Translating in Class?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My brother went to first grade in Sweden not knowing a word. He picked it up. Can't believe how selfish people are. I bet the kid who is translating is picking up a valuable skill both in improving their english and spanish and the development of empathy.

Hmm...

Affluent 7yr old goes to an affluent country and learns Swedish at a young age when everyone is also just learning to read in 1st grade. Swedish kids also get English lessons and 86% can speak English.

Pretty sure this is not even close to a decent analogy.

Probably 86% of Swedish 7-year-olds don't speak English, though.

Wouldn't it be great if kids in our schools got foreign language instruction that was as early and as effective as the foreign language instruction in Swedish schools?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My brother went to first grade in Sweden not knowing a word. He picked it up. Can't believe how selfish people are. I bet the kid who is translating is picking up a valuable skill both in improving their english and spanish and the development of empathy.

And what about the other 20 who are slowed down? Does their education matter?

Do you have any idea what it means to be part of a community? It doesn't mean that my kid gets every single stinking thing they want all the time. Sometimes someone else's kid gets more. Sometimes a kid who is less privileged gets the help they need while my more privileged kid has to wait around. I highly doubt that YOUR child will somehow miss the ability to spell and do math on account of this kid. If you don't want to have to accommodate anyone else then you should homeschool.

"Sometimes" ... does NOT mean everyday, all day, for every class lesson. That is what is happening here.

OP posted on September 6, aka the third day of school, and does not seem to have returned to the thread. I think it's safe to assume that this situation will not continue every day, all day, for every class lesson, from September 6 through June 15.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My brother went to first grade in Sweden not knowing a word. He picked it up. Can't believe how selfish people are. I bet the kid who is translating is picking up a valuable skill both in improving their english and spanish and the development of empathy.

Hmm...

Affluent 7yr old goes to an affluent country and learns Swedish at a young age when everyone is also just learning to read in 1st grade. Swedish kids also get English lessons and 86% can speak English.

Pretty sure this is not even close to a decent analogy.

Probably 86% of Swedish 7-year-olds don't speak English, though.

Wouldn't it be great if kids in our schools got foreign language instruction that was as early and as effective as the foreign language instruction in Swedish schools?

Close to 100% of developed nations have mandatory English in their schools starting at a young age. Japan, China, EU, etc.

Does Guatemala even have a K-12 education system? Is it national, state, village, a total free for all?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My brother went to first grade in Sweden not knowing a word. He picked it up. Can't believe how selfish people are. I bet the kid who is translating is picking up a valuable skill both in improving their english and spanish and the development of empathy.

Hmm...

Affluent 7yr old goes to an affluent country and learns Swedish at a young age when everyone is also just learning to read in 1st grade. Swedish kids also get English lessons and 86% can speak English.

Pretty sure this is not even close to a decent analogy.

Probably 86% of Swedish 7-year-olds don't speak English, though.

Wouldn't it be great if kids in our schools got foreign language instruction that was as early and as effective as the foreign language instruction in Swedish schools?

1. What is described in the OP is not a language exchange where all kids are equally benefitted.
2. Your first sentence contradicts your second sentence.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My daughter just told me that her 5th grade class has a new child that only speaks Spanish. There is another child in the class that is kinda bilingual. The teacher is using google translator to talk to her directly and she says after a few sentences when speaking to the whole class, she pauses so the other bilingual girl can translate to her the same few sentences, and then this continues every few sentences. Does this truly happen in other schools? Who just sends a 5th grader into a school, that doesn't know any English? Does the teacher have to continue this bilingual lessons. It must eat up so much time.

OMG. I was that kid. Except I was in 6th grade and had to learn Japanese. You must not get out much.

Troll. Japan state schools would not have put you in with “6th grade” Japanese students.
You would have had to Int’l school or start w the four year olds learning your kanji stroke order. Or some special ed school for gaijin who can’t afford intl school.

Oh, if only MCPS could do this

So, you'd be fine with frustrated middle school aged boys in with your preschooler? Is that actually what you want?

Not to mention, given that this method has been shown to increase illiteracy, I assume you're OK with paying increased taxes to cover the costs from increasing unemployment.

I think the ESOL and FARMS test data for 6th, 8th and 9th grades speaks for itself. The numerical and English literacy scores are beyond dismal year after year after year until the illiterate child times out of public school or drops out. Or maybe MCPS is like DCPS and keeps graduating people with high absenteeism and poor test scores and grades.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My brother went to first grade in Sweden not knowing a word. He picked it up. Can't believe how selfish people are. I bet the kid who is translating is picking up a valuable skill both in improving their english and spanish and the development of empathy.

Hmm...

Affluent 7yr old goes to an affluent country and learns Swedish at a young age when everyone is also just learning to read in 1st grade. Swedish kids also get English lessons and 86% can speak English.

Pretty sure this is not even close to a decent analogy.

