Anonymous wrote:If teaching Hebrew makes Sela a "Jewish" school, then apparently the exact same logic would make any school that teaches Spanish a "Catholic" school, since most people who speak Spanish are Catholic.

Faulty logic.

You are misrepresenting the logic presented. What people are saying is, there is not a critical mass of non-Jewish people who have demonstrated they value Hebrew, since there are not any other major reasons to learn it if you're not connected to it (it is not useful in world business). Also, this country is about to be majority Spanish speakers. It is absurd to draw any parallels between the strong alignment between Hebrew and Judiasm, and the much broader relationship Americans have with Spanish language and say Catholicism is just as connected to Spanish language as Judiasm is to Hebrew. Spanish is SO much broader: this is the US where there are so many job and community connections to learning Spanish which have zero to do with Catholicism.

Are you really going to try to assert with a straight face that currently in the US there is a significant job or community benefit to speaking Hebrew that involves a major population outside the US Jewish community? Where is this significant population of non-Jewish Hebrew speakers? But there is a ton of people who are not ethnically or culturally Spanish-speaking and yet they speak Spanish. Because an almost majority of the US population speaks it. It's an asset in the job world, part of North America is a Spanish-speaking country. Every US state has a significant and growing Spanish-speaking population.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone know, why Hebrew? As languages go, it's definitely among the less useful choices out there. It's not as if DC is chock-a-block with immersion schools and they're running out of language options.

There is a demand from many families for Hebrew immersions for their children. Many families, enough to start a charter school, believe Hebrew is a valuable language for their children to learn.

That statement sounds anecdotal, not fact based.

So "Many families, enough to start a charter school" is not proven by the fact that they have, in fact, started a charter school?

What further proof do you need?

HELLO!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone know, why Hebrew? As languages go, it's definitely among the less useful choices out there. It's not as if DC is chock-a-block with immersion schools and they're running out of language options.

There is a demand from many families for Hebrew immersions for their children. Many families, enough to start a charter school, believe Hebrew is a valuable language for their children to learn.

That statement sounds anecdotal, not fact based.

So "Many families, enough to start a charter school" is not proven by the fact that they have, in fact, started a charter school?

What further proof do you need?

If teaching Hebrew makes Sela a "Jewish" school, then apparently the exact same logic would make any school that teaches Spanish a "Catholic" school, since most people who speak Spanish are Catholic.

Faulty logic.

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone know, why Hebrew? As languages go, it's definitely among the less useful choices out there. It's not as if DC is chock-a-block with immersion schools and they're running out of language options.

Most likely to alienate low-SES DC parents? (Sort of the YY model)

Than you should learn Korean. It's not a difficult language to learn about as hard as Hebrew, and nowhere as difficult as English and Mandarin. No irregulars, has an alphabet and Koreans aren't snobs about accents like the French. You'll be a big hit! I know several non-Koreans who speak excellent Korean and I find it amazing...

Anonymous wrote:I didn't bother teaching my DC Korean which is my native language. No point. I mostly use it to watch soap operas and most Koreans speak English, Mandarin and/or French.

Learning another language is a big commitment aside from that it's good for the brain so I'll rather DC learn a language he'll find useful: English, Mandarin and French/Spanish in our case.

As someone who works regularly with Korean scientists, I wish I knew Korean. Their English is atrocious or non-existent. I think Korean is a lot more useful than you think!

I didn't bother teaching my DC Korean which is my native language. No point. I mostly use it to watch soap operas and most Koreans speak English, Mandarin and/or French.

Learning another language is a big commitment aside from that it's good for the brain so I'll rather DC learn a language he'll find useful: English, Mandarin and French/Spanish in our case.

Anonymous wrote:
Great point. Also, many people seem a bit misinformed about "the benefits of immersion." There are measurable cognitive benefits derived from speaking more than one language, but the key driver is not "immersion" per se, but sustained practice over time. Meaning, immersing our kids in a language they are not likely to use is pretty much a waste of time and attention, compared to devoting same effort to other languages or educational priorities.

IMO I think immersing a child in a language, even a lesser spoke language, is not a waste of time since such activity is likely to increase a child's brain power. My family member learned German via immersion as a child and is hence fluent in English and German and his brain power is quite good too!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone know, why Hebrew? As languages go, it's definitely among the less useful choices out there. It's not as if DC is chock-a-block with immersion schools and they're running out of language options.

