The New Year is upon us, which means the families of New Orleans are gearing up for two seasons: Mardi Gras and School-finding. Schools have their application deadlines about now, along with lotteries for selection into charter schools and deposits to hold places in prospective elementary (and in some cases pre-k) schools. It’s a big game in these parts, a system built on payment and privilege from start to finish. For many schools, families are required to shell out big bucks (think, $300+ per kid) for an “evaluation” of their 3 or 4 or 5 year old child’s “intelligence” in the hopes that if he or she is granted a “gifted” distinction that would allow them eligibility. For the private schools, it’s yet-another-hurdle to cross. For the public-schools-gone-charter, it’s a way to keep some screening in place. (Plus, schools get extra funding if they provide services to a “special needs” population — meaning that programs to fill the needs of the “gifted” 5-year old are abundant in New Orleans.)
As you can tell from my liberal use of quotations, I think the whole system is sick. The measure of gifted-ness by our local evaluators are, at best, an assessment of how much time a parent or other caring adult has spent nurturing that particular child’s creativity and spirit. In reality? Well, children that go to the paid evaluation service have a much greater likelihood of walking away with an intelligence label than children who go to the school system’s service. We all know it is ridiculous; no one I know actually takes any of these tests seriously. It’s just one more stupid hoop we have to jump through to navigate our families through the murky and dangerous waters of New Orleans education. You do it because you have to and then you move on.
One of my largest frustrations is that I have absolutely no idea how I could even begin to advocate for any type of change. I do believe that personal is political — but that doesn’t mean I’m simply going to send my kids to the public school down the street. How can I advocate for change when I am using every bit of privilege we have — economic, social, racial — to see that our own children are given the best opportunities we can provide?
These are my frustrations with our local schools. That they are structured, specifically, to enforce class barriers and continue to be successful in their intent. It forces me to consider dark and ugly realities of our world and consciously decide where I want to put my children within them.
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Even before our kids were born, we knew that early immersion in a second language was our absolute, number one priority for our children. One of the reasons we love being in New Orleans is that we are able to give our children that gift of immersion right here… in immersion schools. New Orleans has a number of schools, both private and charter (public) that run language immersion programs. Each one runs a bit differently, but the bottom line is this: from pre-school through 5th grade, students are taught in a language other than English for every lesson.
Our children have attended a French immersion school for the past 1 1/2 school years. Our school is private. The application did not require intelligence testing or extensive observation, focusing instead on questions designed to assess the family’s level of commitment to immersion education. Other immersion programs run as charter schools through the public school system. They have yearly lotteries which take in various demographics of applications to ensure diversity in each class. For Paul and I, immersion schools are the programs of choice. These are the educational experiences that make life here unique and special. We believe it’s worth living here to take advantage of those opportunities.
There are scientific reasons. Language development is time-sensitive in the brain. It’s easier to learn languages at younger ages because of how the brain develops. Over time, various doors of opportunity close. For example, the ability to acquire the sounds and accents of a native speaker ceases around age 6. In short, if you want to give your child the gift of language — then the earlier you immerse them in it, the better.
Plus, there are other benefits. Child education and development literature talk about strides in cognitive development in immersion kids compared to English-only education — stuff like more flexible thinking and greater ability to handle nonverbal problem-solving. Also, there are three decades of solid evidence that immersion kids perform better in both standardized math and language tests administered in English. Yes, yes, it’s true: putting your kid in a school that teaches him all day in a language OTHER than English will, in fact, improve their English more than if they were in a school that spoke English to them all day.
In short, hearing a second language on a regular basis from a live human being is a great thing for kids.
But. Being part of an immersion program takes a big leap of faith for an English-speaking parent. For one, teachers are not necessarily fully fluent in English. This can be a little unsettling for parents, naturally, because communicating with your kid’s teacher about complex behaviors and assignments and who-knows-what-else is pretty darn important. But is it a deal-breaker?
Well, Paul and I speak Spanish. We’ve lived in Latin America over extended time periods (though never longer than 10 weeks) and know what it feels like to work to understand and be understood. We’re not native speakers nor are we fluent — in short, we’re not unlike many of our kids teachers. Having been in the hot-seat ourselves (so to speak) we do have a good sense of what they feel when they try to talk to us and we know how that the in-ability to find the “right” word in English does not mean that they don’t understand us, the problem, or our child. It takes a leap of faith on our part that they are competent in ways that we won’t necessarily see: in their work, in their nurturing of our kids, in the curriculum. Within many aspects of the school-child-teacher interaction, there are cultural and linguistic factors to consider.
