Reply to Lottery Issue + Language Immersion Format + Homeschool/Co-Op Inquiry

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Reply to "Lottery Issue + Language Immersion Format + Homeschool/Co-Op Inquiry"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]But they have long wait lists anyway where student populations aren't majority FARMs.  Other than Spanish, teaching immersion languages dissuades most poor families from entering the lotteries.  Works like a charm for the gentrifiers, and a little language exposure is nice, too.  The system wouldn't fly in states with a lot of high performing schools, particularly Cal and NY, but it's widely considered good enough for DC.
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Why don't poor families like immersion?[/quote]

If you dare to ask the non-PC question (privately or aloud), how practical is it for poor kids whose whose family members to struggle to speak and write grammatical English to be enrolled in immersion programs teaching languages not spoken at home?

I'm thanking my lucky stars that wasn't the case for this DCPS parent growing up in an urban housing project with semi literate parents and an illiterate grandparent.  I had more than enough on my linguistic plate as a little kid in learning to speak, read, and write standard English.  Thankfully, my parents got that, although I could have been enrolled in an early public Spanish immersion program.

I did fine in MS and HS Spanish, and speak Spanish pretty well as an adult.  I graduated from a top public university, earned a PhD, and have held down a good Federal job for 25 years.

Good DC liberals, be careful what you wish for where poor kids are concerned.[/quote]

There are a raft of studies that find that learning a second language improves children's performance in their native language. These studies control for student's initial level of language competence, i.e. it's true for all kids.

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