There is a demand from many families for Hebrew immersions for their children. Many families, enough to start a charter school, believe Hebrew is a valuable language for their children to learn.

That statement sounds anecdotal, not fact based.

Not only that, but time will tell re: whether the "many" families that have this demand are or are not Jewish. It's one thing to say "Hey, why not, any language is good if I can get a slot", but a wholly different thing to say "This is actually valuable for my child". Barring cultural/family/geographic connection, it is hard to see how there is a critical mass of non-Jewish families that will feel that way. Nothing in existence today demonstrates it will happen - aren't there other Hebrew charter schools in other cities in existence today? What % of their enrollment is non-Jewish and have any of them been around long enough to show that non-Jewish families with no other ties to Hebrew "value" the language enough to keep enrollment up and continue speaking Hebrew into adulthood?

What is the problem if, say, 90% of Sela applicants are Jewish? They got the charter approved, and I guess there's enough kids in DC who are Jewish (either American or Israelis) to make one charter school work. I am sure some charters have 90% Christian student bodies.

In my mind that's the most realistic scenario - cannot see why anyone who is not Jewish (or has significant links to Israel) would apply. But, again, I don't see the problem with that. If there was an Arabic charter, and 90% students were Muslims, well, that's life.

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nobody would send their kid there unless they are jewish or the other school option is bad academically. hebrew is almost useless unless you are jewish. I've never met a non-jewish child who studied hebrew. Maybe some theologians do, but that would be in their college years I am guessing or even later.

Actually, I am not jewish and if my child was in the correct age bracktr (he is much older) I would definitely consider Sela due to the benefits of immersion. Before we relocated, jewish day schools were on my list of considerations as schooling options for ds. Many Jewish students attended the catholic school I attended so why not the other way around? I think if a school offers a good curricula and a good environment, then why not consider it.

More power to the Jewish day schools (and to the Catholic schools). Religious-affiliated private schools are a great option for believers (and those of other belief) who value the education and faith-based grounding. However, SELA is not supposed to be a Jewish school. It is a publicly fiunded DC charter school that will teach Hebrew. If it teaches the cultural context of the language, it will have to observe very carefully the religiion/state separation. When Washington Latin was founded and initially headed by a Congregational minister who didn't understand the separation, Americans United for Separation of Church and State filed a complaint against the school. (Rev. Ahlstrom was forced out several years ago for various reasons, and under its current leadership WL has had no 'establishment' issues.) I trust that Americans United and similar groups will be vigilant in the case of SELA as well.

I am fully aware that Sela is a charter school and thus non-religious. I used the analogy of the fact that I considered sending my son to a Jewish day school since a Jewish day school would also teach Hebrew. I see no problem with any school that teaches Hebrew as an option for my child whether the school is religious or secular as Sela is.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone know, why Hebrew? As languages go, it's definitely among the less useful choices out there. It's not as if DC is chock-a-block with immersion schools and they're running out of language options.

There is a demand from many families for Hebrew immersions for their children. Many families, enough to start a charter school, believe Hebrew is a valuable language for their children to learn.

That statement sounds anecdotal, not fact based.

Not only that, but time will tell re: whether the "many" families that have this demand are or are not Jewish. It's one thing to say "Hey, why not, any language is good if I can get a slot", but a wholly different thing to say "This is actually valuable for my child". Barring cultural/family/geographic connection, it is hard to see how there is a critical mass of non-Jewish families that will feel that way. Nothing in existence today demonstrates it will happen - aren't there other Hebrew charter schools in other cities in existence today? What % of their enrollment is non-Jewish and have any of them been around long enough to show that non-Jewish families with no other ties to Hebrew "value" the language enough to keep enrollment up and continue speaking Hebrew into adulthood?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone know, why Hebrew? As languages go, it's definitely among the less useful choices out there. It's not as if DC is chock-a-block with immersion schools and they're running out of language options.

There is a demand from many families for Hebrew immersions for their children. Many families, enough to start a charter school, believe Hebrew is a valuable language for their children to learn.

That statement sounds anecdotal, not fact based.

Everything on DCUM is anecdotal and not fact-based. Some people saw their table mobbed others saw their table empty, etc. etc. Nobody's right and nobody's wrong. People just give their opinions over and over. Go on with your bad self, Sela. We welcome you to the charter community.

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nobody would send their kid there unless they are jewish or the other school option is bad academically. hebrew is almost useless unless you are jewish. I've never met a non-jewish child who studied hebrew. Maybe some theologians do, but that would be in their college years I am guessing or even later.

