Amharic Public Charter

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As somewhat of an aside (specifically to 12:52) I work with a gentleman who is fluent in Mandarin and spent the past few years in China. He told me he has several friends who have had difficulty finding jobs when they returned to the States, partially because there are more English speakers in China than in the US. (didn't say what industry)

I would think there would be a benefit to learning any language spoken on the continent of Africa (including French) because many countries have growing economies and by the time our children become adults there will be many jobs available at companies that conduct business there.

We think alike. I initially wanted YY for my child, but realized that Chinese and Chinese-American kids can take those jobs alot easier in the future. We're opting for French immersion this coming school year for precisely this reason (emerging markets in Africa).

The French keep hoping their language will make a comeback, I've only ever used mine in France. Fun though. The triple threat of the future is English-Mandarin-Spanish. I'd rather have DC learn Chinese now (hard) and Spanish (easy) in HS or college, but I will take whatever we get!

[Anonymous]

** Should add that I would love to see an Amharic charter. Multiple langauge schools in DC would only be good for the city. It's appropriate in the Capital of the Free World.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Good question. There are certainly more Ethipoians than Chinese. Before anyone jumps on me with the economic benefit of Mandarin, I would point out Sela.

Sela came to my Ethiopian church, we applied and some other families did as well. Maybe we can convince them to introduce Amharic in after schooling program.

+1

Many would not want an Amharic school, the students already are bilingual for the most part and are more interested in English. In Ethiopia even their teachers conduct lessons in English in high school. The Church and family take care of the language/culture.

Do you speak for all families? How can you know what families want?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As somewhat of an aside (specifically to 12:52) I work with a gentleman who is fluent in Mandarin and spent the past few years in China. He told me he has several friends who have had difficulty finding jobs when they returned to the States, partially because there are more English speakers in China than in the US. (didn't say what industry)

I would think there would be a benefit to learning any language spoken on the continent of Africa (including French) because many countries have growing economies and by the time our children become adults there will be many jobs available at companies that conduct business there.

We think alike. I initially wanted YY for my child, but realized that Chinese and Chinese-American kids can take those jobs alot easier in the future. We're opting for French immersion this coming school year for precisely this reason (emerging markets in Africa).

+1. I was thinking the same thing about Mandarin immersion for my kids ( YY). My cousin teaches English in China and told me Spanish, Farsi, French or just plain ol' English is a better option for the future. Sure, it sounds cool that your 6 year old can speak Chinese but the Chinese students will be able to speak better English. Yes, there is a huge Ethiopian and Eritrean community in DC. There are some at my DC's schools. If I didn't know there parents, I would have never guessed they were Ethiopian or Eritrean.

[Anonymous]

I'd like an Amharic charter (and I am Jewish, and speak more Spanish than any other non-English language). I think there should also be an ASL charter, with kids who have different amounts of hearing.

There are a lot of kids in the area adopted from Ethiopia and I bet their parents would be all over an Amharic school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As somewhat of an aside (specifically to 12:52) I work with a gentleman who is fluent in Mandarin and spent the past few years in China. He told me he has several friends who have had difficulty finding jobs when they returned to the States, partially because there are more English speakers in China than in the US. (didn't say what industry)

I would think there would be a benefit to learning any language spoken on the continent of Africa (including French) because many countries have growing economies and by the time our children become adults there will be many jobs available at companies that conduct business there.

We think alike. I initially wanted YY for my child, but realized that Chinese and Chinese-American kids can take those jobs alot easier in the future. We're opting for French immersion this coming school year for precisely this reason (emerging markets in Africa).

+1. I was thinking the same thing about Mandarin immersion for my kids ( YY). My cousin teaches English in China and told me Spanish, Farsi, French or just plain ol' English is a better option for the future. Sure, it sounds cool that your 6 year old can speak Chinese but the Chinese students will be able to speak better English. Yes, there is a huge Ethiopian and Eritrean community in DC. There are some at my DC's schools. If I didn't know there parents, I would have never guessed they were Ethiopian or Eritrean.

Not here. The (many) girls I've met from China have exactly zero interest in Spanish, Farsi, and French. English though - specifically American English - yes.

Now, you have no idea how well individual Chinese will speak English. I can guarantee that everyone in China who is learning English is not learning from a native English speaker, and that everyone who learns some English is hardly fluent and certainly not automatically better than a student who is studying Chinese through immersion.

In my experience communication works best when both parties are adept in both languages. I only speak three languages though, so YMMV.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As somewhat of an aside (specifically to 12:52) I work with a gentleman who is fluent in Mandarin and spent the past few years in China. He told me he has several friends who have had difficulty finding jobs when they returned to the States, partially because there are more English speakers in China than in the US. (didn't say what industry)

I would think there would be a benefit to learning any language spoken on the continent of Africa (including French) because many countries have growing economies and by the time our children become adults there will be many jobs available at companies that conduct business there.