That said, last year, it was Will’s teacher who suggested that Will was having trouble hearing. (She was 100% correct.) This year, his new teacher continued to help us with Will’s hearing problems, as well as with his particular learning style. When we have had a question or a concern, cultural and linguistic differences did not matter.
For us, we have found it exciting and educational to learn some French. Will and Kate participate in French holidays, learns French songs, sees French cartoons, reads classic French tales, and cooks French foods. Each and every one of these have been different from the early education experiences had by Paul and me; but we are enjoying each opportunity. It is a big leap of faith for parents, because it is so different: school performances aren’t of Row, Row, Row Your Boat — but of Le Petits Poissons. I admit that I feel some relief when Will spontaneously sings Down By the Bay, or Jingle Bells, because I want him to know these songs, too.
It is both exciting and scary that he is learning things I cannot teach him. Even more, he is learning things that I, myself, don’t know. That, I think, is the greatest sacrifice a parent makes within these programs — you have to trust someone else so much that you are willing to let them teach your child things that you, yourself, don’t understand. It’s sort of scary to suddenly not have total control and awareness. It requires a big leap of faith.
Even with that uncertainty, we love the immersion experience. Will’s enthusiasm for French is inspiring. We are impressed at Kate’s sophistication regarding language, her clear comprehension of the many ways there are the communicate, and how many words exist to describe the same thing. It was no small feat to trust in a system completely new to us and we can confidently say that we are thrilled: our children love their school and embrace the culture and language it teaches. We enthusiastically recommend immersion education and are grateful to be a part of our school.
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But then there is the here and now. Rising tuition is forcing the questions of schools, which forces me to the harsh reality that the quality of schooling my kids are getting is not commonplace. ALL kids should have access to education that fosters their creativity, imagination, and spirits — that gives them new skills and confidence. And I feel badly that I am better positioned than others to fight for my child’s right to that experience, and guilty that I am weighing financial considerations into the equation. Will we find a more affordable immersion experience? Will we be able to afford another year where we are? Is there a clear “right” choice in there that we are missing?
Amy | 02-Jan-10 at 10:30 pm | Permalink
I become an accidental homeschooler because of the broken system in place in New Orleans. I have enjoyed the year that I have had teaching Em, but we are ready to try public school now that we are no longer in the city and on the other side of the lake. I have a difficult time comprehending how the system can be so very different in two areas so close together.
Whatever the right decision, when the time comes, you will make it. 🙂
Cara | 02-Jan-10 at 11:43 pm | Permalink
We homeschool also due to the broken system. Things aren’t much better in Jefferson Parish. We don’t’ have the charter system yet, but our local schools aren’t great either, even the magnets aren’t as good as they could be due to overcrowding and other issues. Pre-K I had it all planned, we lived in Lakeview and big kidlet was going to go to Hynes into their French Immersion program. Now we are homeschooling, funny how plans change. Good luck finding a program that fits your kids and your financial needs.
Lucy | 03-Jan-10 at 7:18 am | Permalink
The United States education system breaks my heart. Each STATE has different guidelines because technically education is under STATES. We do not have FEDERAL education system or a National education system. What is frustrating is education in general. It is all the little things that drives me nuts but these little things add up. For instance, all the research shows that kids should learn a foreign language at a young age and yet we start them in middle school??? How stupid is that! In addition, research shows that the little ones should go to school early and middle school and up should go later in our STATE we do it backwards. Why in the United States do we ignore research? Well, for the last one, it is about sports. Don’t get me started on that.
Anyways, my heart goes out to you. I can’t stand the education system. I can’t stand that we make every child think they must go to college when not all are suited for college. We make that child feel like a failure and they are not. They should be trained in other skills that they are good at, cooking, electrical work, construction, hairdressers and so on. Unfortunately, we teach our children that these are lower jobs and yet we need these services and people love these jobs and are happy performing them.
I am sorry to rattle on but I could actually go on and on about our broken system and like you I wish I knew how to fix it. My dream is to open my own school with my own philoshophy and it is very different than the present system today. We can all dream right???
Pistolette | 03-Jan-10 at 8:20 am | Permalink
I very much agree about the immersion experience and desperately want it for my children. I speak French, but I’m not fluent, and don’t feel comfortable teaching my kids ‘broken’ French. I want to send them to the private French school, but it is hideously expensive, especially for TWO children. I will try to get them into the charter programs, but I have no patience with jumping through bureaucratic hoops that change on a whim.
