While I’m not surprised that Angelica Chang’s kindergarten students have learned to speak, read and write some Mandarin, it’s encouraging that some schools understand the importance of language immersion.
Across the hall from Chang’s classroom on Monday, Principal Chris Rosenberg declared the inaugural year of San Francisco Unified’s first Mandarin immersion program — which includes Chang’s and one other kindergarten classroom taught by Cindy Lai — a success.
All 26 kindergartners from both classes are expected to continue with the immersion program in first grade, along with seven new students who will likely have some catching up to do.
“It was a fantastic year,” Rosenberg said. “Did the kids learn Mandarin while mastering the grade-level standards? Yes. It was a big success, a great success.”
Thirty-four students are signed up for the program’s next kindergarten classes in the fall.
The program is expected to grow by one grade each year through the fifth grade.
I wonder at times if replacing our K-3 reading, writing and arithmetic curriculum with languages — English, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, etc. — music, storytelling, and hands-on geometric construction projects that include surveying might not better prepare our children to succeed in school. Such an approach would build skills that become increasingly difficult to master, especially languages and music, as students age.
