Melrose Language Proficiency

You may have been right.

My first grade daughter attends a Spanish immersion public school in the Oakland Unified School District. My wife and I are satisfied with the school, otherwise we would send our daughter (and soon our son) to a different school. At Melrose Leadership Academy, my daughter is learning two languages. She is learning many cultures; she is happy. She dances!

People often question our decision to enroll our daughter in the Melrose experiment. Some wonder if our daughter is really learning Spanish. Some people imagine that our daughter will not learn English. I think this fear is based on a misconception about language proficiency.

According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, only 46% of twelfth grade white students tested "at or above proficient," in reading. In case this was not clear, less than half of all white kids tested were not proficient in reading English. Assuming that white students are also native English speakers, it appears that native English speaking students still struggle in acquiring their native language... in English only classrooms.

Will my daughter become proficient, or better yet advanced, in her native language? I hope, but even with her parents' educational background, I cannot assume that she will acquire language magically. My wife's law degree does not grant my daughter any special English skills. I continue to struggle with English... and I have a Masters in Education.

And English is my "native" language. But what if there is no such thing as a native language? What if some languages are just more foreign than others? What if, as Laurie Anderson sings, "Language is a virus from outer space?"

If language were from outer space, would educators instruct any differently? Until we solve that problem, let us keep dancing.

Melrose Leadership 2011 Expo Lg Gallery - Images by bryan farley