The image above may seem odd at first glance but the Chinese character is being used in a demonstration by the teacher to show how the word "eye" is written in Mandarin. We've discussed in other classes the rise of charter schools and the limiting effects of "English Only" education. Both of these concepts are at the center of a TIME magazine education article describing the cognitive and future professional benefits of a full immersion language school. The school this boy attends is the Yinghua Academy in Minneapolis, Minnesota, a charter school where students learn basic subjects of math, art, and history... in Mandarin Chinese. The goal of this program is: "to introduce kids to the language and culture as early as possible — ideally, before age 12, while they're still absorbing information like sponges. Kindergartners and first-graders are taught exclusively in Mandarin, and a single period of English is introduced in second grade. By sixth grade, kids are learning half in English and half in Mandarin, with the expectation of proficiency in both." I thought this was interesting and significant in not only what is happening in education today but for the job market that students will be entering in the future, what an asset to be able to speak Mandarin Chinese--with China being one of the most rapidly developing economies.
Read more: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1938738,00.html#ixzz0lhriPR9K
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