-Post is for my current coursework. Enjoy :)
Many of you who have been reading this blog since I began teaching know that I started my teaching career in a dual language school. My mother is Colombian and I feel strong ties to my Latin roots. I wanted an opportunity to use my skill set of speaking two languages (I also probably thought it was the easiest way to guarantee a job!) During my two years teaching at this dual language school and then teaching three more years at an immersion school, I realized that the importance of these bilingual schools went so far beyond my personal gains.
Many of you who have been reading this blog since I began teaching know that I started my teaching career in a dual language school. My mother is Colombian and I feel strong ties to my Latin roots. I wanted an opportunity to use my skill set of speaking two languages (I also probably thought it was the easiest way to guarantee a job!) During my two years teaching at this dual language school and then teaching three more years at an immersion school, I realized that the importance of these bilingual schools went so far beyond my personal gains.
Recently I listened to the Podcast “Getting Smart” an educational podcast that interviews many different people, and in the particular episode I listened to was called, “All Children Should be Bilingual: The Dual Language Economic Imperative”. (http://www.gettingsmart.com/2016/08/juan-cabrera-podcast/) In this podcast feelings of pride, excitement for language and guilt over no longer teaching in a school I was once so passionate about all resurfaced for me. Many of you know I left my last school because the commute became too much with my growing family. But it left me wondering, why DON’T we have a dual language or immersion school in our district? We are the 3rd largest district in the in Twin Cities area, we are well-attended and people move to the South metro to be a part of this district. How could we be missing such an important way to learn?
Now some of you may say, there’s no need, people don’t want it, they don’t matter all that much, but I disagree. Especially after listening to this podcast with a Superintendent in Texas where he has several dual language schools. Many times throughout the podcast he reminded me of the importance of these schools.
Now some of you may say, there’s no need, people don’t want it, they don’t matter all that much, but I disagree. Especially after listening to this podcast with a Superintendent in Texas where he has several dual language schools. Many times throughout the podcast he reminded me of the importance of these schools.
- At 15:35 he reminds us that not only are the schools creating bilingual students, they are bilingual in ACADEMIC language.
- 16:27 Dual language schools leverage the skills that students currently have.
-This is especially the case when there are students from both language backgrounds, each group of students can help the other group and work together to learn through each other’s experience.
- 17:56 Students learn technical content in Spanish to create high level jobs which are important in our and other countries.
-They talked about how so many other countries they encourage students to be fluent in two or more languages, how can we expect to compete globally if our “brightest” are only speaking one language?
- 18:32 Learning two languages builds a person’s overall intellectual capacity.
-Now this point they agreed needed to be studied further, but he as a bilingual learner and teacher has seen this to be the case in so many people he has worked with.
Of course there are arguments against dual/immersion schools because students at these schools do no immediately perform on state standards the way grade level peers do, but by middle school they outperform grade level peers. Others argue that these are schools just catering to people who don’t speak English and that if you are in the United States you should speak English, well I don’t even want to touch this argument, because if you know me, you know I am passionate about all people and feel that we should encourage more inclusion and collaboration as a culture of Americans.
So all this being said, WHY? Why is our district so far behind in the immersion/dual language school? Why have I left a dual language school (aside from commute time, and ease of teaching of course ;) . How can we start to plant the seed of dual language/immersion schools so that students in our district are prepared to be global citizens who are successful in the world? How can I get a school here so that my own children are bilingual and proud of their Hispanic heritage, since I have not yet spoken to them in Spanish in our home....maybe this is why I am in school to become a principal?
What do you fellow teachers and administrators at District 196 think? Do you see this need? Would you be a proponent of a dual language/immersion school in our district? Would you want it for your children?
