After YuYing

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Don't worry, OP. After YuYing the kids who were forced to study Mandarin all those years, with no real family connection to Chinese or China, will mostly study...Spanish.

You heard it here first.

God, who cares? I studied Spanish for years and years and later was a Russian major and German minor. Like music or sports, language is usually an asset regardless of whether one becomes an expert.

[Anonymous]

Totally disagree. I see young people as much better off becoming fully bilingual, or trilingual, in languages they will speak regularly as adults than gaining fluency only in English and dabbling in a bunch of other languages.

We've know two dozen YY kids in the neighborhood for years. We've never heard these kids speak Mandarin (which we speak fluently) to one another without being prompted by a Chinese-speaking adult. Not once. Not optimistic that most of these kids will be speaking good Chinese as older teens let alone adults Would love to be wrong.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don't worry, OP. After YuYing the kids who were forced to study Mandarin all those years, with no real family connection to Chinese or China, will mostly study...Spanish.

You heard it here first.

God, who cares? I studied Spanish for years and years and later was a Russian major and German minor. Like music or sports, language is usually an asset regardless of whether one becomes an expert.

Um, parents should care if they're sending their kids to a 50% immersion school for up to 8 years, them partial immersion at DCI for a few more years, then HS Chinese.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don't worry, OP. After YuYing the kids who were forced to study Mandarin all those years, with no real family connection to Chinese or China, will mostly study...Spanish.

You heard it here first.

God, who cares? I studied Spanish for years and years and later was a Russian major and German minor. Like music or sports, language is usually an asset regardless of whether one becomes an expert.

Um, parents should care if they're sending their kids to a 50% immersion school for up to 8 years, them partial immersion at DCI for a few more years, then HS Chinese.

Who are you to tell parents what they should care about? It's not a heritage school; it's a DC charter school that also teaches Chinese. Parents who want a heritage program go to a heritage school, as they should.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don't worry, OP. After YuYing the kids who were forced to study Mandarin all those years, with no real family connection to Chinese or China, will mostly study...Spanish.

You heard it here first.

God, who cares? I studied Spanish for years and years and later was a Russian major and German minor. Like music or sports, language is usually an asset regardless of whether one becomes an expert.

Um, parents should care if they're sending their kids to a 50% immersion school for up to 8 years, them partial immersion at DCI for a few more years, then HS Chinese.

Who are you to tell parents what they should care about? It's not a heritage school; it's a DC charter school that also teaches Chinese. Parents who want a heritage program go to a heritage school, as they should.

+1. The PP seems to be upset that Yu Ying's mission differs from what they'd prefer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don't worry, OP. After YuYing the kids who were forced to study Mandarin all those years, with no real family connection to Chinese or China, will mostly study...Spanish.

You heard it here first.

God, who cares? I studied Spanish for years and years and later was a Russian major and German minor. Like music or sports, language is usually an asset regardless of whether one becomes an expert.

Um, parents should care if they're sending their kids to a 50% immersion school for up to 8 years, them partial immersion at DCI for a few more years, then HS Chinese.

Who are you to tell parents what they should care about? It's not a heritage school; it's a DC charter school that also teaches Chinese. Parents who want a heritage program go to a heritage school, as they should.

NP. The YY parents on these threads don't wow me with their realism. OP included.

PP is correct. If you're sending your kid to an immersion charter, know what you're getting into. A quick trip around the YY web site tells me that YY celebrates Chinese heritage like crazy in various ways and claims that students emerge fluent in Chinese. If you don't want that, don't enroll.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don't worry, OP. After YuYing the kids who were forced to study Mandarin all those years, with no real family connection to Chinese or China, will mostly study...Spanish.

You heard it here first.

God, who cares? I studied Spanish for years and years and later was a Russian major and German minor. Like music or sports, language is usually an asset regardless of whether one becomes an expert.

Um, parents should care if they're sending their kids to a 50% immersion school for up to 8 years, them partial immersion at DCI for a few more years, then HS Chinese.

Who are you to tell parents what they should care about? It's not a heritage school; it's a DC charter school that also teaches Chinese. Parents who want a heritage program go to a heritage school, as they should.

