Thread: Teaching Spanish Kids Spanish

California School Spends $10G a Year to Teach AP Spanish to Kids Who Speak Spanish



A middle school in Southern California is spending $10,000 a year to teach Advanced Placement Spanish to 35 of its 650 students -- and all but one of them are already fluent in Spanish.

Thirty-four of the kids in the AP class are from Mexico or are the children of Mexican immigrants. They all grew up speaking Spanish at home.

The program -- the only one of its kind in California -- has outraged some critics who say they are concerned that the AP course wastes public resources – including taxpayer dollars – to teach native Spanish speakers how to speak their native language in an American public school.

“In public schools, Spanish speakers should put their focus on making sure that they are fluent in English and equipped to speak the kind of English that will open the doors of opportunity to them in this country,â€

Yeah, this is a WASTE of taxpayers money!!

They need to be in regular ENGLISH language classes!

TexasGal

this is to prepare the ground to ask for Spanish speaking university to ultimately balkanize this country - it is the only logical explanation - it's a long term goal.

Lemon Grove Middle School
7866 Lincoln Avenue
Lemon Grove, CA 91945
619/825-5628


District Offices

Lemon Grove School District
8025 Lincoln Street
Lemon Grove, CA 91945
619/825-5600
www.lgsd.k12.ca.us

The Superintendent's "Welcome" statement is written in both English and Spanish.

Members of the Lemon Grove School Board with email contact forms for each:
http://lemongroveschools1.net/134110826 ... efault.asp

[quote]He said the AP course goes well beyond the students’ everyday conversational skills. “This is not ordering-at-a-restaurant language. This is taking a graduate course language.â€

[quote="miguelina"][quote]He said the AP course goes well beyond the students’ everyday conversational skills. “This is not ordering-at-a-restaurant language. This is taking a graduate course language.â€

Why is it our responsibility to teach Spanish-speakers to be proficient in their own language. It just goes to show that so many of the parents are also stupid in their native language.
This expenditure should go to students who excel at Spanish as a foreign language, instead of concentrating on the blather they hear at home.

Funny enough, I was one of those students required to take AP Spanish back in High School. I grew up speaking Spanish at home mostly with my parents, but for everything else (siblings, friends, teachers, fellow citizens) I used English thus my Spanish skills were never up to par with my English. I struggled a bit in AP Spanish (was not used to reading and writing Spanish), but I believe the education was worthwhile imo. Though I would have preferred there'd been other options such as Japanese so I could pick up a third language. I think students should be required to take a second language course, but they should also be able to decide what language they'd like to learn.

When I was a teacher, we had AP English at my school where English speaking students were enrolled. Was this a waste? I don't think so. A previous poster was correct. AP courses are at least on par with college level courses in that they go above and beyond conversational skills. They involve a deep study of literature, literary elements found in literature, and formal writing. If these students are on grade level in other subjects, why is it a problem? Many majors in college require taking a foreign language. If this is going to prepare them for such, I find no faults.

[quote="miguelina"][quote]He said the AP course goes well beyond the students’ everyday conversational skills. “This is not ordering-at-a-restaurant language. This is taking a graduate course language.â€