Anonymous
08/03/2025 15:50
Subject: world languages at Westland, Silver Creek, BCC, especially Chinese
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Chinese is not a choice at Silver Creek. French and Spanish only.
and it was never a choice for the 6th grades at CCES or NCC.
Now that Silver Creek is starting, a huge issue is equity in education with Westland. If Chinese 1 & 2 are offered at Westland, then they must be offered at Silver Creek as well. One of the major premises behind the parental vote to open Silver Creek was that, on addition to overcrowding at Westland, kids at CCES and NCC were not getting the same quality education as other 6th graders at Westland because the CCES/NCC 6th graders did not have access to same classes. It has also been an ongoing major concern of parents that the creation of boundaries which placed a somewhat higher proportion of minority and lower SES students at SCMS vs. WMS not lead to diminished educational opportunity and quality at SCMS.
Hearing about this, an additional concern is that not offering Chinese at SCMS will, in the long term diminish the quality of the Chines program at BCC because the pipeline of incoming students will get smaller.
PArents interested in Chinese should organize and meet with MCPS officials to rectify situation.
What a revelation! Now go apply the same thought to all middle schools throughout this single district.
You can have Spanish & French be the base options everywhere, but if you want to add something special to one school or a set of schools, you should be creating the equivalent at every school. Italian one place, German another, Amharic, Korean, etc., etc. Or all Mandarin, but then that becomes part of the base, with Spanish & French.
Of course, one could always say that one of those should be optional, allowing middle schools to provide reasonably similar options by saying admin can pick, say, any two...
Anonymous
08/02/2025 18:55
Subject: world languages at Westland, Silver Creek, BCC, especially Chinese
Anonymous wrote:At Silver Creek, Chinese 1 is only an option in 8th grade, and students are bussed to B-CC for it. For 6th and 7th, only Spanish and French are offered.
There is still interest for Chinese then?
Anonymous
08/02/2025 17:59
Subject: world languages at Westland, Silver Creek, BCC, especially Chinese
At Silver Creek, Chinese 1 is only an option in 8th grade, and students are bussed to B-CC for it. For 6th and 7th, only Spanish and French are offered.
Anonymous
08/02/2025 00:10
Subject: Re:world languages at Westland, Silver Creek, BCC, especially Chinese
Im interested too.
Anonymous
07/28/2025 23:11
Subject: world languages at Westland, Silver Creek, BCC, especially Chinese
Anonymous wrote:Someone finally wised up and realized that the vast majority of students enrolled in Chinese classes were Chinese.
Yes it's an old post resurrected. Are students in Chinese classes at BCC mostly Chinese in the year 2025?
Anonymous
07/23/2017 23:36
Subject: world languages at Westland, Silver Creek, BCC, especially Chinese
Someone finally wised up and realized that the vast majority of students enrolled in Chinese classes were Chinese.
Anonymous
07/23/2017 17:11
Subject: world languages at Westland, Silver Creek, BCC, especially Chinese
Next year Chinese 1 is not offered at Westland, just BCC
Anonymous
07/23/2017 16:31
Subject: world languages at Westland, Silver Creek, BCC, especially Chinese
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Chinese is not a choice at Silver Creek. French and Spanish only.
and it was never a choice for the 6th grades at CCES or NCC.
Now that Silver Creek is starting, a huge issue is equity in education with Westland. If Chinese 1 & 2 are offered at Westland, then they must be offered at Silver Creek as well. One of the major premises behind the parental vote to open Silver Creek was that, on addition to overcrowding at Westland, kids at CCES and NCC were not getting the same quality education as other 6th graders at Westland because the CCES/NCC 6th graders did not have access to same classes. It has also been an ongoing major concern of parents that the creation of boundaries which placed a somewhat higher proportion of minority and lower SES students at SCMS vs. WMS not lead to diminished educational opportunity and quality at SCMS.
Hearing about this, an additional concern is that not offering Chinese at SCMS will, in the long term diminish the quality of the Chines program at BCC because the pipeline of incoming students will get smaller.
PArents interested in Chinese should organize and meet with MCPS officials to rectify situation.
What do you mean "parental vote to open Silver Creek?" isn't that a MCPS decision?
Anonymous
07/23/2017 16:06
Subject: world languages at Westland, Silver Creek, BCC, especially Chinese
Anonymous wrote:IT WAS CLEARLY DISCUSSED THAT LANGUAGES MAY NOT BE THE SAME BETWEEN THE TWO SCHOOLS. ALSO CLASSES MAY NOT BE OFFERED BECAUSE OF LOW-ENROLLMENT OR BECAUSE THE PRINCIPAL DECIDES TO ALLOCATE RESOURCES DIFFERENTLY>Anonymous wrote:Chinese is not a choice at Silver Creek. French and Spanish only.
and it was never a choice for the 6th grades at CCES or NCC.
