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Public Immersion vs Home Schooling


Guest jec
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Currently my children are enrolled in a public, tuition free ( I did not say just free because we do have a significant "voluntary" contriution of around $1000.) immersion school in our district. I do not speak a second language - it is important to me to give my children the opportunity to learn a second languge. If not for this, I would be homeschooling my children. The teachers at the school are native speakers and the education with regards to language immersion is top notch.

 

Yet, my heart still is telling me I want to educate my children at home. The social influences outside the class (bus - a very long ride / playground) are not in alignment with our family values. And, except for language, there is little room for developing creativity, appreciation of literature, technology and little to no math and science.

 

My oldest is frustrated that his strenghts (creativity / math / strategy) are not highlighted in school. And the younger (my verbal guy) ,is a little frustrated the class isn't moving at the rate he would like but mostly loves school.

 

Lately, we have started with the singapore math series at home. My oldest is interested in the Alexs program which we may try this summer. We also participate in chess, piano and karate. I am cautious about not doing too much after school. They are pretty exhausted after an entire day speaking in a second language.

 

Let me also say I have never met a teacher or administrator I did not like. So it is not that I am "anti-school". I just believe there are limits to what can be taught in the classroom. I want more for my kids - I am not sure I believe a modern classroom will prepare my children for the ecomony the future has for them.

 

I am new to these boards, but just wondering if anyone else has suggestions, feedback or experience to share. Thank you

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Thanks for the welcome Beth. Yes, I think prayer is in order. I sure wish there was a half day public school option! My kids sure are learning a lot and it is humbling when they bring home there library books in Spanish...yet I am looking forward to summer and more time together.

 

(Is there a spell check here? :) I should have proofed better.)

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Thanks for the welcome Beth. Yes, I think prayer is in order. I sure wish there was a half day public school option! My kids sure are learning a lot and it is humbling when they bring home there library books in Spanish...yet I am looking forward to summer and more time together.

 

(Is there a spell check here? :) I should have proofed better.)

 

Somehow I have an automatic spell-check. If I misspell a word, it is underlined in red. Check your preferences on your user panel maybe.

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Yet, my heart still is telling me I want to educate my children at home. The social influences outside the class (bus - a very long ride / playground) are not in alignment with our family values. And, except for language, there is little room for developing creativity, appreciation of literature, technology and little to no math and science.

 

 

Sounds like you may have your answer. Just reading what you wrote makes me think that you may want to take some time and really consider homeschooling. Learning a second (or third or fourth) language is wonderful. However, is it more important that your family values, creativity, literature, etc?

 

Maybe you can try homeschooling this summer and see how it goes. It can at least give you a chance to compare apples to apples since both school and homeschooling have pros and cons.

 

Good luck! Buena suerte! (sp?)

Jackie

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I'm in a similar situation. My son is in a "dual language" program (not immersion) in Spanish at the public school. We started homeschooling him in the mornings last month, at his request. It's a great option that we have in my state. I'm not disappointed with the school or social situation, but it's nice to be able to tailor his education more to himself.

 

How long have they had in the immersion program? They can still learn another language later on. I figured that the only thing that he would be better at learning now versus later is the pronunciation. I still can't figure out how to trill r's. And you guys can work on learning as a family if you wish.

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I live in an area with many immersion programs. Most English kids go to French immersion programs. In fact it's the main reason why many English families do NOT homeschool.

Since you're new around here, I'll tell you that I live in a French province. French proficiency is required to live here.

 

Nothing can beat that immersion experience. I see the kids start 1st grade and struggle. By 3rd grade they are so fluent in French, it's hard to tell them apart from native French speakers. And the homeschool families that choose to keep the kids home never achieve anything resembling that. In fact, I teach French to those homeschooled kids, and they can't put a sentence together in French, even after 4 years of French lessons (it's my first year of teaching them, so I'm not taking the blame! :lol: )

 

It is a wonderful gift to give to a person, this ability to speak/think/dream in two languages.

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Our children are in a bi-lingual Slovak school which isn't really bi-lingual until the older grades. The younger grades are taught in Slovak except for English class. So, dc are pretty much immersed. We have been here 18 months and dc have a good grounding in Slovak. We also spend time with Brazilian expats where dc are immersed in Portuguese. Can't say it has been easy but we have a peace that it is for good reason.

 

For us, it has been a constant struggle to balance our children's emotional stability, academics, and their language acquisition. Our lives are very mobile and we need the freedom to take dc with us as we stay up late spending time with people (Slovak, Brazilian, American, Argentianian, Hungarian...whoever) without the hassle of keeping up with a school schedule. Dc need a real vacation during breaks not time doing afterschool. Dc need to spend time playing with other children instead of doing homework and afterschool work after a long day of immersion. Dc need to learn more portuguese without it being yet another stressful situation. Lordwilling, we will return to homeschooling this fall but will continue to have dc in the school's afterschool program so they can continue to learn Slovak by spending time with their friends. The afterschool program at the school is wonderful, so much more flexible and less stressful than class. IMHO, real immersion is spending more time with the people and less time in the books. Not that classes aren't important; dc needed the jump start that their Slovak school has provided. It's just a balancing act that we bath in much prayer.

 

Come to think of it, our objective really isn't to learn a language; it's to connect with people. Language is just an instrument to connect. We want to learn Slovak bc we love the Slovak people and have so much to share with them. It means a lot to them and shows respect for them to learn their language as we live in their country. Our goal is not to just acquire a language (OR to homeschool) so dc can have an academic advantage, to be better than some other expat, or to somehow prove our love for the people or our work. Behind every langange is a person.

 

From what I am hearing from you, you are seeking the best for your children. Whatever you decide to do, the immersion they have had this year will serve them in years to come. Whether they become fluent or not, this experience has given them some insight into people different than themselves. I'll also be praying for you! Welcome!

Edited by violin69
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I still can't figure out how to trill r's.

 

There is a way to overcome this. My husband had me practice over and over and over and over and over and (perro, no pero)... :glare:

 

I was about 25 then. I can trill r's now. Very well in fact. :D

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Thanks everyone for your feedback. For now, we are staying the course. I know I can't offer this experience through home study or tutoring. Meanwhile I will try to supplement their education with field trips, math and cultural experiences. My challenge will be making certain the extra activities lean more towards the interesting and curious rather than just extra schoolwork at the end of a long day... So I guess I will take this to the after-schooling board. Thanks again for the welcome.

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Thanks for the welcome Beth. Yes, I think prayer is in order. I sure wish there was a half day public school option! My kids sure are learning a lot and it is humbling when they bring home there library books in Spanish...yet I am looking forward to summer and more time together.

 

(Is there a spell check here? :) I should have proofed better.)

 

 

Is there absolutely no way to work out a half day option? Are there native speakers of that language living in the area that you could work out an agreement with? Could you afford a live in person who works off their room and board speaking that language with your dc for a certain number of hours per day? Perhaps a student or something like that.

 

My cousins learned French in a full immersion school in BC (because their dad is considered French Canadian). It worked well for 3/4 of these dc. One had a lot of issues and was "excused" from many schools, so I'm not sure if he's fully bilingual. The plus side is that one of them is now trilingual as she has spent 3 years in Iceland. The French helped just because having 2 European languages helps to learn a third.

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