Hmong Charter School
You know you’re getting old when you suddenly feel that you have to have an opinion on something that has been in the media for a very long time but that you’ve never had to consider before because it was previously not relevant to your life. (wow, what a sentence…)
Such is the case with me and charter schools. I had a vague idea of what they were, but I never spent much time thinking about them because they had little relevance to my life. Someday in the very near future, however, my oldest will begin to attend school, and education will become very relevant.
Anyway, the NY Times had an article on immigrants and charter schools here. I know I probably should have an opinion on this, but as of yet, I don’t. Some immigrants see it as a way to preserve their culture. I wonder about the long term consequences.
On one hand, I think bilingual education is good. Given a chance between sending my child to an English-only school and a bilingual school of equal quality, I’d opt for the bilingual school. I think bilingualism helps kids to think more deeply about issues, and it is definitely a skill that will help in the new age of globalization.
On the other hand, segregation is bad. Lingyai made a good point about racism in Malaysia and the fact that Malaysia has segregated schools. I can easily see tensions emerging among different races if schools are segregated by race, ethnicity, etc.
What do you think?
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I agree with everything you said. About #1…I think...
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I wouldn’t say...
That’s a photo of a charter school? Because it looks like any other elementary school in Cupertino. Or Oakland. Or San Francisco. =P
Haha…it’s the elementary school version of Lowell…
Well, it being in Minnesota, that photo IS unique.
I’m actually waiting for a Korean language immersion school to get statrted… they’ve been status quo for over a year now and I’m growing impatient.
I am also considering that international school in the article, as a matter of fact.
The thing about being in a state where most little towns are near 100% white, these schools cannot segregate the children from the mainstream culture even if they wanted to. The schools, being public, are open to any other children, not just the specifical ethnicity. (As far as I know – I have yet tried to apply to these charter schools.)
I do support these charter schools. Yes, I have heard the arguments against them, usually from old white men who are afraid that this is yet another method via which these “immigrants” are taking over this country. I would argue that if we don’t encourage the individual cultures and heritage that make up what we call “melting pot” that is the United States of America, we may as well start calling it “New Europe”. Everyone who is not 100% Native American descent comes from immigrants. Most, if not all, mainstream culture is a derivative of immigrant culture.
I can’t wait to read about LN in school! It’s not that far off. Though I imagine it must be hard for Asian kids in Minnesota…
I think these Charter schools are great, promoting learning in different langauges other than English. And if they are enrolling multiracial classes/ black/white students as well, thats even better!!!
These kinds of schools can be seen as bridges, and diluting the hegemony of the English languae and the culture that it is a product of, in the world.
English only became lingua franca after centuries of colonisation, imperialsim and Anglo cultural supremacy over other nations using force, warfare, guns, and opium. If something peaceful and beautiful such as learning/ increasing knowledge can undo this hegemony, then i say let the bilingual education begin!!!
Another wonderful thing about languages is that they teach people to see the world in a different way. Eskimos, for example, have many different words for many different kinds of snow–people don’t notice differences in snow unless they can think in a language that differentiates. I would think that languages are excellent tools in education because of the cultural wisdom they bring.