of education and all good things

[tywy_99]

Can anybody offer any insight or advice on how to handle education, schools and schooling for my twelve year old step-daughter? It is a major concern of mine and one that I have given much thought to but have made little headway with any useful information. I live far from any major cities and the county I live in is poor. The public school system is less than desirable and barley fit for the local children much less a little Chinese girl from China with not much English.

I am somewhat lost with this and more so now that my wife and step-daughter will be arriving soon. Maybe I am overreacting some and maybe she will do just fine but I am genuinely concerned. Any suggestions, thoughts and/or ideas will be very much welcomed and very much a relief.

 

-Thanks,

 

"lost in a rural sort of way"

[se_lang]

Well depending on how your wifes english is you could home school it cost a lot more then public but a lot less then private. My oldest was home schooled until 5th grade he is now a freshmen with reading skills off the charts, My younger one was home schooled until 2nd grade his reading and spelling level are 5th-6th grade he is currently in 4th.The Chinese consulate here might be able to point you in a direction also.

[chinadave2001]

Hopefully your school will have some kind of ESL program for her to enroll in. I teach ESL at the high school level - it generally takes non-native speakers about 2 to 3 years before they can be mainstreamed into regular classes. It willl require her to have a lot of patience of course as progress will be slow at first. the good news is that age 12 is not too bad because by the time she's a junior in high school , she should be well on her way. it is a much bigger problem if she were older.....

If they don't have ESL program. and they put her into reg ed classes, then ask to meet with the teachers and demand that they make appropriate modifications.

If you have any more questions, please don't hesitate to email/pm me. I have a lot of experience in dealing with ESL in public schools....ten years worth, anyway.

Good Luck!

dave

[Bobby]

Well depending on how your wifes english is you could home school it cost a lot more then public but a lot less then private. My oldest was home schooled until 5th grade he is now a freshmen with reading skills off the charts, My younger one was home schooled until 2nd grade his reading and spelling level are 5th-6th grade  he is currently in 4th.The Chinese consulate here might be able to point you in a direction also.

One of my co-workers homeschools his kids (3).. they participate in a lot of book-sharing programs and various other activities in an effort to keep the costs down. If you'd like some links and info, just PM me and I'll see what I can dig up for you.

 

Also, as far as the language thing goes. I don't think you actually have to speak English to pass the tests required to make it through High School. But you would have to be able to read and comprehend it. As my fiancee is teaching me, reading English and being able to speak English are two completely different things (I would never have thought so, I learned to read and speak Spanish at the same time when I was in HS, it never struck me that I would be able to do one and not the other).

[se_lang]

I no longer have the kids home schooled, as the mother put them in public school about 6 months before she flew the coop kind of makes me think she was getting things prepared. But in all honesty I think anything more then 2nd-3rd grade should be done in public/private schools, home school is a great foundation but requires an enormous amount of dedication to be affective eg... social skills

[frank1538]

This may sound strange, but it's possible the one's limited English language proficiency will constitute a "disability" under the various disability acts, one of which requires public schools to make available to all eligible children with disabilities a free appropriate public education.

 

You might want to check it out.

[tywy_99]

This may sound strange, but it's possible the one's limited English language proficiency will constitute a "disability" under the various disability acts, one of which requires public schools to make available to all eligible children with disabilities a free appropriate public education.

 

You might want to check it out.

I don't find any reasonable suggestion strange when I am trying to find out information on this subject and I do truly appreciate the comments and suggestions from you all. I value them greatly.

 

-Thanks again!

[Charlotte]

This may sound strange, but it's possible the one's limited English language proficiency will constitute a "disability" under the various disability acts,

You might want to check it out.

No, this does not qualify as a disability.

I have been here long enough and knowing a lot of friends'children going through this including my own niece coming to Canada at age 10 It is her parents that have to struggle with English daily! During her first semester in school, she sat in a French class (required in Canada) and did not know it was French until 5 classes later, LOL! -- 2 years later, today- she only talks English t(free of accent) to me on the phone!

 

Now to the question of your 12 year old education problem: if you don't like the district you are in, you may have to move. Otherwise you can just let her/him go like all other Americans. Kids at that age don't need ESL classes (for adults only). She may need to struggle for a year or two, but she will do well in science subject, which will give her confidence. Don't worry -- in 5-10 years, you and wife need to worry about her CHINESE, not her English! So let her go through the school like the other American kids. Soon she will speak better English than your wife and will drop all the accents. The abiliity to speak a foreign language goes hand-in- hand with age --- the older you are, the harder it gets. So far there is no exception to this rule!

 

Home schooling is not suitable for a kid for whom English is a second language.

[chinadave2001]

This may sound strange, but it's possible the one's limited English language proficiency will constitute a "disability" under the various disability acts,

You might want to check it out.

No, this does not qualify as a disability.

I have been here long enough and knowing a lot of friends'children going through this including my own niece coming to Canada at age 10 It is her parents that have to struggle with English daily! During her first semester in school, she sat in a French class (required in Canada) and did not know it was French until 5 classes later, LOL! -- 2 years later, today- she only talks English t(free of accent) to me on the phone!

 

Now to the question of your 12 year old education problem: if you don't like the district you are in, you may have to move. Otherwise you can just let her/him go like all other Americans. Kids at that age don't need ESL classes (for adults only). She may need to struggle for a year or two, but she will do well in science subject, which will give her confidence. Don't worry -- in 5-10 years, you and wife need to worry about her CHINESE, not her English! So let her go through the school like the other American kids. Soon she will speak better English than your wife and will drop all the accents. The abiliity to speak a foreign language goes hand-in- hand with age --- the older you are, the harder it gets. So far there is no exception to this rule!

 

Home schooling is not suitable for a kid for whom English is a second language.

I basically agree with Charlotte completely.... 12 year olds are really at a great age to pick up a new language. Immersion into an all English environment is difficult, but soon she will be speaking and writing very well. You just need to help her hold it togther and not get too discouraged in the meantime. I think homeschooling would only slow down this process....I cannot speak for other schools but our ESL program is all in English - we just go a bit slower, and give the kids more support than other students. It is temporary - usually about 2 years, sometimes three - before the student is completely fluent and at grade level. But, if these are not available, then don't worry, she will be just fine.

Dave