to use the Microsoft-system computers at school, including making necessary Power Point presentations. I was shocked because DH is in the computer business and our house has the latest in computer technology. So, no, playing on the computer at home is not enough computer literacy.

Hi, OP. We are also at CCES, and I want to add that I am also under the impression that the 5th/Spanish as a special situation is a function of budget cuts specific to CCES. My understanding is that this "Spanish as a Special" is not going to be intensive academic language learning, but more of a broader intro to Spanish language and culture.

I encourage everyone to speak up to the principal if they are unhappy about the emphasis on Spanish and the unavailability of French language for 6th graders (as they would have if they were at Westland). I believe strongly in early language opportunities, but not for Spanish only.

[Anonymous]

For this person:

Anonymous wrote:I thought MCPS was no longer funding languages in ES. At College Gardens, they replaced spanish with a volunteer (untrained/uncertified) teacher from China due to funding issues. Since the kids were mostly watching Chinese videos they stopped that and are now just using Chinese culture lessons to fill the IB requirement for languages. We'll see..got to be better than last year...

I'm 13:29 (with the son now in 1st grade at CGES). At orientation in May 2009, the principal had said that the school would be fully moving to Chinese from Spanish for 2-5, but K-1 was a bit undetermined because of some budgeting/funding issues. I volunteered in 3 K rooms last spring (and also cafeteria duty) and was able to learn through my volunteering that there were 2 Chinese teachers who did the "special" class. (One Chinese teacher gave out the Got Attitude stickers quite liberally to Kindergarteners; the other (a CGES/MCPS teacher prior to last year) did not.) My son had the latter teacher. I asked him this morning what he did in Chinese class last year and said it was mostly going over words and learning about culture. I asked if he watched videos and he said he did not.

It sounds like our children had different resource teachers.

My son also told me this morning that this year he didn't think he would have Chinese class and would only have 4 specials. This sounds somewhat consistent with Dr. DuPont's statement of uncertainty from May 2009. I am looking for to Back to School night later this month.