Now that Silver Creek is starting, a huge issue is equity in education with Westland. If Chinese 1 & 2 are offered at Westland, then they must be offered at Silver Creek as well. One of the major premises behind the parental vote to open Silver Creek was that, on addition to overcrowding at Westland, kids at CCES and NCC were not getting the same quality education as other 6th graders at Westland because the CCES/NCC 6th graders did not have access to same classes. It has also been an ongoing major concern of parents that the creation of boundaries which placed a somewhat higher proportion of minority and lower SES students at SCMS vs. WMS not lead to diminished educational opportunity and quality at SCMS.
Hearing about this, an additional concern is that not offering Chinese at SCMS will, in the long term diminish the quality of the Chines program at BCC because the pipeline of incoming students will get smaller.
PArents interested in Chinese should organize and meet with MCPS officials to rectify situation.
Anonymous
07/23/2017 13:50
Subject: world languages at Westland, Silver Creek, BCC, especially Chinese
Anonymous wrote:Chinese is not a choice at Silver Creek. French and Spanish only.
and it was never a choice for the 6th grades at CCES or NCC.
Now that Silver Creek is starting, a huge issue is equity in education with Westland. If Chinese 1 & 2 are offered at Westland, then they must be offered at Silver Creek as well. One of the major premises behind the parental vote to open Silver Creek was that, on addition to overcrowding at Westland, kids at CCES and NCC were not getting the same quality education as other 6th graders at Westland because the CCES/NCC 6th graders did not have access to same classes. It has also been an ongoing major concern of parents that the creation of boundaries which placed a somewhat higher proportion of minority and lower SES students at SCMS vs. WMS not lead to diminished educational opportunity and quality at SCMS.
Hearing about this, an additional concern is that not offering Chinese at SCMS will, in the long term diminish the quality of the Chines program at BCC because the pipeline of incoming students will get smaller.
PArents interested in Chinese should organize and meet with MCPS officials to rectify situation.
Anonymous
07/22/2017 15:13
Subject: world languages at Westland, Silver Creek, BCC, especially Chinese
Chinese is not a choice at Silver Creek. French and Spanish only.
Anonymous
07/22/2017 15:03
Subject: world languages at Westland, Silver Creek, BCC, especially Chinese
Yes it is being phased out.
Not enough kids take it, sadly.
Not enough kids take it, sadly.
Anonymous
07/21/2017 10:36
Subject: world languages at Westland, Silver Creek, BCC, especially Chinese
I believe it's being phased out. NBMS will no longer have it either.
Anonymous
07/21/2017 10:36
Subject: world languages at Westland, Silver Creek, BCC, especially Chinese
I had to do that growing up. Junior and sr year a couple of us drove ourselves to another HS's language class. It was fine, just meant I didn't have a long lunch and I always had 8 classes, no study halls.
I will also add, that after my study abroad in Beijing in college it became crystal clear to me that way more Chinese people speak pretty good English than the other way around and took my fulltime job in NYC upon graduation. Now Chinese is just a hobby and I go for work annually. Frankly 7 years of Chinese is like 14 years of a romance language. Not so great ROI unless you are really in to it and don't want a finance, law, or consulting job out of college.
I will also add, that after my study abroad in Beijing in college it became crystal clear to me that way more Chinese people speak pretty good English than the other way around and took my fulltime job in NYC upon graduation. Now Chinese is just a hobby and I go for work annually. Frankly 7 years of Chinese is like 14 years of a romance language. Not so great ROI unless you are really in to it and don't want a finance, law, or consulting job out of college.
Anonymous
07/21/2017 10:25
Subject: world languages at Westland, Silver Creek, BCC, especially Chinese
My DC is in 8th next year at Westland. Took Chinese 1a/1b in 6th, Chineses 2a/2b in 7th.
In past years, sometimes Chinese 3 has not had enough Westland students, and it has been taught first period at BCC.
We estimate at most 18 students in Chinese 3 at Westland next year; the Westland guidance counselor has just confirmed it will be taught at Westland,
BUT Chinese 1 will only be taught at BCC.
So, I suppose that means if any 6th, 7th, 8th, grader from Silver Creek / Westland wants to take Chinese, they will start the day at BCC?
I'm confused, parents of 6, 7, 8, were your students given the choice of Chinese? Does this in effect mean Chinese will only be offered in high school, and is being phased out of middle schools?
If so, that is really too bad. My younger child had hoped to start Chinese in 6th, but is only in 4th now, so I haven't seen the current MS choices.
In past years, sometimes Chinese 3 has not had enough Westland students, and it has been taught first period at BCC.
We estimate at most 18 students in Chinese 3 at Westland next year; the Westland guidance counselor has just confirmed it will be taught at Westland,
BUT Chinese 1 will only be taught at BCC.
So, I suppose that means if any 6th, 7th, 8th, grader from Silver Creek / Westland wants to take Chinese, they will start the day at BCC?
I'm confused, parents of 6, 7, 8, were your students given the choice of Chinese? Does this in effect mean Chinese will only be offered in high school, and is being phased out of middle schools?
If so, that is really too bad. My younger child had hoped to start Chinese in 6th, but is only in 4th now, so I haven't seen the current MS choices.