The elementary Spanish program, in its current form, is a waste of time and taxpayer money.
You don’t plant a teacher in an English speaking school, let her teach by the immersion method, and get anything good.
The immersion method would work great on our kdis if they were sent overseas to a non-English speaking country. Watch how fast they would learn, out of having no choice.
But in a cushy, English-speaking classroom? Speaking Spanish to them goes right over their heads. They ignore it. Nothing compelling to make them speak it.
All they’re getting is “Spanish Appreciation.” Just like the math.
They come out of elementary school knowing little to no Spanish.
Get rid of it. Go back to the drawing board, RPS. Start again.
The Ridgewood Blog 
9:14 it should have been Latin that was introduced to the early grades, but I fear this was a politically correct decision to pick….Spanish.
9;14 –
Es verdad !
8:59 – no tienes verguenza !
9:14PM
You are right, the foriegn language program is the only place grammer is taught in Ridgewood.
ahem, 1:17- that would be grammar (spelling too???) just kidding!
Why teach Spanish in the lower grades? In Middle school they have more choices, at High School more options kick in. Starting them on Spanish will steer more kids to Spanish later.
I would love to know where the correlation between Romance languages and English Grammar comes from. What study?? It could be an urban legend.
Ten years ago, Ridgewood’s parents were given the choice among Latin, Spanish and French. They overwhelmingly voted for Spanish. The high school and middle school students continue to choose Spanish in large numbers.
“The high school and middle school students continue to choose Spanish in large numbers.”
That’s because it is easy compared to Latin or any other language for that matter.
Get a grip here folks, Spanish is a the language of poverty. Where ever the Spanish went they have left a mess in their wake. Unlike the British who have thriving economies and stable governments in their former colonies.
Spanish is the fastest growing language in the US. If you are going to learn a language, it might as well be one that you can speak.
If Latin is hard to learn, why take it. Except for reading the words on US currency, where does it get you?
My neice took Latin from middle school through HS. In college she was required to take a real (spoken)language for two years. Her peers who took Spanish/French were mostly able to test out of this req. Some took only had to take one year of language in college. It was like being in a remedial program.
Latin is like art history — nice to toss around some phrases at a party, but gets you nowhere in the real world. After college, when you are asked what language you can speak you would be crazy to put Latin on the application.
“Calling for an increase in students taking Latin to raise SAT scores and student achievement reveals a profound misunderstanding about correlation and causation.
Simply because we can draw a correlation between taking Latin and higher SAT scores does not prove that taking Latin caused the scores. High correlations exist between SAT scores and IQ, between SAT scores and the socioeconomic status, between SAT scores and the education level of students’ parents.
All of these correlations are markers for many diverse and complex factors that actually cause the scores. For example, Latin is a rigorous elective course taken by students who fall into many of the other categories that we know are highly correlated with high SAT scores”
http://www.thestate.com/583/story/612431.html
There is a correlation between second language learning and other standardized test scores, but not any data that shows that Latin is better than other languages in this area. Latin teachers perpetuate the SAT myth and Ridgewood parents think that they are getting a foreign language and test prep in one place. It is all about job security for the Latin teacher.
There is a very high correlation between reading and high English test scores.
http://www.actfl.org/i4a/pages/Index.cfm?pageID=4525
Ridgewood employs trained professionals to select curriculum and enact effective teaching policies in its public school classrooms.
For goodness sake: LET THESE PEOPLE DO THEIR JOBS!
They will do a better job than you, unless of course you’ve spent considerable time studying at institutions of higher learning the language acquisition patterns of elementary school children. If this is the case then apply for the job. if not, then shut up you don’t know what you’re talking about.