Ward 6 and Miner ES: Grassroots Movement for Dual Language (Mandarin) Program

[Anonymous]

Mandarin immersion really is the current education fad - wait about 10-15 years and then we'll have the Frontline expose on how pointless this effort was and how little use it is to most American students.

It sounds great and seems to make sense to the simple minded but it is basically the educational equivalent of the PlayPump.

[Anonymous]

LOL at all these hill parents who think Mandarin will be "in demand." Sure, your special snowflake is going to get a great job that requires mandarin, like being the receptionist for a paper cup manufacturer! http://losangeles.craigslist.org/sgv/mnu/5002536899.html

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Mandarin immersion really is the current education fad - wait about 10-15 years and then we'll have the Frontline expose on how pointless this effort was and how little use it is to most American students.

It sounds great and seems to make sense to the simple minded but it is basically the educational equivalent of the PlayPump.

"The educational equivalent of the PlayPump." Every so often I think I'm done with DCUM, and then you go fronting wisdom like this. Only in DC.

[Anonymous]

I think Miner could potentially be a food place for a dual language program. But I think the organizers aren't including the whole community. Not many parents from the surrounding apartment complexes where The majority of Miner parents live read DC urban mom and as a parent at Miner, I find it interesting that I'm first seeing the announcement of this meeting on this forum. The school is already becoming divisive. I think that we have to be more conscious to include the majority of parents and not a few. Why mandarin? Was there a vote from the general parent population? I don't recall getting a survey and I check books bags and talk to my child's teachers daily.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mandarin immersion really is the current education fad - wait about 10-15 years and then we'll have the Frontline expose on how pointless this effort was and how little use it is to most American students.

It sounds great and seems to make sense to the simple minded but it is basically the educational equivalent of the PlayPump.

"The educational equivalent of the PlayPump." Every so often I think I'm done with DCUM, and then you go fronting wisdom like this. Only in DC.

(Googles Playpump)
(Gives you a standing ovation)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mandarin immersion really is the current education fad - wait about 10-15 years and then we'll have the Frontline expose on how pointless this effort was and how little use it is to most American students.

It sounds great and seems to make sense to the simple minded but it is basically the educational equivalent of the PlayPump.

"The educational equivalent of the PlayPump." Every so often I think I'm done with DCUM, and then you go fronting wisdom like this. Only in DC.

(Googles Playpump)
(Gives you a standing ovation)

totally worth the google.

[Anonymous]

Confusing, if Ward 6 wants to do a big push for a Mandarin program, why don't they do it at Walker Jones where there are many Chinese speakers in spitting distance of the school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Confusing, if Ward 6 wants to do a big push for a Mandarin program, why don't they do it at Walker Jones where there are many Chinese speakers in spitting distance of the school?

Bc they speak Cantonese not Mandarin.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mandarin immersion really is the current education fad - wait about 10-15 years and then we'll have the Frontline expose on how pointless this effort was and how little use it is to most American students.

It sounds great and seems to make sense to the simple minded but it is basically the educational equivalent of the PlayPump.

"The educational equivalent of the PlayPump." Every so often I think I'm done with DCUM, and then you go fronting wisdom like this. Only in DC.

(Googles Playpump)
(Gives you a standing ovation)

totally worth the google.

This. Made my evening!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Confusing, if Ward 6 wants to do a big push for a Mandarin program, why don't they do it at Walker Jones where there are many Chinese speakers in spitting distance of the school?

Bc they speak Cantonese not Mandarin.

Many do, yes...but the ones that have moved here in the past year speak Mandarin.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I agree with PP. Tyler is basically two schools - one for poor kids and one for middle class kids. Kids in the regular classrooms get screwed, and if any "behaviors" pop up in the spanish program, they promptly kick the kid into the regular program.

Don't do this at Miner. Really, just don't. Tyler should be a warning to all schools who try to do this. The dual language program does absolutely nothing to "lift up" the poor kids. It just adds segregation.

This. You're inbounds for Miner and didn't get a lucky lottery pull? Then make Miner a better school for everyone by bettering the programs they already have, not by segregating the haves and have nots. Mandarin? Seriously? I don't see how Mandarin would appeal to most of the IB population for Miner.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Barf. Why not math immersion or coding immersion? It is one thing to have charters doing immersion; quite another neighborhoid schools with 0 connection to the immersion language. I can't believe parents are still fixated on "Chinese" immersion as some kind of panacea.

I agree with this. I don't understand the Chinese immersion fad. Spanish I get (though I didn't apply for any immersion schools because proximity trumps immersion for me). But Chinese? Why? What percentage of kids will actually need/use Chinese as adults? Perhaps I'm ignorant. Please, enlighten me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mandarin immersion really is the current education fad - wait about 10-15 years and then we'll have the Frontline expose on how pointless this effort was and how little use it is to most American students.

It sounds great and seems to make sense to the simple minded but it is basically the educational equivalent of the PlayPump.

"The educational equivalent of the PlayPump." Every so often I think I'm done with DCUM, and then you go fronting wisdom like this. Only in DC.

(Googles Playpump)
(Gives you a standing ovation)

Oh, crap - I want this at our school. Wait, why are you all looking at me funny?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think Miner could potentially be a food place for a dual language program. But I think the organizers aren't including the whole community. Not many parents from the surrounding apartment complexes where The majority of Miner parents live read DC urban mom and as a parent at Miner, I find it interesting that I'm first seeing the announcement of this meeting on this forum. The school is already becoming divisive. I think that we have to be more conscious to include the majority of parents and not a few. Why mandarin? Was there a vote from the general parent population? I don't recall getting a survey and I check books bags and talk to my child's teachers daily.

Well said. I'd also like to know the history of this "grass-roots" movement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think Miner could potentially be a food place for a dual language program. But I think the organizers aren't including the whole community. Not many parents from the surrounding apartment complexes where The majority of Miner parents live read DC urban mom and as a parent at Miner, I find it interesting that I'm first seeing the announcement of this meeting on this forum. The school is already becoming divisive. I think that we have to be more conscious to include the majority of parents and not a few. Why mandarin? Was there a vote from the general parent population? I don't recall getting a survey and I check books bags and talk to my child's teachers daily.

Well said. I'd also like to know the history of this "grass-roots" movement.

I am going to take a wild guess here and say that I would bet money that this "grass-roots movement" was one mom who got a bunch of other moms to say, "hey, that sounds cool!" I'm also going to go out on a limb here and guess that these folks don't even have kids at the school.