I just don't understand.....I took my daughter to school today. She is 4 and in PRE-K. Last night she said something I had no clue where it came from. It was in Spanish. So when we got to school today I asked her teacher what they were teaching them in school. She said they are learning spanish. I said I don't think so she is only four. Her teacher said they were learning about Mexico and the way things are there. I said shouldn't they be learning abpout the country they live in. I told her that Spanish should not be learned till high school and thats only if they want to learn it. She said that alot of kids in the school are from Mexico and cannot understand English. I told her that is not my problem. They moved here they should learn English and not put our kids out and make them learn Spanish at 4 years old. Now am I just wrong about this? I was kind of mad when I left the school. I am not going to make my kids learn spanish so they don't have to learn english. That is not right. they want to come to AMERICA they should learn english to live here not the other way around.
teaching PRE-K Spanish........
By dolphinqt - Posted on September 12th, 2007
Well I totally understand where your coming from... however children that learn a second language actually have a much higher advantage when it comes to high school and learning. It will help them pick up on things alot quicker. My parents speak a different language as well as English, and they regret not teaching me any sort of other language when I was younger.
I started learning Spanish my freshamn year of high school, and I really wish that I had had the opportunity to learn it in elementary school. Languages are easier to learn when you are younger. If we learn English and Spanish, how will that hurt us? Well educated people used to know three or four languages. So why not educate our children in different languages? I think it would only be to our advantage.
my thing is they are teaching them not only spanis but their culture and not ours. at 4 they need to learn how to wright their names and colors in english. then when they get older things that happened in america. and when they get to high school or even middle school if they want then learn spanish or whatever...not to have it pushed on them at 4.
Kids in American pre-schools should be learning about George Washington chopping down his father's cherry try and not about anything having to do with Mexican culture or history. You are absolutely correct that the non-English speaking children in these classes need to be learning English. This school is doing them a huge dis-service if they are not absolutely immersing them in it.
I don't have much problem with Americans kids getting a little exposure to a second language. I would have loved for my daughter to get that exposure at that age. Children's brains are different and they absorb languages much easier.
I insisted my daughter take Spanish in highschool. She wants to be a veterinarian which I think is great. But somebody is going to be scooping poop in the kennels and that is probably going to be one of those jobs that Americans won't do. Knowing a little Spanish is a big advantage in the work place. Somebody has to give the people who can't speak English orders and the people with a second language will climb the promotion ladder faster as a result.
I've heard that there are a lot of jobs in some parts of America that are not even open to non-spanish speakers because entire crews speak only Espanol. I read recently that there is no such thing as a black drywall hanger in Los Angelos anymore or if there is, they are very rare.
Angela A. Washington
I understand where you are coming from . I really do agree that they should learn english but at four they still speak spanish and it will take them a while to learn english. And the reason why they are teaching your 4 year old spanish at a young age is because it is much easier for them. Trust me I know because i'm in high school and in my fourth year of Spanish and learning a new language in high school can be diificult and it makes you seem like a baby all over again. If they teach a foreign language earlier in life the child is able to say the words easier over time. You are not wrong; you have a reason for being upset. But being able to speak another language at four will help her when she gets to high school because she would have had mastered the language by that time. Being bilingual also pays in the career world.
I have a 2 year old but I am trying to teach her a little spanish here and there. We watch things like silly Dora the Explorer. I think that immigrants need to get on the band wagon and learn our language like you said but I don't think that your child is going to be educationally hurt for learning another language. When I read your article it sounded like you were alittle racial to the fact that the teacher was giving them insight on Mexico and teaching them some of the language. I think it could be a different issue you need to discover in your heart and understand why you feel it could hurt your 4 yr olds education.
I am not trying to be mean or degrading in any way! I think of my daughters future all of the time! Good for you for being a momma!
i'm not racial at all. i just feel that kids that young should be more focused on writing their name. And the teachers should ask the parents if they want their child to learn something like that at that age. when my daughter gets older and wants to learn that fine. but for now i just want her to be 4 and do basic learning. not something that is going to upset her because she cannot get it at 4.
If you don't like it so much put her in another school because I doubt they will change their policy on something that helps a child in the future.
Brittni
It's Worth Reading
The only reason your upset is because the teacher said they were doing it for the other children in the class that are Spanish speaking.
It helps people to blend together better when they understand the other people. This is true for all age groups.
I think you under estimate your four year old. Pre-school is about socializing. You can teach them to write their name in English, not that it is spelt any differently. American culture is learned by American children, not in the classroom, but at home. Other cultures are understood in the classroom.
Your blog makes me upset but probably not because of what you said, but because of the morons that I work with that say obtuse things out of ignorance that closely relates to what you said. I am sure you not unfounded in your complaint so just try not to limit your child by your own disillusionment.
