Her daughter is losing her Spanish. A dual language school could save it. But can she get a seat?

Her daughter is losing her Spanish. A dual language school could save it. But can she get a seat? One family's journey.
See full project HERE: bit.ly/3VrJ6vY
SUBSCRIBE TO OUR CHANNEL FOR MORE VIDEOS.
/ @bostonglobe
READ OUR JOURNALISM FROM NEW ENGLAND AND BEYOND.
www.bostonglobe.com/
FOLLOW US ON:
Facebook ► / globe
Twitter ► / bostonglobe
Instagram ► / bostonglobe
TikTok ► / bostonglobe

[@P.90.603]

In general, it's best to focus on English. Life is too hard to be juggling too many thing. Kids can always learn and use Spanish outside at at home. Because parents can't speak English or they just want their kids fluent in Spanish is not a good enough reason. Most kids are already struggling with English....i can't imagine having to learn and think in 2 languages.

[@alanguages]

Studies have already shown, that bilingual children surpass monolingual speakers in studies. It is no longer debatable. Their brains process information faster and stronger memory.
With that said, they should not ignore their other subjects as well, but focus on excelling in them. Knowing a different language opens doors to another world of opportunities.

[@P.90.603]

@@alanguages From what I read, there are contradicting research that support and oppose. I could see both side to it. I could see that schools that are designed that way attract ambitious families. I also see the side where students are put into bilingual because the kids simply don't know English, so they are playing catch up.
That is why I said in general. Any studies supporting would only using a minority data and cannot be applied to the general public. Most students are already struggling witjh English..so I doubt throwing an extra language in there for most students would help. Most students need to focus on what matters

[@alanguages]

@@P.90.603 Bilingual kids eventually catch up and surpass their monolingual classmates. They learn and excel in subjects they study. Students struggle with English, because they also don't put in the time and effort to do well in it.
Knowing a different language even helps a person with their native one. It likely has some sort of contrast and such. There is also the study of studies with bilinguals staving off dementia for 4- 5 years.

[@P.90.603]

@@alanguages Again, I think it's because many students who signed up for bilingual are just ambitious and represent a minority. I don't think it applies to majority. It's not like they're all of a sudden better students if you threw in bilingual. I'm not against bilingual education, but I am against it for the general public. If you look at most companies, there is a lack of Latios and frankly they hold the lowest positions in janitorial and landscaping. I never felt "oh, let's put them in bilingual". What they need to do is compete with existing students.

[@alanguages]

@@P.90.603 The ones with low to no education in the general public are not bilingual. If they were and put their nose to the grindstone, they would have excelled. The bilingualism is the added bonus. If both competitors were evenly qualified, the bilingual individual will likely get the job.
Majority of people are not educated either and don't finish college in the West.
Edit: By the way, I am in agreement with you that bilingual education is a minority. There are benefits to it and all that I mentioned, but learning languages is a niche. Although it will open opportunities outside of ones' bubble, they need to have qualifications first in a skill to be considered.