NP. The YY parents on these threads don't wow me with their realism. OP included.

PP is correct. If you're sending your kid to an immersion charter, know what you're getting into. A quick trip around the YY web site tells me that YY celebrates Chinese heritage like crazy in various ways and claims that students emerge fluent in Chinese. If you don't want that, don't enroll.

"Our Chinese mission statement is to educate students who are passionate about communicating in Chinese in an authentic environment while using the three modes of communication in a culturally appropriate way that allows them to be independent problem solvers in order to navigate in a Chinese world."

[Anonymous]

What a useless thread started by yet another Koolaid drinking YY ditz.

Most of the YY parents just want to "navigate" away from poor kids in crap DCPS schools because they can't afford real estate in Upper NW or the Brent District.

Ignore them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What a useless thread started by yet another Koolaid drinking YY ditz.

Most of the YY parents just want to "navigate" away from poor kids in crap DCPS schools because they can't afford real estate in Upper NW or the Brent District.

Ignore them.

applies to everyone in the Myschool lottery, no? except those lotterying for PK3/4 inbound.

[Anonymous]

To get back to OP's original question:
- We are at another DCI feeder. We are inbounds for Deal but currently looking towards DCI. This is true for several other families I know in a similar situation who also have a child in upper elementary grades.
- If your child has just started PK4, you have absolutely zero idea of who your child is, how they will react to serious academics, whether they have any special academic or behavioral needs, and even whether these schools will still exist in 7 years when you need to contemplate this issue. Approximately 20% of kids have special educational needs, and trust me, just because your child is clearly smart doesn't mean they aren't one of them. Until you know who your kid is, you can't plan their middle school education.
- You also don't know who their friends will be in 5th grade, what the 5th grade DCI cohort will look like, and what other private options may be at that time. You don't know their interests. You don't know whether they will do better in a large or small school.
- Take it year by year, make the decisions when the time comes.

To 'heritage dad' who screams about YY being so bad all the time: why do you care so much? I agree with your point of view and I am also fluent in Mandarin. But really, why waste so much energy on it? For some immersion parents, a decent foundation in a language with a strong accent (learned early) is enough. The kids can build on that foundation later by living or working in a country where the language is spoken. Well, at least, this is how I feel about our French immersion program.

The only reason any parent should be too worked up about this is if their child is not able to get the fundamentals (reading, math in English) while also learning the target language. (See special ed comments above). In that situation, the immersion program maybe should be reconsidered. Of note, an 'immersion' program is not a two-way 'dual language' program. A dual language program has at least 30% of kids who are dominant in the non English language. Dual language programs in DC are Oyster, LAMB, Bruce Monroe, and a few other programs in the city. Yu Ying is an immersion program.

[Anonymous]

YY Parent here from non stereotypical group (Not west of park, cap hill, or any other hotspot.)


Don't listen to the negativity on these posts. Every child , no matter what school they attend, is different when it comes to communicating period. My oldest caught on very quickly in pre k and is doing well at DCI in the target language, my middle, the language is more of a parlor trick right now. My youngest, not certain yet.


My biggest lesson learned with YY (and parenting in general) is that kids are not robots. And neither are schools. Every class, teaching team, year will lend a nuanced experience for your child.

We decided to invest time and extra funds in varied opportunities to practice conversational chinese daily. Sometimes it meant asking complete strangers for a few minutes to allow my oldest to practice, or attending events that we knew mandarin speakers would be present (church services, local events )

Practice makes a ton of difference; it's not a berlitz course for kids.

Go with your gut. Mine is driven by my kids smiles and excitement to go to school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To get back to OP's original question:
- We are at another DCI feeder. We are inbounds for Deal but currently looking towards DCI. This is true for several other families I know in a similar situation who also have a child in upper elementary grades.
- If your child has just started PK4, you have absolutely zero idea of who your child is, how they will react to serious academics, whether they have any special academic or behavioral needs, and even whether these schools will still exist in 7 years when you need to contemplate this issue. Approximately 20% of kids have special educational needs, and trust me, just because your child is clearly smart doesn't mean they aren't one of them. Until you know who your kid is, you can't plan their middle school education.
- You also don't know who their friends will be in 5th grade, what the 5th grade DCI cohort will look like, and what other private options may be at that time. You don't know their interests. You don't know whether they will do better in a large or small school.
- Take it year by year, make the decisions when the time comes.

