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Wyoming Elementary School Students To Have Spanish-Only Classes
By Jared Keever, Mon, September 29, 2014

Kindergartners and first grade students will not be allowed to speak English in half of their classes at a Wyoming elementary school this year. The reason, said officials at Park Elementary School in Casper, Wyoming, is the school is now offering dual-language education.

The 5- and 6-year-old students will speak Spanish for half the school day, and English for the other half. It is all part of a new program in the state designed to help students learn a second language more quickly.

“They don't do this at every school, so I am lucky to be doing this,” said Saul Rodriguez, a bilingual teacher and native Spanish speaker.

The program was developed based on research that indicates children can learn to speak a second language more easily at a young age.

“The kids learn so easy and so fast, that it is just amazing,” Rodriguez told WFSB. “They can learn whatever, so that is not an exception with languages.”

Another elementary school in the county started offering dual-language education in Chinese last year. Park Elementary Principal Dawn DeWald applied to the state for permission to offer a Spanish program at her school that same year but didn’t get the approval necessary.

She vowed in December to try again.

“We are pretty excited and hopeful here,” DeWald told the Casper Star-Tribune. “Dual-language, to me, has always been an exciting opportunity that I think is out there for our children.”

Parents in the district supported the push for dual-language education and celebrated in February when Park Elementary got state approval and the local school board green-lighted the program.

“I strongly believe that knowing Spanish will give my children an opportunity and open doors for them that wouldn't be open otherwise,” parent Cassidy Lach told the Star-Tribune earlier this year. "And that's our job as parents."

The response from students has been mostly positive, but teacher Nicole Dundas said she does occasionally need to give the children some encouragement.

“I just keep encouraging on my side of it as, you might not know it now, but in a few months you are going to know everything that he is saying, and how cool is that?” Dundas said. “You get to have a second language.”

http://www.opposingviews.com/i/society/w...h.GfaD8Sw2.dpuf
 
Honestly, I wish my school would have done that when I attended. I can't think of a disadvantage to being able to speak two different languages. Spanish or a form of it is spoken in many different countries.
 
I agree. The way this country is going, its gonna be necessary. I've been thinking bout learning it myself. I'd kinda like to know what is being said when they talk amongst themselves around my family
 
Ditto here. Lots of opportunity, and not just in cushy govt. jobs, if one speaks both languages. We may not like it, but this old melting pot is becoming more "diverse", as are languages spoken. Being able to communicate effectively in Spanish (or other globally mainstream language) will likely be more of an asset in the future.

Heck, if you spoke Spanish it'd be easier to go on predator hunting trips in Mexico.
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Yep kids are learning to talk, so different words build in easily. Once we're adults we have to convert from 1 to the other in our heads.

But I'd like a choice in the language taught. Personally I'd like to speak french, but all I remember is some of the profanity
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Originally Posted By: LongnkrnchI could agree with you guys, IF, I believed the reason for this was what they are claiming.

Yep, what they are saying is if you are going to do business in this Country you'd better be able to speak the Spanish.
 
Originally Posted By: pwhunterI agree.


Me too!

Originally Posted By: pwhunterThe way this country is going, its gonna be necessary. I've been thinking bout learning it myself. I'd kinda like to know what is being said when they talk amongst themselves around my family


My baby sister took 3 years of Spanish in High School, GOOD LOOKING GAL, did a little professional modeling during her high school and college days, 5'10" about 130 lbs. built like the proverbial brick house. That was 20+ years ago, back before there were so many Mexicans here. She was walking through the mall with my mother one day, and three young latinos were following them, when one made some ill remarks about what all he would like to do to her. She spun around and proceeded to tell him and his buddies off in Spanish, said he looked like he wanted to crawl under the carpet, the other two looked like their bottom jaw hit the floor, and all three were apologizing hard as they could, as they high-tailed it out of there!!

It would be nice if it were all that simple, but in this day and age, honestly, it's getting to the point where it very easily may be the difference between life and death. In my profession, I see a lot of places in the dark, where there isn't too many folks know anything about it, but the Mexicans picking the crops, and you never know what might be going on in there in places. That is the reason I have a license, and carry. Doesn't do me a lot of good however, if Jose is yelling at Paco to ease around behind me, and take me out, and I think Jose is trying to surrender! Been kinda thinking about the Rosetta Stone software... Anyone know anything about it??