We think alike. I initially wanted YY for my child, but realized that Chinese and Chinese-American kids can take those jobs alot easier in the future. We're opting for French immersion this coming school year for precisely this reason (emerging markets in Africa).

The French keep hoping their language will make a comeback, I've only ever used mine in France. Fun though. The triple threat of the future is English-Mandarin-Spanish. I'd rather have DC learn Chinese now (hard) and Spanish (easy) in HS or college, but I will take whatever we get!

I agree with learning a 'hard' language now, given the choice (which Amharic would certainly be). However, I'm not sure what the "triple threat" will be, but I think I'm going to lean towards French making a comeback since they colonized so many countries that are now starting to 'develop' for lack of a better word.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As somewhat of an aside (specifically to 12:52) I work with a gentleman who is fluent in Mandarin and spent the past few years in China. He told me he has several friends who have had difficulty finding jobs when they returned to the States, partially because there are more English speakers in China than in the US. (didn't say what industry)

I would think there would be a benefit to learning any language spoken on the continent of Africa (including French) because many countries have growing economies and by the time our children become adults there will be many jobs available at companies that conduct business there.

We think alike. I initially wanted YY for my child, but realized that Chinese and Chinese-American kids can take those jobs alot easier in the future. We're opting for French immersion this coming school year for precisely this reason (emerging markets in Africa).

The French keep hoping their language will make a comeback, I've only ever used mine in France. Fun though. The triple threat of the future is English-Mandarin-Spanish. I'd rather have DC learn Chinese now (hard) and Spanish (easy) in HS or college, but I will take whatever we get!

I agree with learning a 'hard' language now, given the choice (which Amharic would certainly be). However, I'm not sure what the "triple threat" will be, but I think I'm going to lean towards French making a comeback since they colonized so many countries that are now starting to 'develop' for lack of a better word.

Don't bet the farm.

There are 21 countries in Africa where French is *an* official language, and 23 where English is *an* official language. However, they're not evenly distributed economically. Obviously the largest economy and only 1st world country is South Africa, where you need English. Afrikaans or various tribal languages are present as well. The only two African countries in the "Next 11" and/or "D8" are Egypt and Nigeria. You'll need Arabic and English respectively.

Looking at the top 5 GDPs in Africa, the languages are: English (So. Africa), Arabic (Egypt), English (Nigeria), Berber/French - Berber 1st (Algeria), and Portuguese (Angola). Nothing below the top 3 is remotely significant. Though, for the record, the next 5 are: Morocco (Arabic/Berber), Sudan (Arabic/English), Tunisia (Arabic/French/Berber), Ghana (English), and Libya (Arabic/Berber).

Another way to look at this, is how many people in the world speak French. In descending order the number of Francophones in the world (both full and partial) by country are: France, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Algeria, Ivory Coast, Canada, Morocco, Camaroon, Tunisia, Belgium, Guinea.

In terms of both economic power and sheer population, French is a language of declining importance.

[Anonymous]

Triple threat: English, Mandarin, Arabic. Or, English, Mandarin, Spanish?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Triple threat: English, Mandarin, Arabic. Or, English, Mandarin, Spanish?

Either one, definitely.

[Anonymous]

Amharic, really?

I would wager that there are more Irish-Americans living in the District than there are people of Ethiopian descent.

What are the odds the charter board would approve a Celtic culture / language school? Probably nil.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Amharic, really?

I would wager that there are more Irish-Americans living in the District than there are people of Ethiopian descent.

What are the odds the charter board would approve a Celtic culture / language school? Probably nil.

There are more people of Ethiopian descent in the DC area than any other metropolitan area in the world except Addis. Some estimates put the number as high as 250,000.

Comparing Amharic, a living language spoken as the first language by many people, with Celtic is absurd.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Amharic, really?

I would wager that there are more Irish-Americans living in the District than there are people of Ethiopian descent.

What are the odds the charter board would approve a Celtic culture / language school? Probably nil.

There are more people of Ethiopian descent in the DC area than any other metropolitan area in the world except Addis. Some estimates put the number as high as 250,000.

Comparing Amharic, a living language spoken as the first language by many people, with Celtic is absurd.

I will give you my first-born child if there aren't one MILLION people in the Washington metro area of 5+ million that aren't a % Irish. So numbers of claimants alone isn't compelling.

Is it that Ethiopia is an economic and cultural powerhouse? Is that why non-Amharic kids need to learn the language (ala Mandarin) ? That might hold more water than the 250K = "we need a school for ourselves" argument

[Anonymous]

It won't work without buy-in from the Scottish speakers, but they will probably stick to their MoCo heritage schools.

[Anonymous]

Regardless of the population of Ethiopians, they do not want a school that teaches them 1/2 the subjects in Amharic. If you don't believe them, go to their church next weekend and ask. These bilingual schools are not for the benefit or desire of native speakers.