GA School District Requiring Mandarin

[Haiku]

http://www.npr.org/2012/09/08/160028396/looking-to-future-ga-schools-require-mandarin?ft=1&f=1001

 

Tara

[Mama Geek]

Dh and I have gone back and forth about what foreign language or languages to have dd learn and the Chinese/Spanish discussion often comes up, of course so does Latin and Greek. It is easy to see that Spanish is the secondary language after English that is spoken in this country and we don't see that changing. It is more difficult to determine if China is going to be the next world power and the place where jobs and money can be made.

 

As far as the decisions that the school is making, it sounds pretty unreasonable to me, but I think that about a lot of the decisions made in public schools.:001_smile:

[Kathryn]

That doesn't seem like the greatest idea...

[Night Elf]

So basically, the Chinese government will be in the Macon public school system. I can understand such a thing if it was somewhere important, like a big city, but Macon? Southern GA? Oh my word.

 

I don't have anything against Asian languages. Ds16 is taking Japanese. I just wish it would actually help him be fluent but I don't think a lot of public school foreign language programs. So far we've learned one set of characters, lot of vocabulary, and are learning our second set of characters now. Of course, it would be a little different if he was in an actual classroom with it being spoken. But still, it's a neat language so far.

[zimom]

nm

Edited September 10, 2012 by zimom

[Parrothead]

Hmmm....

[Jean in Newcastle]

From an academic standpoint, he's doing a good thing. It really doesn't matter what foreign language they learn. Just learning a foreign language benefits children intellectually and helps them to even understand their native language better.

 

From a monetary standpoint, he's doing a good thing because he's getting a good deal for language teachers. It sounds like their school system is strapped for money.

 

From a cultural standpoint, he's doing an ok thing. These teachers are teaching a language, not communistic ideology. He's exposing these kids to a new culture which again, helps them to understand their own even more.

 

Obviously Mandarin isn't the only language out there and he could have chosen another one just as easily. But he had to make a choice. Hopefully he will get the rise in academic ability that he is hoping for. And hopefully as he gets that rise, he can build more choice into the schools at older grades.

 

I actually was a bit appalled by the attitudes that people had in the article that put down the intelligence of Georgians. And I was appalled at the idea that they could not improve in their intellectual capabilities. This man actually believes these kids and their schooling can be better.

[Rhonda in TX]

So about half of their students don't graduate, but learning Chinese is a priority?? Good grief.

[Night Elf]

Trust me, Mandarin in Macon's schools is the least of it's problems.

 

http://www.macon.com/2012/09/06/2165875/report-blasts-bibb-county-school.html

 

http://www.macon.com/2012/09/06/2165876/teachers-frustrations-over-student.html

 

Just the tip of the iceberg.

 

That's just scary stuff.

[Kirch]

I just wonder what Mandarin sounds like with a GA drawl! ;)

 

I do agree with Jean about the benefits, but the focus does seem to be a bit off when you look at the issues the Macon schools are facing (or ignoring, as the case may be).

[QueenCat]

When we lived in Peachtree City, GA, the elementary school had Japanese teachers provided by local Japanese companies. We had so many Japanese students; the idea was to help the non-Japanese learn a bit of their culture and the basics of the language. We thought it was great for our kids.

[amey311]

I just wonder what Mandarin sounds like with a GA drawl! ;)

 

 

Spanish with a drawl is interesting, too. I did a semester abroad in Seville, Spain and was friends with several students from Mercer University who were in the same program as I.

[zimom]

nm

Edited September 10, 2012 by zimom

[Paige]

I don't know what the controversy is about. Do people not want the kids learning foreign language? I wish every school in America required at least 1 foreign language. It is doing a disservice to kids to make them wait until high school. It's less expensive for the system to pick one language and while I can see the argument for Spanish, Mandarin is a valid and useful choice. If the financial incentives made it possible for him to implement a language in every school when it would not have been possible otherwise, then I think he made a choice that will really benefit most of the kids.

[MariannNOVA]

Just my .02 --

 

 

the co-op where we are taking classes one day a week (algebra/geometry, us history, and chemistry) b/c this particular co-op has a reputation for being meat and not fluff, offered Mandarin this year for the first time in addition to their regular offerings of Spanish, French, Latin, German.

 

Mandarin was booked with a waiting list so long, they scheduled two additional classes and still had a waiting list.

 

The other classes (span, french, german, latin) have their usual numbers.

 

I was speaking with a school psychologist and she said that on her radar, Mandarin is the new 'IT' class - at least here in NoVa.

 

Where I have to say, it is probably going to be as useful in an ER as Spanish is - and I am not being sarcastic.