 
I have a better idea.....require ALL people to learn ENGLISH and to speak ENGLISH. This is the United States of America, and the last time I checked, ENGLISH was our official language. I fully understand where some of you are coming from, but I am an old hardheaded man who doesn't believe in changing unless there is a very good reason to do so........and I sure as heck don't think that all these d**n illegals running around speaking Spanish is a good reason.
 
Yeah, most illegals already know THIS line .....

Quiero este trabajo , pero quiero ser pagado el registro , así que no tengo que pagar impuestos ......

We need to teach our kids Spanish so they can deal with it.
 
Originally Posted By: kymailman98I have a better idea.....require ALL people to learn ENGLISH and to speak ENGLISH. This is the United States of America, and the last time I checked, ENGLISH was our official language. I fully understand where some of you are coming from, but I am an old hardheaded man who doesn't believe in changing unless there is a very good reason to do so........and I sure as heck don't think that all these d**n illegals running around speaking Spanish is a good reason.


Oh, I fully agree with you mailman, but those idiots we put up there in DC have proven beyond all shadow of a doubt that they are too ignorant to elect an official language, and without one we can't demand they all speak English. I don't know that I would want to ever attempt to converse in Spanish, folks have enough trouble understanding me in English at times. (My voice doesn't usually project well unless I'm drunk or grumpy, and I got a bit of a drawl.) But, I would like to know what the Mexican standing next to me in line at Wally World is saying when he's acting all excited. Should I be looking for something to hide behind, or going to look for the gal in the sprayed on shorts and thin white tank top over in housekeeping? If the government isn't going to fix it, I might as well learn it, just so I understand some of them.
 
Originally Posted By: kymailman98I have a better idea.....require ALL people to learn ENGLISH and to speak ENGLISH. This is the United States of America, and the last time I checked, ENGLISH was our official language. I fully understand where some of you are coming from, but I am an old hardheaded man who doesn't believe in changing unless there is a very good reason to do so........and I sure as heck don't think that all these d**n illegals running around speaking Spanish is a good reason.

+1
 
Originally Posted By: HidalgoYeah, most illegals already know THIS line .....

Quiero este trabajo , pero quiero ser pagado el registro , así que no tengo que pagar impuestos ......

We need to teach our kids Spanish so they can deal with it.

What did he say ???
 
Re: rosetta stone.

I know a chick who is a federal agent of some sort. As part of her training to become one, in addition to firearms and other training she had to learn a language & i think it was spanish (this has been a few years back now).

the gave her rosetta stone. She said she absolutely hated it.

Now, N=1 does not a statistic make, I have no idea if it's any good or not. This just happens to be the one and only time anyone I've personally known has said anything about using it.
 
Originally Posted By: Wallbass45Originally Posted By: HidalgoYeah, most illegals already know THIS line .....

Quiero este trabajo , pero quiero ser pagado el registro , así que no tengo que pagar impuestos ......

We need to teach our kids Spanish so they can deal with it.

What did he say ???

Basically, he said, "I want this job, but want to be paid cash so I don't have to pay taxes."
Here is a very good TRANSLATOR.

As for learning Spanish, Spanish was required subject so I took it from third grade through HS and even a year or so in college (made decent grades) and still cannot speak it. Unfortunately, schools taught Castilian Spanish and how to conjugate vowels, etc., not "TexMex", which is the common lingo here. I'll admit that I had the attitude that this is the US and they need to learn English, I shouldn't be required to learn Spanish.

Wish I had put out a little more effort and actually learned the subject better and am now trying to do so, but much more difficult now than it would have been as a child. I can understand a lot more than I can speak, biggest problem is I think in English, and soon fall behind the conversation in translating Spanish words into an English sentence.

The key to being fluent in any language is to think in that language.
Doubt there are enough years left for me to learn to think in Spanish so guess I'll continue to lean on translators such as the link above and the one on my smart phone.....They are great crutches but not much help in situations such as Rocky mentioned.
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Regards,
hm
 
Originally Posted By: BAYSTATE YOTEArabic will be next............


South Florida is unbelievable... You can sit in a restaurant on the Interstate and hear 8 - 10 different languages being spoken around you at times. And, it's not an unusual occurence; fairly common in fact.
 
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