Chinese school, here we come

Mark agreed that we can send River to Chinese preschool starting next fall. He’ll only attend two mornings per week, the cheapest option, which isn’t enough to become fluent the first year. But I hope it’s enough to take advantage of that early brain sponginess that will allow him to pick up difficult things like a tonal language without much effort. It’s a financial stretch and a transportation hassle, but I also think it will stretch River’s horizons at a time when it matters and I’m very excited about that.

When we visited and he participated in the class, I saw the same “what the fuck” look cross his face that I experienced so often overseas. The look that comes when you realize you really have no clue what is going on. This is followed by rapid processing, rapid decision making and then an adjustment to the situation. For me, it comes with a rush of excitement and confidence as I figure out something that stretches my boundaries and my comfort zone. Since River seemed to enjoy the class, I think it may have had the same effect on him. It’s very rewarding to be able to share that experience with him.

Mark says I’m projecting my own experiences on to him. And I may well be. But it is necessarily wrong to want your child to experience the things you’ve found most rewarding? If, like Mark, he found such situations stressful, then perhaps it wouldn’t be right for me to subject him to them. But he cried when it was time to go and begged to go back. It’s quite possible, even probable, that he shares my penchant for adapting, for figuring things out, and for jumping into new situations.

Languages and international interactions have formed an important part of my life, but I think my first exposure came too late. I didn’t have the opportunity to start studying a second language until middle school. I want to share that part of my experience with him and I’d like him to have the advantage of an earlier exposure – where he can receive the benefits with less work. My early education was lacking in quality math, science and intellectual exploration and I think it would have been helpful to have these things. I also want to give him what I missed out on.

I wish I could attend preschool with him. I think I could learn a lot – not only Chinese, but also science. But I can still derive a lot of pleasure from sending him, watching him go through the experience, and perhaps picking up some things along the way.

In the meantime, this piece by Thomas Friedman, made me laugh. Perhaps River will become a source of low-wage labor for a Chinese firm someday, but at least it’s a job prospect.

Do you have any life experiences you want to make sure your children are exposed to?

English surpasses the Spanish

1/13/10 English surpasses the Spanish
River again participated in a research study of preschoolers, so I was able to obtain an update on his language skills. The procedure is to go through the test until the child gets some wrong, then they stop. This time, he made it all the way through the test, in both Spanish and English. But he got a few things wrong in Spanish (he didn’t answer the math questions correctly, nor the phonics, and he may have messed up a half cookie versus a whole cookie) and was able to answer the same questions in English. So I think his English has now surpassed his Spanish.

The researchers thought he did great and said they couldn’t wait to see where he is at age four. I was relieved he was docile and cooperative with them, as he was last time, though I feared that might not be the case given his behavior in recent weeks. But I was admittedly a bit bummed that the language I speak with him is now in second place. I take it not only as a sign of how the rest of the world has more influence over him than I do, but also an indication that perhaps my Spanish is not up to snuff.

I’ve definitely been feeling deficient lately. While I’ve learned some words of interest to him, like bulldozer, excavator, and tugboat in Spanish, the English books go so much further to talk about the technical parts of each of these machines. I don’t know the technical parts and it’s a lot of work to learn them. Also, there aren’t any books easily available in Spanish that have this kind of detail. I spoke to the librarian about it and she agreed, saying, “This is when they start to speak English, because the richness of the language available to them in English surpasses what they have access to in Spanish.”

I’m also feeling deficient in everyday conversation. He asks me words like vulture, slush, curb and rust that I don’t know off the top of my head. Even if I look them up later, I don’t always remember them.

So this is the point where it’s tempting to give up, but that’s not my tendency, especially when he’s not actively resisting yet. Instead, I have to improve my Spanish. I need a way to look up words quickly, wherever we are, as soon as he asks. Mark says I should get a smartphone, but that is too expensive. I’m thinking of perhaps getting a Kindle with a Spanish dictionary. Any other ideas?

I’m also going to make attending the Spanish-language monthly book club a priority, attend the Spanish-language La Leche league meetings while I can, accompany River to the Spanish story hour during my maternity leave and generally make more of an effort to bring my language up a notch. It would be great to take him to a Spanish speaking place for some mother-son Spanish-immersion, but that’s not very feasible in the budget now or with breastfeeding. Perhaps that will be a goal for after Willow is weaned.

Will American children learn Chinese (or another foreign language)?

Will American children learn Chinese (or another foreign language)?

En masse, I doubt it. But I think there are a lot of good reasons to do so. Several of them are brought up in this interesting debate.

Yes, much of the world speaks English. But only certain people who have had certain educational opportunities (ie. biased towards the privileged) are able to obtain English fluency. Language skills are so critical to showing respect for a foreign culture and for being able to truly know and understand people. By making people more comfortable navigating a foreign environment, languages help them to explore, and therefore to better understand and to open their minds. Recent history shows us so many examples of the financial and human cost of mistakes due to not understanding other cultures or worldviews.

I don’t set a lot of absolute expectations for River’s future. But I do expect he won’t be among the 93% of Americans who don’t speak a language other than English. I believe it is critical that he be equipped to be part of the world, not just the American or English-speaking, community. I believe it’s my job as a parent and a concerned citizen to enable him and other children to have that opportunity.