Over the course of this school year I have heard several parents of Shuang Wen speak of "Community", most speak only of the school community and dismiss the neighborhood surrounding the school. Is it possible that the neighborhood in which the building is place does not matter?
I have been a resident of the Lower East Side naming directly across the street from where Shuang Wen now stands. The school as well as the neighborhood means very much to me.
Removing the dual language program from Shuang Wen School is a decision that affects the neighborhood and NOT just the student body. Currently only the Pre-K, Kindergarten, 1st Grade and 2nd Grades have established a true dual language program. Most of the more (anti dual language) vocal parents have children in the upper grades which have not established true dual language program.
What makes a dual language program a true dual language program?
A dual language program in a public school settings consists of the core circirullum taught in two languages. The languages can be taught in a 50/50 model (which half English Half Secondary Language), 60/40 (mainly English and 40% in a Secondary Language) or 80/20 model ( Mainly English and 20% Secondary Language). There are other options in the percentages, however it then becomes more of a bilingual model rather than a dual language model.
Currently the 3rd - 5th grades do not have any Chinese taught during the day at Shuang Wen. The 6th -8th grades have only one class ( Social Studies) taught in Chinese. This is NOT a true dual language program. It is a disservice to the children who are not already fluent in Manadrin. Please bear in mind there are five dialects in China. Therefore you maybe Chinese but you may not speak Manadrin.
PS 184 SHUANG WEN offers an afterschool at a cost of $1000.00 a year which is a language arts afterschool and offers Manadrin. The children do not receive any DOE credit for the afterschool. It is a stand alone program. Therefore if you can not afford the afterschool your child may not learn any Chinese until the 6th-8th grades and by that time if you are not fluent your child may fail Social Studies. That failure will be recorded by the DOE unlike the afterschool.
Our community has the opportunity for our children who may not even have a passport to learn a foreign language in a context familiar to them. They have the opportunity to learn of a culture other than what they see. This opportunity allows our children to have a broader outlook on life. It allows them to see further than their current economic circumstance. Taking away this program for a misguided sense of loyalty would be a crime.
The neighborhood consists of mainly low income families. Most of which would not be able to afford the opportunity that Shuang Wen is currently offering the neighborhood and students.
I wholeheartedly understand the need, the want, the desire for your children to succeed. I understand why Chinese speaking parents want to ensure their children are able to compete in an English speaking society. However, I have the same want, need, desire for my child as well as the children in my COMMUNITY.
PLEASE SUPPORT PRINCIPAL IRIS CHIU, you can show your support by writing to Ms. Chui supporting her efforts to maintain a true dual language program
SHUANG WEN SCHOOL
327 Cherry Street
New York, New York 10002
or email your letter of support to PS184DUALLANGUAGE@GMAIL.COM
Thank you for reading my blog and showing your support.
A.S., this is unfair. The dual language program serves only the pre-K through the current first grade and the native speakers of English. Why are their needs more important than the needs of native speakers of other languages or children in the upper grades? The SWAN program is the only way for older children to get the Mandarin instruction they came to the school for. The old format is the best way for the Mandarin speakers to learn English, while preserving their Mandarin.
ReplyDeleteNo one wants to take away your dual language program. They just want the program that works for them to remain intact as well. Why do you oppose having both programs running side by side? Do you feel that English speakers are more deserving than Mandarin speakers? Younger kids more deserving than older ones? By the way, there are Chinese people living in District One. They have just as much right to be there as you do.
A.S., you have a good head on your shoulders. Stop taking orders from L.B. She is the original out-of-district parent, and there are nowhere near as many others as she would have you believe. She is misleading you, and you are allowing her to do it. Follow your own instincts. They are your best guide.
Thank you for your comment. I not only have a good head on my shoulders but I am also an individual more than capable of making my own decisions. I do not take any orders from anyone. And no where in the blog do I mention SWAN (afterschool). I have no problems with SWAN. And perhaps if Shuang Wen School properly established a dual language during the day as it should of, we would not be at this crossroad. I feel for all of the students and unfortunately Ling Ling Chou have placed parents with your concerns between a rock and a hard place. I would like my child to be proficient in Mandarin and not just ok. With only afterschool as a source she will not be able to compete any other dual language program such as the program located at the Seward Park complex. Please check out that school and it's ranking and ask the principal how well those students from Shuang Wen are doing?
ReplyDeleteFunny. I have heard they are doing extremely well.
ReplyDeleteI'll say it here and not again. No one is trying to take away the program that works for you. But you are wrong to say that it has never been a proper dual language program. It was recognized by DOE as such for its first eight years.
Who are you or me to say what is proper dual language and what is not? We know what works for our kids. Let both programs be. No one is evil, no format is evil. Just a lot of people with different needs and points of view, trying to do something very difficult. Everyone deserves to succeed.
The DOE is completely at fault. But we have been called to task and have to answer accordingly.
DeleteAnd there are some children that are doing well due to the remedial courses. There is nothing wrong with learning at a different rate but not given the opportunity to properly learn at the rate prescribed by the organization that assess your progress is a bit backward.
