Kindergarten registration for the Edmonds School District Dual Language Program is now open. This program is available at Cedar Valley Community School, College Place Elementary, Mountlake Terrace Elementary and Spruce Elementary.
In the program, students become bilingual in Spanish and English. They learn to read, write and do all subject areas in both languages. Visit the district’s Dual Language website to learn more and register.
Why ? English is the language of success in the United States. You educators may not know this, but, a common language is the strongest glue that holds a nation together. America was designed to be a “melting pot” of assimilation, not a tossed salad of disparate languages and cultures kept separated by lack of communication.
Your comment reminds me of a riddle I’ve heard in my travels: What do you call someone that speaks only one language. The answer: An American.
We seem to be the only country in the free world that doesn’t embrace speaking multiple languages.
I submit that many corporate leaders will tell you having someone that speaks multiple languages is a major asset.
Americans should not be disparaged in any way because they speak only English. In most countries people speak more than one language because they have a need to learn English in addition to their native language. Speaking more than one language is sometimes beneficial, but Americans generally do not have the need to speak an additional language.
Ron, you are right on my friend. Some of what people are saying here strikes me as educational elitism at its worst and most thoughtless. Personally I do not have much, if any, desire to go to Germany, Spain or Russia so why would I want to spend my precious time on earth trying to learn those languages? On the subject of English grammar I googled “imperfect tense” just for fun and wondered why I would ever need to learn such information as I can see no practical use for knowing it. Does that somehow make me inferior intellectually? If you and I even hinted that someone was somehow less of a person because they only spoke Spanish, for example, these same folks would be all over us for violating DEI and probably reporting us to the hate portal if it were still around. Pushing our value systems on each other needs to stop yesterday.
Mr. Demme gets it wrong~ nobody is asking students to not learn English! This is a dual language program, so students can learn another language and become bilingual. I quite concur, Alicia. One of my two big regrets in life is never having learned a second language; not proud to be a monoglot.
This decision was not made in a vacuum. Research shows the increased mental acuity, reading, and performance of children in a multilingual environment. I think this might be a knee jerk reaction? This is not an assault on “America” and how can you say we are kept seperate by a lack of communication and denounce learning another language, at the same time?
Why? Because studies have shown clear benefits of bilingualism. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-bilingual-advantage/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=paid&utm_campaign=tfd_dsa&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwztOwBhD7ARIsAPDKnkCTEVW6VExYMWB6DjfPZHXErkFq_MI3DOW1aEXlIyGKS9x0yCWjnVIaAiUxEALw_wcB
Yes! Agree with Frank Demme!!!
Read the FAQ for information about what this program actually is and does. It is not what many assume.
https://www.edmonds.wednet.edu/programs-services/multilingual-education-ml/dual-language
FWIW, contrary to assumptions about the national origin and first language of participants, kids whose first language is English also enroll in these programs.
As someone whose professional career would greatly benefit from knowing another language/languages (I’m a commercial litigator), I agree with Roger and Alicia about the benefits of these programs. They’re good for business.
As someone who grew up in a bilingual household (English and Hindi), and studied Spanish and Latin in middle school, high school, and college, I can tell you that foreign language study is one of the only ways that children learn English grammar in our modern education system. Ask the average mono-linguist of today what the imperfect tense is and they will just look at you in confusion.
Foreign language study and vocabulary memorization also helps children build memorization and data retention skills from a young age. I want our children to be able to compete in the global economy of tomorrow. This is a wise investment.
I couldn’t agree more, Jenna. I didn’t grow up in a bilingual household, but my mother taught high school French and my father encouraged us to learn a second language. In the end I formally studied French, Russian, Italian, and Indonesian. I’ve picked up a fair bit of German and Mongolian, for travel. I didn’t understand English grammar until I got to Russian.
In my career, I have used all of those languages but Mongolian (so far!). Some of it provided access to documents none of my peers could access. Russian brought me a work exchange opportunity that was a big plus for my career.
Even if you only value language for personal gain, it is valuable. Add in the understanding you gain about other cultures and the ability to communicate with other people and connect, and language was more valuable to me, in life, than all of the math I took.
Well of course! Need to get ready for more coming. Our hard working tax dollars at work to give to the free!
Would you feel better if these students elected to learn German, say, or French, or Norwegian?
A large portion of the World speaks Spanish. It seems foolish to assume that a kindergarten child will never use Spanish. And where’s the harm in learning another language? Some comments above seem to suggest that this is a BAD thing. Why?
I can attest from my own experience that a) I wish I had learned my first foreign language when I was much younger, when language is more easily absorbed, b) learning other languages hugely and positively impacted my knowledge of, and appreciation for English, c) the languages I learned have been enormously useful, d) even a smattering of another language opens the door to making friends when you travel. Learn one foreign language and others come more easily if needed.
Yes – monoglots in America can get along just fine. But they are missing a broadening and useful experience when deprived of the chance to learn another language.
This program is not a bad thing at all. Indeed it is a wonderful thing to be available to those who want it and/or need it. What is a bad thing is to make any suggestion that someone who doesn’t have access to learn another language or the desire to learn another language is somehow less of good or sensitive human being. Or not as smart. Knowing more than one language is a skill set, just like knowing welding is. Neither one of these skills should be any sort of value judgement of the human being that posses it. Yet, that is what some people insist on doing for some reason that I don’t understand.