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I too think some are falsely finding fault in something that is supposed to be a good thing. These are elementary school kids. They aren't going to be fluent in ANY language in third grade (or fifth) anyway, and certainly aren't going to be immersed whether they have to switch schools ONCE or not. The point is exposure, concept and understanding. In any case, being exposed to language in elementary school can ONLY be a good thing even if they have to switch languages half way through their education to something else. We're talking about elementary school, not in high school.
We're from NJ and my daughter started Spanish classses in K. in public school. It was a "special/enrichment" class just like gym, music etc. 1x per week. We travel to Mexico on vacation a lot so it does come in handy(I don't know any Spanish at all...not my dh).
I too think some are falsely finding fault in something that is supposed to be a good thing.
All I'm saying is that I have PLENTY of reason to believe this board's motives are ANYTHING but altruistic.
It has nothing to do with me being "happy" -- I am not in Wake anymore and my child will NEVER attend the schools. And it's funny how my finding "fault" shifts the blame to ME (and other parents like me) when it's the un-parent-friendly, arrogant, know-it-all policies and outright LIES ("capacity crisis"?!?!) of the BOE that has made me so pessimistic of their motives in the first place.
I suppose time will tell. Unlike the BOE, I will happily admit if I am wrong, and it won't hurt a bit, because children WILL actually benefit from the programs if they come to fruition.
I'm relieved my son will be getting a chance to learn Spanish as it will allow him to effectively communicate with the other half of his class. I consider the entire scheme ironic as there are several children taking ESL and now there will be an even greater number going in the other direction.
I think it's great that Wake is looking at restoring foreign language at the elementary level. I'm not sure if I'm remembering this part right, so I hope you Wake Co parents can correct me if I'm wrong. I thought that currently not all Wake Middle Schools offer foreign language. If I was a parent in Wake Co I would want them to address foreign lang in middle school first. But hopefully they will accomplish this at the same time they add foreign language in elementary.
You're correct. And, while people may say it's a money thing, or a lack-of-teachers thing, I have been told that WCPSS admitted to certain parents that it's a magnet-school-thing; ie: They cannot offer FL at "regular" schools, because the magnets that offer it are MORE attractive to parents only BECAUSE they have programs (like FL) that "regular" schools don't have.
Lose that "carrot on a stick" and you lose the impetus you had driving parents to apply, and make the sacrifices associated with sending their kids, to magnets.
I find it interesting that schools are teaching a second language when they're having enough problems teaching the first language. According to some sources (http://www.unctv.org/focuson/literacy/index.html - broken link), North Carolina's been at the bottom 11 states in terms of reading proficiency.
I find it interesting that schools are teaching a second language when they're having enough problems teaching the first language. According to some sources (http://www.unctv.org/focuson/literacy/index.html - broken link), North Carolina's been at the bottom 11 states in terms of reading proficiency.
I'm not fan of WCPSS and am relieved that my daughter will start school in VA this fall, but the fact that NC schools might be ranked in the bottom 11 in terms of reading proficiency doesn't mean much for Wake County. Wake County is in no way representative of the state (for example, median family income in the US is around $50k, for NC it's around $48k and for Wake County it's around $67k) and the schools here on average are much better than an average NC school.
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