FishJr school issue resolved

[snapdragen]

Fantastic fish! I love that they are being taught French!

[salsabike]

Boy, does that sound cool. When I was little my mom was in school at SUNY Buffalo. We went to the campus school and took French starting in 1st grade. You learn the music of "la langue" early and it really helps. Shoot, I'D like to go to FishJr's new school.

[DrBee]

In some of the public schools in south louisiana they even teach french by immersion for part of the day. The majority of the french that I remember is from what I learned in elementary school. Scary, isn't it?

[slinkedog]

I'm so glad it worked out for you! We had a lot of indecision with where to put our 4 year old, but now are very happy with the pre-K program she's in. It sounds quite similar to the program FishJr. is in.

Good news! I hope everyone has a great year!

[Bikingmomof3]

I am very happy everything worked out so well. It sounds as though FishJr will be quuite happy with her new school.

[Bluetree]

Nice to hear that the fingerling found a good school!

[Kitsune06]

This is probably a cultural thing, so pardon my ignorance...
I see French being taught a lot, but in a growing number of places now, one is required (or practically required) to know Spanish relatively well.
I assume as both being Romance (is that right?) languages, they shouldn't be too far apart, but where is the practical value of French except in Quebec and parts of Louisiana?

[Veronica]

Yep, they are both romance languages. Since fish is in LA, I expect that's why it's French being taught. I hope you'll be able to stay there long enough that she can become quite fluent. I so wish I could speak two languages.

I actually encourage all my students who are bilingual to learn to read and write in their native language. One of my students this year speaks Polish and goes to Polish school on Saturdays. I told him I was envious.

I'm glad you found such a great solution.

V.

[eclectic]

Hooray! Life is so much easier when you find a good educational fit!

I see French being taught a lot, but in a growing number of places now, one is required (or practically required) to know Spanish relatively well.
I assume as both being Romance (is that right?) languages, they shouldn't be too far apart, but where is the practical value of French except in Quebec and parts of Louisiana?

Our school teaches French, Spanish, German and Latin

Learning any language no matter what it is helps brain development and appreciation and acceptance of cultures different from our own.
A vast majority of our English words are based on French due to early English nobility only speaking French when in court.

We often get students whose parents have been stationed in Okinawa, Japan and it is really cool to see how the kids pick up the language and culture

If I had another chance to guide my child into a language class I would encourage Arabic, Japanese, or Chinese!

[roguedog]

This is probably a cultural thing, so pardon my ignorance...
I see French being taught a lot, but in a growing number of places now, one is required (or practically required) to know Spanish relatively well.
I assume as both being Romance (is that right?) languages, they shouldn't be too far apart, but where is the practical value of French except in Quebec and parts of Louisiana?

Hey Kitsune,

Valid question. I think some of it is a hold over of when French was a dominent international language. It was one of THE languages to know if one wanted to communicate in the international arena (see Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, etc.) It also had much to do with how many people in the world spoke it due to colonization.

Though Spanish is dominent here in California, not sure how dominent it is elsewhere in the country. So yes, it's practical for domestic communication.

However, I think as the EU grows French may become an international language again since the EU Parliment meets in Belgium. I think French is still spoken in many parts of world due to the left overs of colonization.

Chinese and Japanese are also becoming popular here in NOrthern California due to our proximity to the Pacific Rim, the # of people from these cultures who have immigrated here from those countries and also due to how much business we conduct with Pacific Rim countries.

People more versed in international relations can speak to this better as opposed to a hack like me.