I bet those bilingual children confused the heck out their parents too, but by speaking English.
Personally I teach my four year old and one year old about other languages and make sure that they understand that other places have other words for the same thing. My son just might be bilingual, or trilingual, even though I am not exactly fluent in any two languages. He knows at least five words in Japanese, can count, say open, closed, up and down, climb, and jump in Spanish. I am proud of him and yours too.
I like that you brought your feelings here.
Do not limit a child’s knack for learning.
~open closed mind
all truths are easy to understand once discovered; the point is to discover them ~galileo
OK FOR ONE YOU HAVE NO CLUE HOW I FEEL AND WHY I FEEL THAT WAY. FOR TWO THERE ARE ONLY AMERICAN KIDS IN HER CLASS. I DO NOT UNDER ESTIMATE MY DAUGHTER. SHE IS VERY BRIGHT. BUT SHE NEEDS TO BE 4 NOT 13. I AM NOT LIMITING MY DAUGHTER. SO THINK BEFORE YOU JUDGE HOW PEOPLE RAISE THEIR KIDS. THAT IS ONE THING YOU DON'T DO. YOU HAVE NO CLUE WHO I AM OR HOW I RAISE MY KIDS.
Angela A. Washington
Wow I did not write anything about how you raise your child or anything about her level of intelligence. I didn't say you were limiting your daughter. The reason I said I'm sorry you felt that way was because the level of anger that come off when I read your second blog in reaction to some of the comments from your first blog. Actually i'm seeing both sides of the situation here.
I never wrote anything about you or how you raise your daughter. I don't know why you are writing these things to me. I would never judge people or how the raise their kids because it is not my place.
my comment was not for you. i'm sorry if you thought it was. i understood what you were saying.
Angela A. Washington
No problem just a misunderstanding because I did see some comments that were attacking you. Of course that's not what I was trying to do. And like anyone else you have to defend yourself.
Your daughter will get the spanish it just takes some time ya know. And when she dose she will have such an advantage on the other kids.
Good Luck, with the spanish, im on your side here.
were you talking about the girl above angela? because that was uncalled for, but i understand the other girl because she said you were limiting your kids
Yeah that pretty much sums it up.
You walked into the middle of a conversation that was all done I think, but it is hard to tell.
When someone replies to a comment, the new comment gets indented causing conversations to nest a little.
all truths are easy to understand once discovered; the point is to discover them ~galileo
"She said that alot of kids in the school are from Mexico and cannot understand English." Is the staement I was refering to with the hispanic kids. I meant to say that maybe you might feel this way for that reason, sorry to have made you use all caps at me.
This blog was about the way you feel, since I don't know, I guess I miss read it.
We are all guilty of under estimating our own children no matter how smart they are. I did not mean to get anyone's intelligence put down or tell anyone how to raise kids. All I did was share what I do.
By disillusionment, I meant with the school system.
I do not think age has anything to do with this particular matter. I was going to mention this but it was already stated...learning languages is better at a young age.
~Apologetic
PS If they do not change the class for your wishes or offer another english only class I would say pull them out of that school and find another. Not really sure how Pre-K works since mine does not qualify (NM has some weird IQ rules). Hope all works out.
all truths are easy to understand once discovered; the point is to discover them ~galileo
sory about the way my comment came out. i was upset because my dughter cried because she could not get it. and that made me really mad. i don't feel that is the way for them to learn if they are discouraged because they cannot understand it at a young age.
Teaching a child a second language from such a young age makes it easier for them to pick up that language and any other language they try to pick up in the future.
I would be mad too if they said they were doing it just because all of the other kids don't know English, but it is really good for your child from a developmental psychology perspective. Maybe you should research it a little.
Brittni
It's Worth Reading
In Europe, children start learning other languages at very young ages, our country is one of the only nations where only 3 years is required, and then you forget about it after high school. Knowing another language is very marketable in the future. Unfortunately, it sounds like your daughter's school may be teaching the language for the wrong reasons, and that is to teach the Spanish speaking children in their language. I do believe that since English is the national language, instruction should be given in English, because likewise, if these children want to succeed, they are going to need to know English. If Spanish is to be taught, it should be taught as a foreign language, with grammer and vocabulary. It shouldn't be used as an alternative language to instruct the class in.
It seems your 4-year old daughter knows more Spanish than you, and that upsets you terribly for some reason.
In general, if your children surpass you in any area of knowledge, you should feel blessed, not upset. More so on a subject as beautiful as the Spanish language.
