Bob Alberti wrote about Anne Sullivan Communications Center: > And they make it work. My twins are in 6th grade (pause while I check that > and discover how old I'm getting), and my youngest is in 2nd. The latter, > in particular, has been sharing class with some kids who started > kindergarten with no english whatsoever, and others who cannot hear. > > These kids don't "hold back" other kids. In fact, their special needs have > presented opportunities for demonstrations of compassion and leadership on > the part of their classmates. My son in particular has come home on several > occasions to describe how one kid or another learned new words, overcame > challenges, or encouraged his leadership or compassion in various ways. >
Mark Anderson here: Well my impression is the opposite. My son was in Bancroft Elementary from Kindergarten to Fifth Grade (he's in Sixth Grade - Middle School this year), and my daughter has been at Bancroft from Hi-Five to her current Second Grade. Bancroft is partly a community school, but it is also a magnet school for ESL Hmong and Spanish kids. Bancroft School is regularly in the group of high poverty and low achievement schools, despite being in a middle class neighborhood. The kids with little English need an education just like my kids, but I don't see the point of putting kids at such different levels in the same classroom. How can a teacher teach to both at the same time, especially in cumulative subjects such as Math and Reading? Bob - your son may well be doing well in learning compassion and leadership - but I suspect his English and Math skills have suffered in comparison to how well he'd be doing if his classmates were at similar levels. Mark Anderson Bancroft _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
