Non-English Public School

[Botnst]

City To Open Arabic Public School In Brooklyn
February 13, 2007

The Department of Education says that it will open a public school next fall dedicated to Arabic language and culture.

The Khalil Gibran International Academy is one of 40 new schools that will their debut in the city next September.

Education officials say that although half the classes at the school will be taught in Arabic, they want to enroll a diverse student body.

The school is set to open in Brooklyn.

[Matt L]

Separate but equal?

[Dubyagee]

Well, Isn't that special.

Really, who's in charge of this country? Americans or the EU/UN? It gets harder to tell every passing year.

[Matt L]

Americans come in many flavors. English-speaking WASP is but one.

I have a better idea. Teach Arabic, Spanish, Chinese and English in all of our public schools.

[Kuan]

Here we have Spanish and Chinese schools where the curriculum is taught in those respective languages.

[Dubyagee]

Originally Posted by Matt L

Americans come in many flavors. English-speaking WASP is but one.

I have a better idea. Teach Arabic, Spanish, Chinese and English in all of our public schools.

I agree, but to have a school dedicated to arabic learning only is a stretch. If taught in all schools, like you stated, it would be more accepted.

Public schools would greatly benefit from a wider world view and involvment with other cultures. The next issue would be how to initiate such a program with the condition of the current school system.

[Matt L]

Originally Posted by Dubyagee

I agree, but to have a school dedicated to arabic learning only is a stretch. If taught in all schools, like you stated, it would be more accepted.

Public schools would greatly benefit from a wider world view and involvment with other cultures. The next issue would be how to initiate such a program with the condition of the current school system.

We see to completely agree on this as a worthwhile goal. Separate schools for different languages is a seriously bad idea, in my opinion.

I don't think it would be impossible to achieve with our current school system. Rather, it is likely to have some serious political resistance from many sides. In any case, you'd have to do something to convince the students that they should care. While it seems obvious that you could make a whole lot more money in your lifetime if you knew Chinese, for example, it won't seem so obvious to the students. It will just seem like more useless work to them.

I had a very eye-opening experience as a TA in a private university. The undergraduate students were paying more than 30K/year, and most didn't care if they remembered any of the material after the final exam. These were supposed to be the cream of the crop.

[Botnst]

My youngest kid attended a French Immersion public school until the 8th grade. All classes were in French except English (duh-oh!) and reading. She has excellent comprehension in both languages. She started in French IV in high school.

B

[Carleton Hughes]

Hell, I'm still holding out for Esperanto!

[aklim]

Great idea. Kids haven't even mastered the 3Rs before they go to kollege but lets teach them all this crap in a different language.

[Matt L]

Two of these R's involve language. Learning additional languages has no detrimental effect on students grasp of English; on the contrary, it is a distinct bonus.

[BENZ-LGB]

Originally Posted by Matt L

Americans come in many flavors. English-speaking WASP is but one.

I have a better idea. Teach Arabic, Spanish, Chinese and English in all of our public schools.

If you meant teach those languages in school, like they used to teach Latin, French or German, then I am with you 100%.

If you meant teach classes in those languages in order to accomodate immigrants then all I can say is:

Esa idea es una gran mierda, el idioma oficial de este pais es Ingles, y al que no le guste, que tome purgante!

[aklim]

Originally Posted by Matt L

Two of these R's involve language. Learning additional languages has no detrimental effect on students grasp of English; on the contrary, it is a distinct bonus.

How is it a distinct bonus when they can't even master the main stuff? Isn't it like a guy trying to install a killer stereo system in a car with a busted drivetrain? I wish they would get rid of all this crap and more. Concentrate on the basics.

The rest of the world is kicking our ass in math and sciences. We need to move in that direction more than this fluff. We are nowheres near the top when our kids compete. I read a report that said that we have spent more per kid and gotten way less in terms of results. Our kids cannot speak and write proper english. What is this cultural crap going to do to help that?

[Botnst]

Originally Posted by aklim

How is it a distinct bonus when they can't even master the main stuff? Isn't it like a guy trying to install a killer stereo system in a car with a busted drivetrain? I wish they would get rid of all this crap and more. Concentrate on the basics.

You've stereotyped.

Most kids do okay in most public schools around teh country. Some states and some schools are failing their kids. Some states and some schools are providing exemplary education. I don't think it is particularly informative to suggest, with the tremendous diversity of local school systems around this country, to generalize by asserting that all kids are failing.

B

[aklim]

Originally Posted by Botnst

You've stereotyped.

Most kids do okay in most public schools around teh country. Some states and some schools are failing their kids. Some states and some schools are providing exemplary education. I don't think it is particularly informative to suggest, with the tremendous diversity of local school systems around this country, to generalize by asserting that all kids are failing.

B

OK. How have we done typically in the science and math competitions worldwide then?