Sp or Ch language?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

The emphasis on diversity does come at the expense of the learning: you would need more Chinese parents and kids for the school to teach the language and culture very effectively but nobody much at YY gives a hoot. The teachers are also polite and low key, not be confused with content.

Looks like the school chose 'diversity' over the 'benefits gained by having more bilingual kids' and for 4, 5, 6, 7 yr olds, I'll rather have the diversity - knowing and living it at a young age is a more valuable lesson for living in the U.S. and certainly trumps the benefits conferred by having more biligual and/or ethnic Chinese kids in a classroom especially for this age group.

I also know and like the new assistant principal.

The 2-way language model may work better for language and cultural knowledge and it would be a good thing for high school and later but I'll rather have the 1 way model for our child if it means he can have more diverse peers for elementary school.

But isn't that the point of a immersion program, learning the culture, language and diversity. Shouldn't have to choose. We are at a spanish immersion program and my child benefits from a 2-way model with peers that are bilingual and there is diversity.

[Anonymous]

I went to a NYC magnet that had test based entrance and was majority Asian b/c of it. While it was a great education, it did not reflect society as a whole. While that is fine for high school, I don't want to send my child to a school especially for early elementary that is like that: The same reason I would never send my child to an immersion Mandarin/Spanish/Korean/Hebrew school or to an public elementary school in an predominant ethnic enclave like Chinatown.

Mandarin is important to our family but so is diversity - the two reasons we did not send DC to private especially for elementary school. Do what you feel fits your family.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I went to a NYC magnet that had test based entrance and was majority Asian b/c of it. While it was a great education, it did not reflect society as a whole. While that is fine for high school, I don't want to send my child to a school especially for early elementary that is like that: The same reason I would never send my child to an immersion Mandarin/Spanish/Korean/Hebrew school or to an public elementary school in an predominant ethnic enclave like Chinatown.

Mandarin is important to our family but so is diversity - the two reasons we did not send DC to private especially for elementary school. Do what you feel fits your family.

No worries mate, YY's population is thought to be around 5% Chinese (adopted girls not included) and 2% fully bilingual. A far cry from the 60% Asian (more than half Chinese) at Stuyvesant, Bronx Science and Bronx Tech. By contrast, the MoCo Chinese immersion ES school kids are about 40% Chinese and one-quarter fully bilingual upon entry.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: But isn't that the point of a immersion program, learning the culture, language and diversity. Shouldn't have to choose. We are at a spanish immersion program and my child benefits from a 2-way model with peers that are bilingual and there is diversity.

You nailed it, PP, but you're talking to a wall.

Very few YY parents see value in a 2-way model. They've chosen great diversity over a reasonably authentic cultural experience and the many language acquisition inputs a critical mass of bilingual peers and their relatives could provide. Although they reside in a city that could support a 2-way model, unlike, say Amherst MA, with its Chinese immersion school, they've rejected it along with DC Charter.

Vive the diverse DC Spanish immersion programs.

[Anonymous]

I find it unfair to say that YY parents have chosen diversity or anything else over immersion that includes more Mandarin (or Cantonese) speakers. That would be accurate if we'd each been offered spots at YY and at a school run on the model PPs are suggesting--but YY is the only free public Mandarin immersion program in DC.

As to the suggestion that the PA dedicate itself to changing the schools lottery process (requiring an amended charter and a possible change to charter law) or allowing for admisson tests (which would require the Council to deal with the idea that kids with advanced skills in ANY area be permitted to attend special programs at taxpayer expense--see any BASIS thread for a glimpse of that shitstorm), this is highly unlikely. As was mentioned upthread, on paper the PA has zero power; we raise $ for the school and try to share concerns, but neither the charter board, the school's board, nor the school's administration is obligated to listen to a word we say.

For the PA there's also an element of triage. There are a lot of concerns that pop up over the course of a school year, and most parents--myself included--pay the most attention to short-term issues that affect our own children day-to-day. Over the past 12 months, the big PA initiatives I can think of were constructing the school's playground and holding administrators' feet to the fire over bullying. Sure, more Mandarin speakers would be awesome--but I can't prioritize that goal over my child's health and happiness.

