Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think people pick immersion because they like the idea of being able to say, "My kid speaks two languages!" It makes their kids sound smarter than your kid .

Do people think that? My maid speaks 2 languages and didn't graduate high school my FIL has 2 PHDs and is monolingual.

I always think this in my head when I see the "monolingual is the new stupid" mantra reposted on DCUM by the kook-aid drinkers.

The guy who cuts my grass in 96 degree weather is also bilingual.

The guy who cuts your grass is also likely a survivor of multiple hardships/atrocities in his home country. He is here taking advantage of your expendable cash ( an laziness) to better himself and or a whole family in the US and likely back home. He will take your money and bring his family here or support them at home. I think that makes him less of the loser than you think he is.

Yeah. Between PP and the guy who cuts his grass, I think I know which one I'd rather Be around.

Employer of lawn service here. Point out in my post where I said the guy who cuts my grass is a "loser" or that I "think he is" a loser. Or even implied that.

Here's what I do think: I think he and the millions of bilingual people living in the US aren't necessarily geniuses with massive advantages over monolingual people in the US.

This contradicts the Kool-Aid fueled mantra of many young white DC parents who like to post on DCUM. That is all.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Employer of lawn service here. Point out in my post where I said the guy who cuts my grass is a "loser" or that I "think he is" a loser. Or even implied that.

Here's what I do think: I think he and the millions of bilingual people living in the US aren't necessarily geniuses with massive advantages over monolingual people in the US.

This contradicts the Kool-Aid fueled mantra of many young white DC parents who like to post on DCUM. That is all.

Research shows that, all things being equal, bilingual education has brain development and other academic benefits. Your comparison is bogus since you are comparing against a population that had worse education and several other disadvantages from the start.

Can you cite some of this research?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Probably in the vast minority here, but I see school being as much, if not more, about worldview-building and character development than about equipping with academic or social skills. If DC were not in immersion for a specific, desired language, would probably be homeschooled.

isn't "worldview-building and character development" gained by being exposed to different people outside of your control? It's funny that I generally agree with the first part of your statement yet think SCHOOL is the better place to gain that perspective than home schooling, learning to get along with others and negotiate needs independently. Many homeschoolers are vaccine nuts or hyper religious, which isn't the worldview I'd ever want.

sounds like you'd be disappointed if your DC ended up being a vaccine nut or hyper religious (not having the worldview you'd ever want). sounds like, instead, you'd exert the control you do have to put your DC in an environment that would cultivate your own worldview (guessing acceptance, compassion, social justice). we might differ in our opinion of what kind of exposure and at what stage of development, but you and I are not so different from each other.

Anonymous wrote:

Employer of lawn service here. Point out in my post where I said the guy who cuts my grass is a "loser" or that I "think he is" a loser. Or even implied that.

Here's what I do think: I think he and the millions of bilingual people living in the US aren't necessarily geniuses with massive advantages over monolingual people in the US.

This contradicts the Kool-Aid fueled mantra of many young white DC parents who like to post on DCUM. That is all.

Research shows that, all things being equal, bilingual education has brain development and other academic benefits. Your comparison is bogus since you are comparing against a population that had worse education and several other disadvantages from the start.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Probably in the vast minority here, but I see school being as much, if not more, about worldview-building and character development than about equipping with academic or social skills. If DC were not in immersion for a specific, desired language, would probably be homeschooled.

isn't "worldview-building and character development" gained by being exposed to different people outside of your control? It's funny that I generally agree with the first part of your statement yet think SCHOOL is the better place to gain that perspective than home schooling, learning to get along with others and negotiate needs independently. Many homeschoolers are vaccine nuts or hyper religious, which isn't the worldview I'd ever want.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP, do you use the Hope school or some other outside source to assist you in Chinese language instruction, or do you do it all yourself? We are interested in YY and don't live near a JKLM or comparable school, but if we don't get a slot, we'd like to know what others like you are doing to teach Mandarin anyway.

