Hello Taiwanese Dad. I have a child at one of the immersion feeders and also speak Spanish natively. I also have an IB diploma. I'm not sure what Yu Ying students will do on the IB exams. I assumed they'd take the exams in English and then Chinese as a Higher Level. I have spoken to students at LAMB and Mundo Verde. LAMB students speak fabulous spanish, and I was impressed by the level of grammar instruction. MV kids also spoke well, but needed some grammar corrections. I think both schools do a lot to teach culture as well. I think that DCI will work out its kinks by the time my kid gets there, but i think the idea is good.

I would not want my children to take the IB exams in any other language besides english though. Trust me when I say they are tough. I took APs for practice as a sophomore. IB exams are no joke.

What is DCPC?

I'm a dad originally from Taiwan. Anybody who criticizes YY gets nailed for being heritage mom on these boards, which gets us nowhere.

It would be nice if you'd stick to the topic for a change - why do parents believe in DCI? Because they think that most of the future students are going to ace the IB Diploma exams?

If you earned the IB Diploma and have a child/ren in an immersion feeder school I'd like to hear from you. I can't be the only parent/voter wondering how well DCPC has thought immersion approaches through.

Heritage Mom, is that you? We've missed you!

Many upper grades Yu Ying parents must believe in DCI because they don't speak Chinese. I'm a native speaker who, I kid you not, can hardly understand most of the YY kids I speak Mandarin to in my neighborhood, including upper grades kids. They don't seem able to understand me either, unless I speak as though I'm talking to a baby or toddler. Their parents seem to think that the kids are close to fluent for their ages. Also, when I talk to the families, they don't seem to know much at all about Chinese culture - they've never been to a Chinese-speaking country (other than perhaps on the recent YY 5th grade trip), aren't going, and don't have Chinese immigrant or ABC friends. They don't seem to know that most Chinese immigrants speak Cantonese, not Mandarin, or what Cantonese is.

I can't help but wonder how these kids are going to fare on those International Baccalaureate exams in six, seven or eight years. Having earned the full IB Diploma abroad years ago, I'm not convinced that DCPC has really thought the DCI program through. Those exams are killers, a good deal harder than AP language exams (which I also took), at least at the Higher Level.

I don't go looking for reasons to criticize DC public schools, but from where I sit, DCI's Chinese track doesn't sound like a serious thing. What makes you think it is?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If they are behind in DCI, they were behind at their HRCS. The continuation of the target language is the draw. [/b]Why waste six years of language instruction, especially in Mandarin which is a hard language.

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Every parent I know who has decided to send their child to a different middle school, past and currently, has continued or will continue with Mandarin education for their children. What makes you think we would not for our children? Before DCI, which is only in its first year of operation, we had continuation plans beyond Yu Ying.

Not everyone is as well-resourced (i.e. wealthy) as you. Many whose kids currently attend Yu Ying would have ZERO options for continuing Mandarin for free, at that level, if our kids didn't go to DCI. So bravo for you that you have that option, but perhaps if you broke out of your apparently selective group a little, you'd meet plenty of parents who would not have that option. The PP you're responding to apparently knows a wider range of parents than you and your friends.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And the answer to the question is..... ? Pretty simple question. And what does Yu Ying or MV have to do with this discussion? Some parents want to know when kids get the opportunity to take Algebra.

The algebra thread hijackers can call the damn school.

Basically anything people ask on this website you could respond that way, so not very helpful really, is it.

Why can't current parents discuss? BTW, I checked out Latin's website and it wasn't clear either.

Anonymous wrote:And the answer to the question is..... ? Pretty simple question. And what does Yu Ying or MV have to do with this discussion? Some parents want to know when kids get the opportunity to take Algebra.

The algebra thread hijackers can call the damn school.

And the answer to the question is..... ? Pretty simple question. And what does Yu Ying or MV have to do with this discussion? Some parents want to know when kids get the opportunity to take Algebra.

This is such a dumb thread. First of all, do a dcum search on Yu Ying or Mundo Verde. You will see similar comments you see here about dci. There is a dopey dc mentality where people are afraid to try anything new. I'm sure dci will be great and these naysayers will soon be proven wrong.

Okay, so can kids at DCI take algebra in 7th or 8th grade? Can current parents chime in on this? The website only describes "7th grade math"

Feeder parent and non-believer here. Wish DCI best of luck, but so far not impressed. Will move to VA by time kid is old enough for middle.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So, you're saying that no white or Asian kids will get into an elite college from DCI if they don't offer algebra in 7th grade? Wow.

Not saying anything about where the kids from DCI will go to college. Would be very premature, no?

Just saying what HYP etc. expect from applicants to have a smidgen chance of getting in.

Well, that is what you're saying then. They won't have a smidgen chance if they don't have algebra in 7th.

DCI has only existed for what, a year? So they can add algebra in 7th if they expect their kids to attend elite colleges.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So, you're saying that no white or Asian kids will get into an elite college from DCI if they don't offer algebra in 7th grade? Wow.

Not saying anything about where the kids from DCI will go to college. Would be very premature, no?

Just saying what HYP etc. expect from applicants to have a smidgen chance of getting in.

Well, that is what you're saying then. They won't have a smidgen chance if they don't have algebra in 7th.