Actually, I am not jewish and if my child was in the correct age bracktr (he is much older) I would definitely consider Sela due to the benefits of immersion. Before we relocated, jewish day schools were on my list of considerations as schooling options for ds. Many Jewish students attended the catholic school I attended so why not the other way around? I think if a school offers a good curricula and a good environment, then why not consider it.

More power to the Jewish day schools (and to the Catholic schools). Religious-affiliated private schools are a great option for believers (and those of other belief) who value the education and faith-based grounding. However, SELA is not supposed to be a Jewish school. It is a publicly fiunded DC charter school that will teach Hebrew. If it teaches the cultural context of the language, it will have to observe very carefully the religiion/state separation. When Washington Latin was founded and initially headed by a Congregational minister who didn't understand the separation, Americans United for Separation of Church and State filed a complaint against the school. (Rev. Ahlstrom was forced out several years ago for various reasons, and under its current leadership WL has had no 'establishment' issues.) I trust that Americans United and similar groups will be vigilant in the case of SELA as well.

Great point. Also, many people seem a bit misinformed about "the benefits of immersion." There are measurable cognitive benefits derived from speaking more than one language, but the key driver is not "immersion" per se, but sustained practice over time. Meaning, immersing our kids in a language they are not likely to use is pretty much a waste of time and attention, compared to devoting same effort to other languages or educational priorities.

My experience has been once you know a language, you use it. You seek it out either in cultural activities or work opportunities. So there's no reason to think that if a kid learns Mandarin or Hebrew or Swedish or whatever that they won't keep up with it later in life. A nice thing about being a parent, is that you never know what your kid will bond with or gravitate to as they grow up.

Very true. But, following that logic, why not Swahili?

Go start a Swahili school, and I will consider it. I learned Italian in high school. No family ties to Italy. Kept studying it. Learned to appreciate opera. Read Italian newspapers online for fun. Chose to work in a field where I deal a lot with Italian companies, many of whom have bad English. So, I certainly believe it's likely and possible for others.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nobody would send their kid there unless they are jewish or the other school option is bad academically. hebrew is almost useless unless you are jewish. I've never met a non-jewish child who studied hebrew. Maybe some theologians do, but that would be in their college years I am guessing or even later.

Actually, I am not jewish and if my child was in the correct age bracktr (he is much older) I would definitely consider Sela due to the benefits of immersion. Before we relocated, jewish day schools were on my list of considerations as schooling options for ds. Many Jewish students attended the catholic school I attended so why not the other way around? I think if a school offers a good curricula and a good environment, then why not consider it.

More power to the Jewish day schools (and to the Catholic schools). Religious-affiliated private schools are a great option for believers (and those of other belief) who value the education and faith-based grounding. However, SELA is not supposed to be a Jewish school. It is a publicly fiunded DC charter school that will teach Hebrew. If it teaches the cultural context of the language, it will have to observe very carefully the religiion/state separation. When Washington Latin was founded and initially headed by a Congregational minister who didn't understand the separation, Americans United for Separation of Church and State filed a complaint against the school. (Rev. Ahlstrom was forced out several years ago for various reasons, and under its current leadership WL has had no 'establishment' issues.) I trust that Americans United and similar groups will be vigilant in the case of SELA as well.

Great point. Also, many people seem a bit misinformed about "the benefits of immersion." There are measurable cognitive benefits derived from speaking more than one language, but the key driver is not "immersion" per se, but sustained practice over time. Meaning, immersing our kids in a language they are not likely to use is pretty much a waste of time and attention, compared to devoting same effort to other languages or educational priorities.

My experience has been once you know a language, you use it. You seek it out either in cultural activities or work opportunities. So there's no reason to think that if a kid learns Mandarin or Hebrew or Swedish or whatever that they won't keep up with it later in life. A nice thing about being a parent, is that you never know what your kid will bond with or gravitate to as they grow up.

My DD is being immersed in Spanish, which I guess will soon put her in the majority as non-Spanish speakers will soon be the minority in this country. Hebrew or Mandarin speakers? Maybe 1% of the country speak either fluently? I just find hebrew a complete waste of time/resources unless someone is jewish or moving to Israel or something like that.

Isn't it great that you aren't the mother (or father) of every kid in D.C.? I find Spanish immersion a huge waste of time, which is why I tried to get into YY (and failed). Different strokes for different folks.