International trip for 5th graders?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So, how much did the yard sale raise?

It was mentioned on the listserve. No need to talk about numbers on DCUM.

[Anonymous]

There are about 30 students that remain in the leading edge class. A PP says that 11 are going with parent(s).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not sure what immersion everyone is talking about. It seems that all the kids signed up are going with one or two parents. It does make sense considering how young these kids are but it takes away the idea of "immersion" as I would bet that the kids won't have to speak Chinese much during a trip with mom-and-dad (well -- except the kids already speaking Chinese at home).
Plus it makes it a really weird "school trip"...

clearly you don't know what you're talking about since many kids are going without parents, and those parents who are going have already discussed how to make this a non-english speaking trip. you're just another nasty hater with an axe to grind. why don't you use your power for good instead of evil???

Every kid I know who is making the journey intends to travel with one or both parents. Some are travelling with both parents and sibling(s). Of course, I do not know all the children. I am simply speaking of the eleven families I have had personal conversations with regarding the logistics.

So logistically, you don't think this qualifies as an "immersion" trip - whatever that is b/c the kids are attending with parent(s) or families? Looks like people want to make it a family trip and want to accompany their kid. Most people in China don't speak English - the kids will get to practice their Mandarin even with their parents (most don't speak Mandarin) there. Sounds like fun and educational for everyone. Not sure what the problem is other than you don't think they should go...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are about 30 students that remain in the leading edge class. A PP says that 11 are going with parent(s).

Well if PP says it, it must be true, right??
Actually there are 21 students signed up as of right now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are about 30 students that remain in the leading edge class. A PP says that 11 are going with parent(s).

No, I said I know of 11 families. I did not say, only 11 families were going. Sorry for the confusion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not sure what immersion everyone is talking about. It seems that all the kids signed up are going with one or two parents. It does make sense considering how young these kids are but it takes away the idea of "immersion" as I would bet that the kids won't have to speak Chinese much during a trip with mom-and-dad (well -- except the kids already speaking Chinese at home).
Plus it makes it a really weird "school trip"...

clearly you don't know what you're talking about since many kids are going without parents, and those parents who are going have already discussed how to make this a non-english speaking trip. you're just another nasty hater with an axe to grind. why don't you use your power for good instead of evil???

Every kid I know who is making the journey intends to travel with one or both parents. Some are travelling with both parents and sibling(s). Of course, I do not know all the children. I am simply speaking of the eleven families I have had personal conversations with regarding the logistics.

So logistically, you don't think this qualifies as an "immersion" trip - whatever that is b/c the kids are attending with parent(s) or families? Looks like people want to make it a family trip and want to accompany their kid. Most people in China don't speak English - the kids will get to practice their Mandarin even with their parents (most don't speak Mandarin) there. Sounds like fun and educational for everyone. Not sure what the problem is other than you don't think they should go...

You are full of fire for no apparent reason. Everything is not a fight. Get a grip.

[Anonymous]

I didn't think the poster "was full of fire" at all. s/he appeared to be responding calmly to what appeared to be a rather snarky swipe at the trip. was that you?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So, how much did the yard sale raise?



It was mentioned on the listserve. No need to talk about numbers on DCUM.

Actually, it would be helpful to parent groups trying to fund similar trips and to parents in younger grades at YY, or future YY families, to understand how to plan for such an excellent opportunity.

Why be so exclusive?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I didn't think the poster "was full of fire" at all. s/he appeared to be responding calmly to what appeared to be a rather snarky swipe at the trip. was that you?

No it was not, but I think both her post and your post are more than snarky. But that is typical of your school. Or, it is typical of how you and others portray.

[Anonymous]

According to one PP: "Most people in China don't speak English - the kids will get to practice their Mandarin even with their parents (most don't speak Mandarin) there."

How do YY kids practce Mandarin with their parents when most of them don't speak or understand Mandarin? Please help me understand this.

[Anonymous]

The students are in China

The English speaking parents are also on the trip to China

The students can practice Mandarin in China even with their parents along on the trip.

At the hotel room at night, obviously, the family will speak English. So the presence of so many English speaking parents dilutes the immersion experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:According to one PP: "Most people in China don't speak English - the kids will get to practice their Mandarin even with their parents (most don't speak Mandarin) there."

How do YY kids practce Mandarin with their parents when most of them don't speak or understand Mandarin? Please help me understand this.

Sure:

I understood that to mean that the student would not be able to rely on either their parents' guidance, or English-speaking residents. This is in contrast to, say, Finland, where if you don't speak Finnish, it doesn't hinder you because everyone there speaks good English. So under these circumstances, the student will need to rely on his/her own language skills in order to ask questions, interact, and get things done. Furthermore, the student can't turn to mommy or daddy and expect them to manage everything. Self-reliance & true Mandarin immersion, these are some life-lessons I would expect these students to do some personal development in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The students are in China

The English speaking parents are also on the trip to China

The students can practice Mandarin in China even with their parents along on the trip.

At the hotel room at night, obviously, the family will speak English. So the presence of so many English speaking parents dilutes the immersion experience.

Are you suggesting that if the parents weren't there, then it wouldn't "dilute the immersion experience"? Do you imagine that in the absence of their parents, the students would speak Chinese to each other in their hotel rooms?

That would be astounding. I've traveled overseas with quite a number of Americans, and even when we're fluent in a country's language, we still speak English together when we're alone. That's not just an American phenomenon, by the way. It would be astounding to expect these children to behave any differently.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The students are in China

The English speaking parents are also on the trip to China

The students can practice Mandarin in China even with their parents along on the trip.

At the hotel room at night, obviously, the family will speak English. So the presence of so many English speaking parents dilutes the immersion experience.

Are you suggesting that if the parents weren't there, then it wouldn't "dilute the immersion experience"? Do you imagine that in the absence of their parents, the students would speak Chinese to each other in their hotel rooms?

That would be astounding. I've traveled overseas with quite a number of Americans, and even when we're fluent in a country's language, we still speak English together when we're alone. That's not just an American phenomenon, by the way. It would be astounding to expect these children to behave any differently.

They're fluent not bilingual. Bilingual kids tend to speak the native language and refuse to speak the other depending on where they are. I did when I was a kid. Not that I'm suggesting that YY kids are bilingual but their language skills will certainly improve and it's a good idea to actually visit the place whose language and culture you've been studying since you were 6 yrs old, yeah, even with your English dominant classmates and monolingual English speaking parents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:According to one PP: "Most people in China don't speak English - the kids will get to practice their Mandarin even with their parents (most don't speak Mandarin) there."

How do YY kids practce Mandarin with their parents when most of them don't speak or understand Mandarin? Please help me understand this.

They don't practice with their parents obviously except for some stuff on the YY portal that helps the parents understand what it's "suppose" to sound like. Not very helpful and my child gleefully corrects my apparently atrocious pronunciation/tones anyway.

Not sure why kids need to practice with parents is such a big deal. I know lots of people who speak another language that their parents don't speak and they get proficient enough to live and work in the country all in the other language. Not sure why people think having parents that speak Mandarin is that important especially with little kids whose brains are wired to acquire language.