I have a 3 year daughter and we have been pushing her since the age of one to speak spanish because it's always a benefit in america or anywhere in the country to be able to speak more than one language. As one person said, the younger they learn the easier it is. so what she cried because she couldn't get it, kids cry because they can't tie their shoes, will you discourage her from doing that too? Parents supposed to want more for their children than what they had. When my daughter comes home speaking another language at 3 years old, i call up everyone i know to brag about these accomplishments...you seem to be ashamed of them. Those are the stranges thoughts I've every heard about the education of our youth...you must have other issues. Are you not impressed when you come across an American person who can speak 3 if not 5 languages? do you realize that most of their education started when they were probably your daughter's age? Remember never discourage a child from education, you should be embarrassed and ashamed of yourself.
I couldn't have said that better myself! Your little one is going to have such a leg up in school, first and foremost because has such a supportive parent, and second, because learning a second language at a young age drastically improves literacy and math skills, and makes the learning of subsequent languages that much easier. Spanish is a great language to start with because it is closely related to English.
So if the blogger wants his/her child to grow up with lower scores in literacy and math than the students who learned Spanish early, that is his/her choice, but I think it is a foolish one. This is not about making life easier for immigrants, legal or illegal, it's about making life easier and better for our children.
My kids are definitely going to a language immersion preschool.
"Never go with a hippy to a second location."
~Jack Donaghy
http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/ediblewoman
You know I agree with you 100%!!! I do understand that learning a 2nd language could help your child but it should be THEIR CHOICE!!!! There should be more important things to learn in our school systems then Spanish. I live in El Paso TX NOT BY CHOICE!!!! There is nothing but illegal mexicans here and US REAL AMERICANS have to cater to their every need. I am a military wife and can not ge ta job here to save my life because I don't know Spanish where is that fair?? Shouldn't these damn people learn OUR LANGUAGE???? English should ALWAYS be used first its a form of RESPECT for our country!!!!!
I must have been to a different El Paso than where you live NOT BY CHOICE!!! Because I've seen plenty of people there who are not, in fact, illegal Mexicans.
Perhaps it's your winning attitude and not your lack of Spanish speaking that keeps you from getting a job.
I am not the Messiah... Honestly!
Only the true Messiah denies His divinity.
What? Well, what sort of chance does that give me? All right! I am the Messiah!
He is! He is the Messiah!
Now, fuck off!
How shall we fuck off, O Lord?
I find this a little offensive...I know a few of on this site that are closely related to El Paso. Just because people immigrate does not make them illegal. Most of the El Paso’ people I have seen and met are blood born Hispanic AMERICANS bilingual but more comfy with their parent's language OR Native Americans. Being fluent in two languages is about customer service and clarity in communication, my grandmother prefers Spanish but is fluent in English too. English is not our country's official language yet.
As a military wife myself I make an effort to learn my locations language at least a little and know how difficult it is to leave your native language behind when you don't have to. I sure do not use my military wifness as some sort of credence to negativity. There are many services on base (family support group) that connect spouses with employment opportunities and provide tools to help land that job you want (ex resume help).
Lastly, I truly find it horrifying that people actually blame others for their failure with out examining what they did or did not do to reach their goals. I despise that I had to say that and maybe I miss read what you said but it seems to me that we need to focus on bettering our selves and doing what it takes instead of expecting some sort of free be or leniency.
You want a job that requires Spanish...learn Spanish.
There are very few human beings who receive the truth, complete and staggering, by instant illumination. Most of them acquire it fragment by fragment, on a small scale, by successive developments, cellularly, like a laborious mosaic.~- Anais Nin
early, because the earlier it is, the easier it is for one to learn a second language or even third or fourth...I
know this from experience because my four year old nephew learned our native language at home and then as soon as he started going to school, he picked up English.
This is just how it goes, I wish I had a chance to learn more languages.I know enough now but I can't read or write Korean or Japanese even though I am kind of fluent in understanding korean, and am good at elementary japanese.
My own native tongue is Urdu, and we learned english as soon as we started school in Pakistan. America is different but in the case of learning more than one languages, it doesn't have to be since this country is such a diverse land anyway.
We are united even in our differences.
“You cannot wean away an addict from the drug. It is not possible for me to walk away from Ranjha. If it is our destiny to be together then who, other than God, can change it?”
she's a spaceman, no walker, dreamer...maybe
absolutely learn languages young!!! My kiddos know many words in spanish and a few words from several other languages which is really cool. I actually think my son might end up a linguist of some kind. At least get them introducaed to other forms. I think next we will undertake sign language, which should be fun.
I am not sure of one language mandatory is a good idea because there are many out there, on the other hand letting them choose could be just as silly.
Eh, who knows, I would have loved the option.
There are very few human beings who receive the truth, complete and staggering, by instant illumination. Most of them acquire it fragment by fragment, on a small scale, by successive developments, cellularly, like a laborious mosaic.~- Anais Nin