To 'heritage dad' who screams about YY being so bad all the time: why do you care so much? I agree with your point of view and I am also fluent in Mandarin. But really, why waste so much energy on it? For some immersion parents, a decent foundation in a language with a strong accent (learned early) is enough. The kids can build on that foundation later by living or working in a country where the language is spoken. Well, at least, this is how I feel about our French immersion program.

The only reason any parent should be too worked up about this is if their child is not able to get the fundamentals (reading, math in English) while also learning the target language. (See special ed comments above). In that situation, the immersion program maybe should be reconsidered. Of note, an 'immersion' program is not a two-way 'dual language' program. A dual language program has at least 30% of kids who are dominant in the non English language. Dual language programs in DC are Oyster, LAMB, Bruce Monroe, and a few other programs in the city. Yu Ying is an immersion program. [/quote

Why do you care so much if you're not even at YY? Why do you waste time and energy with holier than thou put downs advising PPs to stop "screaming" about this and that? If you don't agree with other posters, not simply ignore them?

If YuYing were an immersion program, why don't the students speak Chinese outside Chinese classes? To my mind, in immersion programs, the target language is spoken throughout the school. For the e-record, I'm not "heritage dad" and don't think he exists. Heritage dad is almost anybody who points forward any point of view DCPCS "immersion" boosters don't want to hear. I'm a mom who speaks several dialects of Chinese and thinks YY's set up leaves a lot to be desired for my tax dollars. But then, yea, who really cares?

[Anonymous]

I love how OP asked about middle and high school options and the thread (predictably) devolved into yet another debate over YY.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To get back to OP's original question:
- We are at another DCI feeder. We are inbounds for Deal but currently looking towards DCI. This is true for several other families I know in a similar situation who also have a child in upper elementary grades.
- If your child has just started PK4, you have absolutely zero idea of who your child is, how they will react to serious academics, whether they have any special academic or behavioral needs, and even whether these schools will still exist in 7 years when you need to contemplate this issue. Approximately 20% of kids have special educational needs, and trust me, just because your child is clearly smart doesn't mean they aren't one of them. Until you know who your kid is, you can't plan their middle school education.
- You also don't know who their friends will be in 5th grade, what the 5th grade DCI cohort will look like, and what other private options may be at that time. You don't know their interests. You don't know whether they will do better in a large or small school.
- Take it year by year, make the decisions when the time comes.

To 'heritage dad' who screams about YY being so bad all the time: why do you care so much? I agree with your point of view and I am also fluent in Mandarin. But really, why waste so much energy on it? For some immersion parents, a decent foundation in a language with a strong accent (learned early) is enough. The kids can build on that foundation later by living or working in a country where the language is spoken. Well, at least, this is how I feel about our French immersion program.

The only reason any parent should be too worked up about this is if their child is not able to get the fundamentals (reading, math in English) while also learning the target language. (See special ed comments above). In that situation, the immersion program maybe should be reconsidered. Of note, an 'immersion' program is not a two-way 'dual language' program. A dual language program has at least 30% of kids who are dominant in the non English language. Dual language programs in DC are Oyster, LAMB, Bruce Monroe, and a few other programs in the city. Yu Ying is an immersion program. [/quote

Why do you care so much if you're not even at YY? Why do you waste time and energy with holier than thou put downs advising PPs to stop "screaming" about this and that? If you don't agree with other posters, not simply ignore them?

If YuYing were an immersion program, why don't the students speak Chinese outside Chinese classes? To my mind, in immersion programs, the target language is spoken throughout the school. For the e-record, I'm not "heritage dad" and don't think he exists. Heritage dad is almost anybody who points forward any point of view DCPCS "immersion" boosters don't want to hear. I'm a mom who speaks several dialects of Chinese and thinks YY's set up leaves a lot to be desired for my tax dollars. But then, yea, who really cares?

Well, then I suppose you are also incensed about your tax dollars going to failing DCPS schools?