my mandarin language learners and empathy

my kids are in a dual immersion program, mandarin and english. when my son started most of the families spoke only english, and the kids were all learning mandarin together. in the past few years things have shifted, and there are more and more families with children who speak mandarin. in many ways this is wonderful, and the newer groups of kids are closer to the language mix the program is designed to serve. at least a third of my kindergartener's class speaks mandarin fluently, and i think she is learning more from her classmates than my third grader did. we have met so many great families in all the grades.

the ugly side of this is that now kids like my kids are viewed in a negative light by some parents at the school. just a few, but the viewpoint is out there and it hurts. some of these parents may not be aware that they are thinking this way. but kids like my kids (Mandarin Language Learners, or MLLs) are considered to be slowing things down for the kids who are already fluent in mandarin. "diluting the quality of the program" is a phrase i heard about english-speaking families who don't pursue tutoring outside of school for their kids. it is just a few people, but knowing that anyone at a school does not think your kid really belongs is troublesome. it is a public school! it is designed as a dual immersion program!

i remember when we looked for schools many in-search-of-kindergarten parents (including myself) would say they didn't want a certain school because there were too many english language learners (ELLs). it was assumed that the kindergarten classes full of these ELLs would go at a slower pace, and there would only be a focus on "the basics"--not good enough for our kids who already spoke english and knew oh so much. there was also the feeling that kindergartens with too many poor kids who had not attended preschool would not be interesting and challenging for our middle class kids.

now i am on the other side of that equation. is my creative and wonderful daughter who is just starting to learn a new language at school hindering the progress of her classmates who are already bilingual? is my funny and athletic son who reads like a fiend, always does his homework and particpates eagerly in chinese language arts bringing others down? and what about me and my husband? we can't teach our kids anything in mandarin, and although we make sure they do their homework we can't really talk about it. i suggest chinese books from the library but since i can't read them the kids want the ones in english. so what do we do to support their progress in learning mandarin at school? so far the most consistent activity we have done at home is to let the kids watch mandarin videos.

just kind of interesting. i had not thought that enrolling my kids in mandarin immersion would create more understanding in me for those ELL kids who are subtly judged and criticized for being behind in their english language acquisition. i hadn't thought i would feel more empathy for those families who for whatever reason can not provide much academic support at home--but i do. what is the point of thinking a kid or family doesn't belong? it doesn't feel good to know your kid is not wanted somewhere, especially when you consider them to be thriving.

we are moving towards more inclusive practices in special education in this district as well, and all these issues come together--in a public school, and in public society, all kids belong, and all teachers need support so they can serve all our kids as best they can.