[TravelingChris]

Well I have a huge problem with it. I am a giant fan of second and even third languages. Languages come easy to me probably because I grew up bilingual= I learned English when I was five and I pick up languages fairly easily. HOwever, my kids do not=each for a different reason. My son has a great visual memory but was basically very hard of hearing until he was almost two. He still has more issues with hearing differences in sound. FOr him, Chinese sounds would be very difficult. French was much easier for him and he did fine. For my next child, all languages are very hard because her mind is arranged differently (verified by neuropsych testing) and her memory for certain things, including languages is greatly diminished. I chose Spanish for her because she also had spelling issues and Spanish has easy spelling. SHe would never have remembered Chinese patterns because she sees in parts, not whole. Finally, my youngest is dyslexic and again Spanish is the easiest for her- she actually spells fairly well in Spanish versus atrociously in English.

 

I could see teaching these children Spanish- it might help them with English grammar and it is actually easier to read too. I don't see a point in teaching them Chinese when they can't read English.

[ereks mom]

Trust me, Mandarin in Macon's schools is the least of it's problems.

 

http://www.macon.com/2012/09/06/2165875/report-blasts-bibb-county-school.html

 

http://www.macon.com/2012/09/06/2165876/teachers-frustrations-over-student.html

 

Just the tip of the iceberg.

 

:iagree: And for the record, since someone labeled Macon as "southern GA", it isn't. People around here are offended when their area is referred to as "south GA". I live about 45 minutes east of Macon, and it's central GA, just 90 minutes south of Atlanta, but a good 3 hours from the GA/FL line. As for not being "important", as someone also said, Macon is the largest city in central GA. It's not a big city, but it is definitely not rural.

 

Anyway, there has been quite an uproar over the superintendant's plan to teach Mandarin in the Bibb County schools. He calls it the Macon Miracle. The plan, as well as the man himself, have been very controversial. http://www.wearepolitics.com/1/post/2012/2/post-title-click-and-type-to-edit4.html

Edited September 8, 2012 by ereks mom

[SunnyDays]

Well I have a huge problem with it. I am a giant fan of second and even third languages. Languages come easy to me probably because I grew up bilingual= I learned English when I was five and I pick up languages fairly easily. HOwever, my kids do not=each for a different reason. My son has a great visual memory but was basically very hard of hearing until he was almost two. He still has more issues with hearing differences in sound. FOr him, Chinese sounds would be very difficult. French was much easier for him and he did fine. For my next child, all languages are very hard because her mind is arranged differently (verified by neuropsych testing) and her memory for certain things, including languages is greatly diminished. I chose Spanish for her because she also had spelling issues and Spanish has easy spelling. SHe would never have remembered Chinese patterns because she sees in parts, not whole. Finally, my youngest is dyslexic and again Spanish is the easiest for her- she actually spells fairly well in Spanish versus atrociously in English.

 

I could see teaching these children Spanish- it might help them with English grammar and it is actually easier to read too. I don't see a point in teaching them Chinese when they can't read English.

 

I think this would be my problem with it too. I am ALL for foreign language, and I think in many districts around the country, Spanish is (and should be) required. But when you go to Mandarin, even though it is turning into an incredibly useful language, it will be extremely difficult for some students, much more so than Spanish. Mandarin not only uses very different sounds than English, but completely different written characters as well. I'd hate to see that much energy put into something while letting basics slide.

[zimom]

nm

Edited September 10, 2012 by zimom

[kiwik]

In principle a good idea. In practice not so good. The thought of teaching my ds5 Chinese lettering is scary. On the other hand my experience of learning languages at that age was basically you learnt a few songs and a bit of culture which made no difference either way.

[Laura Corin]

Some schools that offered Mandarin in Britain have backed away from it. It's so much harder to reach a level of competency in Mandarin than it is in, say French or Spanish, that the parents didn't like the lower grades that the children received.

 

kiwik: most Chinese students in China start learning to write characters later than English speaking students write English. They start by learning the phonetics of Chinese, using Latin script, then slowly move to the characters. My boys started learning Chinese characters at about age 8.

 

Laura

[Haiku]

I posted this thread this morning and then I went off to work. I'll give my two cents now.

 

I have no problem with having kids start learning a foreign language at a young age, and I think it's good for them, but for all the reasons people have previously stated, I think Mandarin is the wrong choice.

 

Were it up to me, I'd choose Latin. It would go much further toward accomplishing the goals of second-language instruction, help kids with English, and open the door to other foreign languages in ways Mandarin won't.

 

Tara

[ereks mom]

These schools need to be SAFE, kids need to learn how to read, write and speak English long before a foreign language, one that 99.9% of them have no use for.

 

:iagree:

[OrganicAnn]

I think learning a foreign language starting at a young age is good. Having that foreign language consistently from K through 12 is good. Having the same foreign language in all schools in the system is good - so that you develop a critical mass and can have supporting activities.

 

I don't think you should give up something like a foreign language just because the school system has other issues - including graduation rates. Just like I don't think you should give up art, music or home ec just because you have issues in the school.

 

I would say that Mandarin seems a difficult language and there may have been other languages that would have been slightly better.

 

But overall I say good for them for trying.