(After all, if I cared about the long term over my kids' needs, I'd just keep them in their IB school and work like hell to make it better for the next generation--never mind the boredom and worse my kids would face.)

[Anonymous]

I still don't understand why YY can't strive for at least 1/3 Mandarin/Cantonese speaking students and the remaining 2/3 be english-speaking diverse (ethnicity and race).

[Anonymous]

What should YY do differently, PP, to strive for that, within the constraints of the law? Like OP I am considering YY and certainly wish there were more native speakers but we are dealing with a small native speaker population in DC and apparently, some bad feelings on each side already.

[Anonymous]

YY should reach out to native speakers and emphasize that applying on the first day, the first hour of the lottery, puts them on top of the wait list. Everyone on DCUM knows this and plans accordingly. Native speakers may or may not know. They could highlight native speakers on their internal wait list, and as soon as one comes to number 1, accept them even if the class size appeared to be one over target.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Spanish. The argument that there are more Chinese speakers than Spanish speakers is beside the point. You can only speak Chinese in one country. You're limiting your choices. It's true most Chinese do not speak English, but my sense is that will change.

Excuse your ignorance, but there is China, Singapore, Taiwan, Macau, hong kong.

And I bet you run into sooooo many people from these countries all the time, right? (outside of an immersion school parking lot).

This whole debate is so stupid - Chinese (or it is Cantonese Chinese only??) is WORTHLESS unless you want to vacay in one of the what - 5 - above countries.

Here is the list of Spanish speaking countries, most of which are in the Americas, like, where we live (just a couple more. . .):

Spain
Cuba
Dominican Republic
Puerto Rico
Mexico
Guatemala
Honduras
El Salvador
Nicaragua
Costa Rica
Panama
Venezuela
Colombia
Ecuador
Peru
Bolivia
Paraguay
Chile
Argentina
Uruguay
Equatorial Guinea

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Spanish. The argument that there are more Chinese speakers than Spanish speakers is beside the point. You can only speak Chinese in one country. You're limiting your choices. It's true most Chinese do not speak English, but my sense is that will change.

Excuse your ignorance, but there is China, Singapore, Taiwan, Macau, hong kong.

Excuse YOUR ignorance, but:

Hong Kong is in China, since like, the 90s.

Taiwan is a province of China.

And while some people in Singapore might speak Mandarin, it's not their language - it's Malay.

And in Macau, their language is Patua.

So really, only some Chinese people speak Catonese Chinese. That's ONE country. How valuable. And what a wonderful country it is - human torture, salt up the nose, rock soups, and all. Yum. Can't wait to go there and show my support.

[Anonymous]

Just to clarify: YY teaches Mandarin, not Cantonese. And while China claims Taiwan as a province, it's actually a thriving democracy over which the OTC has no control.

[Anonymous]

Sorry, PRC, not OTC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:YY should reach out to native speakers and emphasize that applying on the first day, the first hour of the lottery, puts them on top of the wait list. Everyone on DCUM knows this and plans accordingly. Native speakers may or may not know. They could highlight native speakers on their internal wait list, and as soon as one comes to number 1, accept them even if the class size appeared to be one over target.

Perhaps you have not read the entire thread. YY did reach out to the DC Chinese community, and was summarily rebuffed.

[Anonymous]

The PA should change charter law, huh? That's rich. We are volunteers who, in our SPARE TIME, have bake sales and potlucks, help cut out papers and stuff folders for teachers, and raise money for projects at the school. But fear not! I shall get right on adding lobbying city council and mounting a legal challenge to the city's charter law to my PA responsibilities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:YY should reach out to native speakers and emphasize that applying on the first day, the first hour of the lottery, puts them on top of the wait list. Everyone on DCUM knows this and plans accordingly. Native speakers may or may not know. They could highlight native speakers on their internal wait list, and as soon as one comes to number 1, accept them even if the class size appeared to be one over target.

Perhaps you have not read the entire thread. YY did reach out to the DC Chinese community, and was summarily rebuffed.

I read in years 1 and 2. Time to do it again.