What do parents say about teaching Spanish in Clarksville schools?
Prensa Hispanos Emprendedores.- The Clarksville-Montgomerian County School System announced that in the 2018-2019 school year it will implement a bilingual immersion program for kindergarten children to learn Spanish.
Following the news, the community's comments were swift on social networks, the vast majority applauding the effort of wanting to improve the education of students by learning a second language. “The more languages you know, the better your speech and vocabulary in general, ”said Tiffany Shelley.
Many parents are aware of the benefits of learning another language from an early age for a child and the repercussions this will have on their professional development and even their personal life. “It changes your brain pattern and helps you absorb other information more easily. That is why people whose first language is not English make sure their children learn both languages. They will always have an added skill, ”Lekisha Terry said.
“This will definitely be interesting. Being bilingual is a great advantage, when I taught in a nursery we received Spanish classes and the children loved it. I have never seen a classroom completely in Spanish, so it would be interesting to see what happens at the end of the year ", he expressed with great Shelby Bird enthusiasm.
“DoDEA schools have Spanish classes in elementary school and my kids loved it. The new is exciting. It keeps them excited to learn! ”Amber Knight Syester wrote on Facebook. “In this country, Spanish is an extremely useful skill. I wish my daughter had that option when she was little, and I really hope my son does, ”added Amanda Couchman.
“You will be amazed at what our brains can retain. Why not promote their education at an early age? ”, Stressed Gio Fernández. “My son is 2 years old and knows English and Spanish. Children at an early age are like sponges. If they can absorb bad words, they can certainly absorb another language, ”said Lizett King.
Denial and rejection
Despite the good comments, the program has its detractors for considering that there are more important issues on which the school system should focus. Such is the case of Karen Black, who gave her point of view on the matter. “There is nothing wrong with learning a second language, but the focus should be on our primary language, especially in Kindergarten. The money should be spent on better lunches, teacher aides and security. "
“They need to focus on getting more bus drivers. There is no reason to have four children sitting in one seat and some have to sit on the floor because there is no other place, ”claimed Jennifer Potraffke Needham.
"Let's teach English correctly before introducing another language," stressed Barbie Hemmingsen.
Some parents were somewhat skeptical of children's ability to learn a second language when they are in kindergarten. “What if we don't want our children to learn another language at that age? They are still learning the fundamentals, I think it would confuse them, ”said Carrie Newsome.
While others showed their dissatisfaction with the type of language chosen rather than with the idea itself of applying a bilingual immersion program.
“My family is German, so why should my son learn Spanish? Why limit it to Spanish, why not German and French too? (…) My company or any other company I have worked for in 20 years has not paid more for being fluent in Spanish. Again, I ask why is it limited to only Spanish? Actually, I work for the state and many of the people I work with are from Germany or Korea. Then Spanish would not be useful, "added Toni Nichols.
“Why not have more classes to teach English to non-English speaking students? Why should we learn their language? I understand it's elective, but shouldn't non-English speaking students have to learn English? Beth McWhorter noted.
It is important to mention that the program is not mandatory, it will start in two classrooms with 40 students and parents who are interested in having their children participate will be able to nominate them to be included.