I’m curious to know if you’ve heard anything about the charter programs’ quality (once one gets into the program). Like, is the actual curriculum and quality of teachers even close to what the private one offers? A post discussing the immersion options would be welcome 🙂
Michelle | 03-Jan-10 at 8:22 am | Permalink
I run over this internal debate every few months. My oldest is in public school French Immersion (the private schools here don’t even offer it, so thankfully they weren’t even an option for me), and we love it. Her, not so much. But she’s not fond of school in any form. Unless they talk about sharks and snakes and dinosaurs all day long and leave her alone to read and learn on her own. Homeschooling would be great for her, but I can’t give her French immersion. And, especially given my family’s heritage, that’s an important point for us.
So, we compromise. She goes to french imm. public school, and I supplement at home. We homeschool throughout the summer and fill in on school breaks and weekends with wherever her interest lies at the moment. We weigh our options, and figure out what’s best for our family at different points in time. And as our family changes and grows, so does what’s best for the individuals and the family as a unit. I have no idea what will happen when my 2 yr old is ready for “real” school, but I know there’s no point stressing about it now, because our needs will surely change (as will our options) in the next 3 years.
I will refrain from a rant on the state out our education system. Former teacher and all I . . . wait . . . no, I’m not even going there. Good luck with your own decision. I’m sure you will do what is best for your children.
Heather.engel@gmail. | 03-Jan-10 at 11:48 am | Permalink
We were just having a similar conversation last night about what we’ve heard about the schools in our area. We never considered ourselves to be the type who would send their kids to private school but our district isn’t the greatest. Public schools in general scare me, I think because kids and schools are so different from when I was a kid. Private schools have their own problems too so I guess you can pick which problems you want to deal with.
I wish you luck…it sounds like the situation there is even harder to figure out.
Painted Maypole | 03-Jan-10 at 4:03 pm | Permalink
we send MQ to a private school, even here in the burbs. It began because the public schools would not even consider her for Kindergarten because of her birthday being 3 days after the cut off, but now into her 3rd year of elementary education and after all sorts of tests, we are being proven more than right that she is in the grade she belongs. We might be able to transfer her now, but have been so pleased with the education she’s getting that we are reluctant to switch. As long as the inlaws keep paying for it…
and yes, we struggle with this, since we are also big supporters of public education.
kitty | 03-Jan-10 at 11:56 pm | Permalink
I considered a french immersion school for my girls when they were younger, but it was such a drive (an hour in traffic each way).
In the end they didn’t want to do it. We’re really fortunate to live in an excellent school district with extensive resources, so it wasn’t that big of a deal for them to go public.
What i did was go to the community college and learn to speak French, then spoke it to the girls at home. We also spent a great deal of time in France, so by the time they took French in middle school, they didn’t have any trouble with the accent and picked it up quickly. One of my daughters placed 7th in the National French exam (out of 80,000 hs aged kids).
Since Spanish and French are both romantic languages, it is not too difficult to learn one if you know the other, so I’ve heard. If it’s not too confusing to them, teach them what you know in Spanish.
Such difficult decisions. You’re a smart woman, you’ll get it sorted out.
Emily R | 05-Jan-10 at 7:19 pm | Permalink
I think you need to fight for better public education. But, facing facts that the system sucks also means that, while you fight for all kids, you need to do what’s best for your kids…
liprap | 18-Jan-10 at 8:48 am | Permalink
It’s becoming an even bigger question now than it was in the days of segregated schools: how to get free, quality public education for all regardless of one’s social and/or economic status? We are so busy as parents scrambling for our own that it can be hard to see beyond the changing paperwork required for applications, the escalating tuitions, the particular needs of one’s own children, and the deadlines to see that the way all of this is being done is seriously messed. What is still wrong tends to overshadow what is right, and as a result, parents AND children see elementary and secondary education as a long-term episode that must be coped with and then it’ll eventually be over. It’s sad…and unproductive for all in the long run…and the problems are still there year after year after year.
A lot of it does stem from treating kids and teachers alike as pawns in a game that rewards academically good children as though they are productive workers. These are our kids, for goodness sakes. Yes, there must be standards. But I can’t help but feel that, in all of this, a parent’s love for his/her child and a parent’s wish for his/her child to do better than his/herself gets exploited to some very disgusting depths.
And all that is left to say to parents is “good luck”???
It’s a divide and conquer sort of strategy imposed on parents. What you are feeling, Holly, is all too common. I wanna wave a magic wand and get it to go away, but I don’t have that power. We still have to negotiate this crap. The fighting for our children never ends…but it IS easier to fight for ALL children when one doesn’t have children of one’s own that are of school age.