Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a nephew that was 10 and he has an opportunity to go to Scotland with his soccer team. That announcement was greeted with excitement. What is the big deal with a school planning and educational trip out of the country? Sheesh.

I think what you're hearing is the bitching and whining of a few parents who: don't want to make any financial sacrifices or hard choices, never really supported the language immersion and global education that is now smacking them in the head, and mad that they have to actually do something to support the school or look/feel like a bad parent.

I would never send my kid to a school where others would think I'm a "bad parent" for not sending a 5th grader on a...what... $1000? $2000? trip to China by themselves. You have got to be freaking kidding me.

Anonymous wrote:I have a nephew that was 10 and he has an opportunity to go to Scotland with his soccer team. That announcement was greeted with excitement. What is the big deal with a school planning and educational trip out of the country? Sheesh.

I think what you're hearing is the bitching and whining of a few parents who: don't want to make any financial sacrifices or hard choices, never really supported the language immersion and global education that is now smacking them in the head, and mad that they have to actually do something to support the school or look/feel like a bad parent.

Oooops my nephew is still 10.

Anonymous wrote:Neither DH or I got to go on an international trip through school in elementary but then neither of us attended an immersion language school. Didn't study a foreign language until 4th grade and we attended private schools. So how long have these 5th graders been studying the language? They deserve to go and it's great that the school is providing the opportunity to go as a group. Wish them well.

Thanks! These kids have been studying since they were kindergartners and first graders. It should give them a reality-check about their fluency, a chance to see the culture they've studied for so long, and the motivation to continue studying through middle and high school. Glad to hear a positive voice!

I have a nephew that was 10 and he has an opportunity to go to Scotland with his soccer team. That announcement was greeted with excitement. What is the big deal with a school planning and educational trip out of the country? Sheesh.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Actually you're wrong. At our very first orientation they said fifth grade. I really don't get why you think you speak for the class parents--you don't. Bet you haven't been a part of ANY of the fundraising efforts and planning meetings either---have you??? Just another crab in the bucket.

I guess you haven't been around since the school opened or else you never attended a PA meeting where it was announced on several occasions that the trip would be in 8th grade. It wasn't until the the DCI was announced that they moved it to 5th.

Nope. I heard that a 5th grade trip was planned when I attended a presentation about the school in a Capitol Hill library before the school even opened. DS was part of the school from the beginning.

We'll talk about it all year and your child will be keenly aware if they're part of the awesome hype or totally left out!" seems short-sighted, insensitive, and a little cruel

^^^^^^ this here ^^^^^

Wow. Another YY thread that yet again reveals the true face and nature of its community. Good luck, OP. A trip like you describe that would separate the haves and have nots in such an extended, blatant, and envy-inducing manner would be enough for me to rail against it if my child attended there.

I grew up in Britain. We went on an international trip in 6th grade (my sis went to Germany and I went to Greece). My sister went on to study languages in college and is in a language related field. I have traveled extensively and was
a Peace Corps volunteer later. I think these types
of trips are great - the money issues are really tough though.

Anonymous wrote:
Actually you're wrong. At our very first orientation they said fifth grade. I really don't get why you think you speak for the class parents--you don't. Bet you haven't been a part of ANY of the fundraising efforts and planning meetings either---have you??? Just another crab in the bucket.

I guess you haven't been around since the school opened or else you never attended a PA meeting where it was announced on several occasions that the trip would be in 8th grade. It wasn't until the the DCI was announced that they moved it to 5th.

Neither DH or I got to go on an international trip through school in elementary but then neither of us attended an immersion language school. Didn't study a foreign language until 4th grade and we attended private schools. So how long have these 5th graders been studying the language? They deserve to go and it's great that the school is providing the opportunity to go as a group. Wish them well.

Oh--and isn't America a capitalist society?? Some of you are coming across like you think we live in a communist nation, where no body can have opportunities or experiences if everybody can't (or more likely won't choose to have them). Hell--even China doesn't practice true communism anymore!!

That's weird. I grew up going to public school in this area and there were always school trips to europe and other places. Not every kid went but that was real life. I certainly never went, but my parents did not blame the school for offering them. One year they said I could go but I would have to give up my 2 weeks of summer camp to do so. I chose summer camp and that was that. I don't get the attitudes on this forum at all. People (parents) need to have honest discussions with their kids about what they can afford and what choices might have to be made. Then everyone should live with the result. Get a grip.

I think that a trip of this nature is horribly inappropriate--whether it is 5th or 8th grade. It is divisive and socially isolating to the parents who either cannot afford it or prefer to allocate their resources differently. There will be immense social pressure placed on the kids who are not going. This country is and has been in a recession. When will we stop raising the bar for unreasonable lifestyle expectations for our kids? My parents sent 4 kids through Sidwell and St. Albans in the late 70's through the mid 80's. A class wide european trip was never a thing. Absurd. Families did this on an individual basis, of course. But to set up such class wide economic division in public school is completely inappropriate. Plus, unbelievably, the trip is free for teachers and administrators. This just absurd. The trip organizers do much of the work and chaperoning-(I worked for one of these companies when I first graduated college). I just really, really find this to be distasteful. I do blame the school for doing this. They are dangling the trip in front of the children and placing the wedge between the haves and the have nots. This is public school.

Anonymous wrote:I think this is to distract 5th grade parents that middle school starts in one year and there has been no thoughtful planning on the project.

Fake it 'til you make it Yu Ying!

How very little you know. The DCI is rolling right along and YY will keep this first group of kids through 6th grade because the IB model allows that to be a swing year (either to stick with the PYP or go forward with the MYP). Fake it 'til you make it, Troll!!!!