Reply to Oyster relocating?

Forum Index » DC Public and Public Charter Schools

Reply to "Oyster relocating?"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]In thinking about the future of the school, and particularly in discussing the "two way immersion model", I think it's important to recognize what teachers acknowledge privately --- the school does not do a very good job of teaching Spanish to English dominant kids or of teaching Spanish grammar and orthography (i.e. Spanish as language) to any kids.  There are two reasons for this:

- Everyone seems to assume that English dominant kids will "just pick up" Spanish, so they don't teach Spanish as a second language, they just speak it at the kids.

- English is the language of the playground, lunchroom and and in fact ANY student-student conversation at the school. All day every day.  Bringing in more kids who have a Spanish speaking grandparent or parent but who speak and prefer English (like many current "Spanish dominant" kids) will not change this dynamic .  [u]Instruction[/u] in Spanish is not Spanish [u]immersion[/u].  All of the true English learners I know who've gone through the school have developed fabulous English in a short time... and lost ground in Spanish.

[/quote]

As an outsider with no stake in the game (I have two of my children at WIS, and they will stay despite the crushing cost), I'm curious about parents' blanket acceptance that the 50/50 model is crucial. WIS is not 50/50 at all. There are 4 main languages of instruction (Spanish, French, or Dutch; and English for all), and although you will hear many languages on the playground, English is absolutely the main playground language, because it's the only language that all children know. Many children come in knowing none of the 4 academic languages because they speak one or more other languages at home, yet they all pick up both English and the other chosen academic language (oral and written) very quickly, and most are considered bilingual/biliterate in English and the other WIS language at some point during primary school.

So while I certainly understand why parents might WANT a 50/50 model for political and social reasons, is the research really unequivocal that it's the only good model academically? If so, many international and U.N. schools would seem to be doing it all wrong.[/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics