The verdict is in! Our daughter was accepted into the private dual language school I wrote about last month. The question now remains whether or not she will attend.
We decided to start the lengthy application process because we wanted to have options. In fact, she remains on several rotating waiting lists at several daycare centers around town because one never knows. Before making our decision, there is a still a reflective process my husband and I need to go through. First and foremost, I am going to observe the potential classrooms our daughter could be placed in next year. Secondly, and this is the most difficult, we have to consider the long-term benefits and disadvantages of committing to, not just a definite high quality education, but to the hefty price tag it comes with.
I sincerely doubt that most of the SpanglishBaby readers need a list of the advantages of a dual language education, therefore I will expand in greater detail the reasons we are contemplating sending our daughter to a prestigious dual language school.
If we enroll our daughter, we are essentially committing to an education that will span 15 years! To avoid getting into financial details, I’ll just explain that over the course of those years (and we have another baby on the way) we could invest that same amount of money into something else, like a house.
We have been contemplating the ways we could supplement our children’s education if we decide to find alternative dual language programs in our community. For instance, we could take family trips abroad during the summer or winter breaks, and enroll our children in Spanish and French language programs. In other words, there is more than one route to become multilingual.
That being said, there is still the simple fact that research is pointing towards the ways varying levels of proficiency in multiple languages can also mean varying levels of cognitive benefits. Doesn’t every parent want to achieve the most optimal level of multilingualism for their children, which translates to the most optimal level of cognitive benefits? I think so!
So here we are at a crossroads. I keep reminding myself that I am not the average parent in pursuit of a multilingual life for my daughter. I am, after all, pursuing a doctorate in bilingual education, and surely I can find the multiple routes to make sure my daughter reaches an optimal level of multilingualism. I also recognize how the stats for second and third generation heritage speakers of minorities are grim, if not linguistically fatal. So where do we go from here?
This is a question I pose to SpanglishBaby readers. I sincerely want my daughter to speak, read and write in two or more languages at nearly the same proficiency. What would you do?
{Photo by Ivy Dawned}
I don’t know what to say, I think most of us who have the option have met this conflict. We only have one child and I know we’d never consider private school if we had to pay the tuition for two, we just wouldn’t be able to afford to put all of my salary towards tuition and that’s what it would require. We’ve made the compromise of putting our son in a dual language immersion program at a very expensive Montessori school for preschool and then we will be moving his to a less expensive, but very high quality parochial school for k-8, that doesn’t have a dual immersion program, but does dedicate one hour every day to Spanish instruction and has experience splitting their curriculum between native and non-native speakers. We’re hoping that we’ll be able to use the difference in cost to spend summers visiting my husband’s family abroad. Are there any in between options in your area? Any way to give yourself more options? Are there after-school immersion options in your area, or Saturday school?
It sounds like you are capable of giving them a bilingual education on your own, as so many families do; the real question to me is, WILL YOU? How much have you done at home thus far, and are you being realistic thinking you’ll put in the extra work, on top of homework, etc? I’m not implying in any way that you won’t, only you really know how much priority your family will place on bilingualism. And I believe, like most decisions, you really know deep down what will work for you, it’s more a matter of addressing fear vs doubt; fear means you have concerns about doing something properly and usually means you should go for it, while doubt means you really don’t think you’re going to follow through, and should be a big red flag.
Thank you, Kristina. I think I know the decision we need to make. Your advice helped me see that. Just observed a class today at the school and are going again on Friday. We have the weekend to make the decision. So much thinking goes into these kind of education decisions…….
So happy I could help!
Suzanne,
It’s Monday, so you might have already made a decision. Still I want to chip in.
I grew up in Guatemala. My dad was a Peace Corp Volunteer who met my mother and fell in love with her and Guatemala. From day 1 he only spoke to my brother and me in English, and for three long years I replied in Spanish. My brother and I attended a private school in Guatemala, but, as you might know, private schools in Latin America range from superb to just better than public education. I have much love for my school–but although it called itself ‘bilingual’ the truth is they taught the verb ‘to be’ every year. My real English learning came from reading, first my father who read to me every night, then us reading together, then me reading on my own. I also made annual visits to my monolingual, English-speaking grandparents in the United States. Those visits were as instrumental as my reading because as it happens, the end of year break in Guatemala is mid-October through early-January, so I would be enrolled in school each year: Flatirons Elementary, Casey Middle, and Boulder High. This allowed me to practice my skills with my peers–I didn’t even realize I was learning! Once I graduated from secundaria in Guatemala, I moved to Colorado to college. I had never written a paper in English! However, I found I was almost as good a writer as my classmates. My brother and I, now with children of our own, both live in the States, but we travel to Guatemala in the summer, children in tow, and enroll them in school there so they may practice their Spanish-language skills. Having our kids in public school gives us the financial flexibility to send our kids to be with grandma and go to school in the summer–and they love it! I’m not sure if that is a possibility for you, but my family has found it to work.
Good luck!
I understand your dilemma, and here is my perspective. As a teacher in public school I have seen first hand the shortfalls of public education and have been committed to the idea of private schooling for my daughter. I only have one child and I see her as my main investment. I don’t wear fancy clothes. I drive a 2001 Honda that still runs great. In short, other than our basic needs or shelter and nutrition, I have prioritized her education as a justifiable expense. Also, I am multilingual and I have benefited greatly from it. In this new economy, I want my child to have the advantages that being multilingual can provide. To that end, I have enrolled her in an immersion program for Chinese, as I’m teaching her Spanish and French myself. I’m not saying the cost of her schooling is an easy pill to swallow, but we feel will be worth it in the long run. As a doctoral candidate, I’m sure you realize that there have been no longitudinal studies for these immersion programs. However, if you look at the attention the Departments of State, Defense, and Homeland Security are placing at funding immersion programs due to the critical need for language professionals, you may be reassured that whichever route you take, by ensuring your child’s bilingual future you are giving her an absolute leg up for college and career.
I am curious as to what criteria you look at to determine if a dual immersion program is an effective one. Trying to find one for my 4 year old.