I can't imagine raising a child who speaks both Chinese and English well without being native speakers receiving lots of help from the extended family. We haven't been impressed with the Chinese of the older YY kids we speak Mandarin with, other than those whose families have hosted Chinese au pairs for years. We have headed to the same Rockville Sunday afternoon program (3 Hours) since our kids were 3 years old. All the students are from Immigrant families. Can't beat it. YY Seems pretty cruise by comparison, the emphasis being on inclusion/diversity vs, high standards. Good luck.

Anonymous wrote:PP, do you use the Hope school or some other outside source to assist you in Chinese language instruction, or do you do it all yourself? We are interested in YY and don't live near a JKLM or comparable school, but if we don't get a slot, we'd like to know what others like you are doing to teach Mandarin anyway.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So did everyone who thinks immersion is the most important thing ever put schools like DC Bilingual and Bruce Monroe on their lottery lists? Why or why not?

First off, not sure I've ever seen anyone say "immersion is THE most important thing". Not in this thread, not anywhere. I have yet to meet a parent committed to bilingualism who isn't also concerned with the core subjects, how well they're taught, and whether the school seems like a decent school.

That said, to answer your specific question, the first year we applied, no we didn't put either down. I checked out DC Bilingual and had 3 negative experiences, 1 at the school, 2 at school expos, where the staff and particularly the principal were very dismissive.

I'm sorry you had such a negative experience at DC Bilingual. Our child is just finishing his 1st year at DCB (because we put it on our lottery lists) and we've had a great time. The school and curriculum are very academic, the staff very warm and nurturing and the fellow students and families have been great. We speak English at home, and the Spanish I do know is mostly from work where it was invaluable. I agree that immersion is not the most important thing, but as for DCB: I am not concerned about bow the core subjects are taught because I see it in the homework every week, I am very happy with how quickly my child is learning both the core subjects and Spanish, and the school is not only a decent school, it's a gem.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So did everyone who thinks immersion is the most important thing ever put schools like DC Bilingual and Bruce Monroe on their lottery lists? Why or why not?

First off, not sure I've ever seen anyone say "immersion is THE most important thing". Not in this thread, not anywhere. I have yet to meet a parent committed to bilingualism who isn't also concerned with the core subjects, how well they're taught, and whether the school seems like a decent school.

That said, to answer your specific question, the first year we applied, no we didn't put either down. I checked out DC Bilingual and had 3 negative experiences, 1 at the school, 2 at school expos, where the staff and particularly the principal were very dismissive.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So did everyone who thinks immersion is the most important thing ever put schools like DC Bilingual and Bruce Monroe on their lottery lists? Why or why not?

First off, not sure I've ever seen anyone say "immersion is THE most important thing". Not in this thread, not anywhere. I have yet to meet a parent committed to bilingualism who isn't also concerned with the core subjects, how well they're taught, and whether the school seems like a decent school.

That said, to answer your specific question, the first year we applied, no we didn't put either down. I checked out DC Bilingual and had 3 negative experiences, 1 at the school, 2 at school expos, where the staff and particularly the principal were very dismissive. That did it for me, wasn't even faintly interested in applying. Ended up at an Appletree that year (it was for PS3) and couldn't have been happier (and obviously that's not bilingual at all).

Same year Bruce Monroe was undergoing construction. I called to ask some questions (this was the end of the prior school year and I was checking schools out for late application since we moved here after the lottery that year). I NEVER got a live person on the phone. I went to the school right after school ended, but when school staff were still around. Found staff and people willing to answer questions at every other school I went to (even if they were a bit grumpy or dismissive, like at DC Bilingual), but no one even answered the door at BM. Honestly that inability to find anyone to answer a phone or the door over a 2 week period of calling them made me not think of them. They were our IB school, so we wanted to check them out. Never went once school started, because we figured if we have to go there, we'd just check it out then, but the lack of people responding to the phone was a big flag for us.

Didn't BM have a new principal this past year, or are they getting one next year? I wish them luck, I wonder how it's going there.

Anonymous wrote:So did everyone who thinks immersion is the most important thing ever put schools like DC Bilingual and Bruce Monroe on their lottery lists? Why or why not?