And the DOE looked the other way they did not recongnized it. You will be hard pressed to find that. The way it is written is that the children were receiving 2 and 1/2 of the currcirlum in Mandrin and they were not. They were receiving SWAN currcirlum which does not neccessarily align with the DOE currcirlum and SWAN grades are not accredited by the DOE. Which is why the reports were separate. Go back for those 8 years and find any credit from the DOE for Chinese language or studies.
Everyone deserves to succeed and our children deserve a loving and naturing environment and WE not just them WE are not giving it to them.
Thank you for your comments and insight. You may not think I get it but I do.
You get some of it, and thank you for trying.
DeleteConsider again a few conclusions that you appear to accept now. Why doesn't the SWAN program teach DOE content? Part of the reason is that the SWAN program has to teach kids characters. This is a task that takes Chinese people in China hours of every day. There is also the issue of traditional versus simplified -- a painful political one for Chinese people. Advocates for traditional characters argue that they are the best avenue for instilling culture along with language, and that once you know them, learning simplified is easy. Advocates for simplified argue that it is the system used by China, so why waste time with traditional. The debate goes on and on. But either system takes MUCH more time and effort than learning phonetic writing systems like ours. And children must learn to read in the language if they are to engage in bilingual learning of age-appropriate DOE content.
I am not saying the SWAN program is perfect. It is the first version of Mandarin-English teaching in a public school. Like all new projects, it needs tweaking, fine-tuning and even substantive changes. But it does work for many people.
The dual language program works for you and other English-speakers like you. Why can't the school have both, as Ling ling Chou repeatedly begged the DOE over the years?
I would challenge another apparent assumption of yours: that DOE regulations are the pathway to perfection. I would argue that they are out-dated, limiting, and a restraint on imagination and innovation. They were created by people who have spent very little time in the classroom or developing new programs that meet the needs of the future. One of the biggest problems facing Shuang Wen from the beginning was that DOE regulations could govern bilingual education in English-French or English-Spanish, but did not contemplate the unique needs of an English-Mandarin program. Like, for example, the difficulty and time-consuming nature of learning the writing system. For this reason alone, Shuang Wen could not operate at any time completely within the DOE's regulatory framework.
As you recognize, DOE looked the other way for years. They also actively encouraged the very practices that they are now calling "violations of regulations" and using as a basis for disparaging the former principal and driving away many families. When DOE changed its mind, its attitude (as expressed through Daniella Phillips, Alice Young, their minion Lisa Donlan, and others) was hostile and hateful -- not cooperative, not collaborative. All DOE had to do was sit down with parents and teachers and discuss the progress of the program, its shortcomings, the problems of converting to the established dual language format (that conversion WAS HAPPENING before Iris arrived), and the possible solutions to those problems. But they didn't want discussion or practical outcomes that served the broadest base. They wanted to clear out the school and either re-populate it or close it altogether. They were even willing to tolerate death threats against families to achieve their still unknown goals. That is a weighty reason why this situation has galvanized emotions so very much.
A government agency that winks at that kind of behavior does not win trust or respect for its officials or its regulations. I had always heard that DOE was a rogue agency that destroyed schools and communities, but never believed it -- until now.
So finally, why doesn't DOE credit students' years in the SWAN program? I would argue that this has little to do with the value/accomplishments of the program and everything to do with DOE's arbitrary quest for power and need to call the shots – even though there doesn’t seem to be anyone in that whole agency who knows how to assess children’s fluency in Mandarin.
Let me first say... I have lived in LES all my life. Born and raised and NOT asian. I grew up when the schools in this neighborhood were horrible. He we have a school thats one of the best in all of NYC and we try to tear it down by a select few parents. To me, its a disgrace.
ReplyDeleteWith that said, to you Shuang Wen I would first look at some facts before you start taking sides.
Shuang Wen was originally a "test" ground for the program. It has slowly evolved WITHOUT DOE help. The school has continously been pushed aside despite its success and the overwhelming enrollment requests from all over NYC. Its is one, if not the least, funded school in the district. This has been the case for quite some time. The PARENTS had to prop up the school with Ms Ling Ling to make it sucessful. It is not perfect but its certainly maturing. Lastly, prior to Ms. Ling Ling's removal, the dual language program was starting to be put in place. Please dismiss the idea that Ms Ling Ling was a barrier to the program. When you take the comments of a select few and prop it up as fact, you get mis-truths. Its particularly true when the select facts you choose are negative.
Keep your eyes open. Look around. I see a lot of caring and love from the parents you so think are hell bent on not having Iris succeed. Look at who you associate with and open your eyes.
First the DOE gives the least money to the better performing schools, that is how it is designed. The idea give the money to those schools struggling. Basically providing monies to assist those students who are not testing well. Those children are the exact population we do not service. That is one point.
DeleteThe DOE does not effectively assist any school. I am not blind and I see how the DOE works with all schools not just Shuang Wen, so the whole racist notion is so ignorant and is very offensive.
Like every job, there is an objectives and time frames. She was not given an objective and time frame and was not able to effectively accomplish the task. It is impossible to give credit and not recongize the mistakes. No one understands that it is so rare for a principal to be removed and the fact that she was removed is a testiment that there was a lot she did not know.
No disrespect to anyone, but that is a fact.