Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I think you may have missed my point, teaching Spanish and teaching in Spanish are two different things. Teaching a student in this country that only speaks English to speak Spanish or any other language for that matter should be encouraged but not required. Having the English only students in a class being taught in Spanish is excellent idea as long as they are proficient enough in the language to grasp the subject matter.
The Spanish only speaking student is another matter, granted the school will need to make accommodations to slowly integrate them into English classroms but 100% integration into English only classrooms should be the goal.
I did miss your point. (Couldn't figure out your post to be honest.)
I also think the goal should be fluency in English for ANY student in this country. (Whatever their native tongue may be.) Heck, I believe we need to teach English period. (Judging by the quality of some of the posts on this website I often wonder what the heck some posters actually did in school. They certainly weren't learning grammar and composition and comprehension.)
BTW: One pretty-much-all-White elementary school in my area teaches half the day in Spanish. Half the day in English. Beginning in Kindergarten. I doubt there are 20 Hispanic-ancestry students in the entire school so obviously no one is kow-towing to the Hispanic immigrants in town. Because there aren't many.
They recite the pledge to the flag in both English and Spanish. (Yes. To me that's a GOOD thing. And they leave the Dio -God- part in.)
Last edited by DewDropInn; 03-20-2012 at 11:24 AM..
I don't think our kids should be forced to learn a foreign language and it mostly always seems to be Spanish forced on them. It should be elective. There is no need in this country to learn a foreign language unless one plans to get a job in the tourist industry or dealing in business with foreign countries but even then English is the language of business across the world. This is all about accomodating a group of people whom many are here illegally and arrogantly think we should learn their language.
BTW: One pretty-much-all-White elementary school in my area teaches half the day in Spanish.
People wonder why our students are lagging behind other countries? I would suggest the time spent teaching Spanish would be better spent teaching them math, history and of course English. We have Spanish students that are at disadvantage in the classroom because the course is being taught in English, yes? Why would you purposely place that burden on English speaking students?
People wonder why our students are lagging behind other countries? I would suggest the time spent teaching Spanish would be better spent teaching them math, history and of course English. We have Spanish students that are at disadvantage in the classroom because the course is being taught in English, yes? Why would you purposely place that burden on English speaking students?
This school teaches half the day in Spanish. They teach American history in Spanish for example. It's also one of the top schools in the entire state (the kids test off the charts) and people line up to enroll their kids there. (Anglos.)
I happen to believe in full immersion. Before the age of 12 a child's brain is wired to learn language. Any language. After 12 it's a crap shoot.
I believe Spanish/Cambodian/Farsi/insert-your-favorite-language-here speaking students should be put in full English classes in elementary school in this country. (I think we took a step back when we stopped immersing immigrants simply because we were telling them they were incapable of learning English. Rubbish!)
I just don't understand the fear or prejudice expressed by some parents that their child will actually learn ***horrors!*** Spanish. Unless they don't like native-Spanish speakers. And I suspect that's part of it.
I don't think our kids should be forced to learn a foreign language and it mostly always seems to be Spanish forced on them. It should be elective. There is no need in this country to learn a foreign language unless one plans to get a job in the tourist industry or dealing in business with foreign countries but even then English is the language of business across the world. This is all about accomodating a group of people whom many are here illegally and arrogantly think we should learn their language.
Because CLEARLY being bilingual is a bad thing! I guess you don't want your kids to be able to compete with those educated elsewhere. Don't most countries require at least a second language as part of their schooling?
I don't think our kids should be forced to learn a foreign language and it mostly always seems to be Spanish forced on them. It should be elective.
I'm of the libertarian-right and I 100% DISagree with you. It's about time people in this ignorant,fat,stupid country learned how to speak another language.
However, she may have to pay tuition at 'another' school, since it will not be in her district.
Why should she? It's PUBLIC education.
I didn't see that. The district has two elementary schools, the children will have the choice of either school. It would also have up to a 7 year phase in to allow for families and siblings to finish up or transfer as they choose.
At question seems to be the "neighborhood school" idea (which many cities do not offer).
It's still public education at a district school, no tuition required. And this isn't a done deal, it's being discussed because of budget problems, like a bunch of other things in schools these days.
I'm of the libertarian-right and I 100% DISagree with you. It's about time people in this ignorant,fat,stupid country learned how to speak another language.
Word. It's pure arrogance to think that one never needs to learn another language. What if you go traveling somewhere outside the US? Knowing Spanish opens up travel opportunities to a ton of great places, and it'd also make it a bit easier to travel to places like France and Italy. If a company has two applicants who are completely equal except one is fluent in two languages, the bilingual will probably get the job (especially if the language is in demand). And in some jobs that can even lead to more pay (e.g. in police departments and the military).
Not to mention research is suggesting that bilingualism makes you smarter:
THE USA IS THE 2ND LARGEST SPANISH SPEAKING NATION IN THE WORLD. Wrap your head around that fact and accept it, because it is never going to change from this point forward. Spanish is a very, very easy language to learn, people shouldn't be afraid of it. Consider it a mental exercise. If you know Spanish, you can even eek your way through Italian. It's amazing how much better service you get at restaurants if you can speak a little bit of Italian in Italy.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
(Yes. To me that's a GOOD thing. And they leave the Dio -God- part in.)