Probably 86% of Swedish 7-year-olds don't speak English, though.

Wouldn't it be great if kids in our schools got foreign language instruction that was as early and as effective as the foreign language instruction in Swedish schools?

1. What is described in the OP is not a language exchange where all kids are equally benefitted.
2. Your first sentence contradicts your second sentence.

PP you're responding to. No, it doesn't. I don't know when kids start English instruction in Swedish schools, but even if they start when they're 7, that's learning English, not being able to speak English. It's like saying that my middle-school kid who just started Spanish this year is able to speak Spanish. She isn't. She is learning Spanish. (Or at least, I hope she's learning Spanish.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I think the ESOL and FARMS test data for 6th, 8th and 9th grades speaks for itself. The numerical and English literacy scores are beyond dismal year after year after year until the illiterate child times out of public school or drops out. Or maybe MCPS is like DCPS and keeps graduating people with high absenteeism and poor test scores and grades.

What numbers, specifically, are you referring to, and when these numbers speak for themselves, what exactly are they saying?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My brother went to first grade in Sweden not knowing a word. He picked it up. Can't believe how selfish people are. I bet the kid who is translating is picking up a valuable skill both in improving their english and spanish and the development of empathy.

Hmm...

Affluent 7yr old goes to an affluent country and learns Swedish at a young age when everyone is also just learning to read in 1st grade. Swedish kids also get English lessons and 86% can speak English.

Pretty sure this is not even close to a decent analogy.

Probably 86% of Swedish 7-year-olds don't speak English, though.

Wouldn't it be great if kids in our schools got foreign language instruction that was as early and as effective as the foreign language instruction in Swedish schools?

WE DONT HAVE THE MONEY BECAUSE WE SPEND MILLIONS ON HIRING ESOL TEACHERS

Lady, you are honestly clueless comparing Sweden and America.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My brother went to first grade in Sweden not knowing a word. He picked it up. Can't believe how selfish people are. I bet the kid who is translating is picking up a valuable skill both in improving their english and spanish and the development of empathy.

Hmm...

Affluent 7yr old goes to an affluent country and learns Swedish at a young age when everyone is also just learning to read in 1st grade. Swedish kids also get English lessons and 86% can speak English.

Pretty sure this is not even close to a decent analogy.

Probably 86% of Swedish 7-year-olds don't speak English, though.

Wouldn't it be great if kids in our schools got foreign language instruction that was as early and as effective as the foreign language instruction in Swedish schools?

1. What is described in the OP is not a language exchange where all kids are equally benefitted.
2. Your first sentence contradicts your second sentence.

PP you're responding to. No, it doesn't. I don't know when kids start English instruction in Swedish schools, but even if they start when they're 7, that's learning English, not being able to speak English. It's like saying that my middle-school kid who just started Spanish this year is able to speak Spanish. She isn't. She is learning Spanish. (Or at least, I hope she's learning Spanish.)

Pretty sure if 86% of Swedish people know English, kids aren’t just learning it for the first time in 1st grade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Pretty sure if 86% of Swedish people know English, kids aren’t just learning it for the first time in 1st grade.

Why?

Do you think that Swedish parents are speaking to their pre-schoolers in English? Or ...?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My brother went to first grade in Sweden not knowing a word. He picked it up. Can't believe how selfish people are. I bet the kid who is translating is picking up a valuable skill both in improving their english and spanish and the development of empathy.

Hmm...

Affluent 7yr old goes to an affluent country and learns Swedish at a young age when everyone is also just learning to read in 1st grade. Swedish kids also get English lessons and 86% can speak English.

Pretty sure this is not even close to a decent analogy.

Probably 86% of Swedish 7-year-olds don't speak English, though.

Wouldn't it be great if kids in our schools got foreign language instruction that was as early and as effective as the foreign language instruction in Swedish schools?

WE DONT HAVE THE MONEY BECAUSE WE SPEND MILLIONS ON HIRING ESOL TEACHERS

Lady, you are honestly clueless comparing Sweden and America.

+1 Sheesh

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Pretty sure if 86% of Swedish people know English, kids aren’t just learning it for the first time in 1st grade.

Why?

Do you think that Swedish parents are speaking to their pre-schoolers in English? Or ...?

If 86% are bilingual and English is taught as a second language in elementary, than yes I think many bilingual parents teach both languages early on. Do you think they just wait until when? Puberty

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Pretty sure if 86% of Swedish people know English, kids aren’t just learning it for the first time in 1st grade.

Why?

Do you think that Swedish parents are speaking to their pre-schoolers in English? Or ...?

If 86% are bilingual and English is taught as a second language in elementary, than yes I think many bilingual parents teach both languages early on. Do you think they just wait until when? Puberty

This has nothing to do with the topic. Kids mentioned in the OP are not getting bilingual education. They are getting shafted.