The topic of education is on many people’s minds after the recent elections. The reason why it stands out is because some feel that it was inadequately addressed during a time when education should be something the nation is focusing on intently.
The former chancellor of the New York City Department of Education, Joel Klein, and Delaware Governor Jack Markell both feel that education should have been a bigger topic during the election, and both would like to see some more educational reform in Delaware and across the United States. They feel that the educational reform should include an emphasis on foreign languages and culture to prepare students for a more globally oriented world.
Delaware’s Kindergarteners Learn in a New Way
Many states have implemented immersion programs or have started immersion schools, but Delaware has started a controversial language program where over 340 kindergarteners are taught lessons in a foreign language. Their math and science lessons are entirely free of the English language and children are given the opportunity to learn a new language while they are still young.
Parents and their children can decide what language they will learn, and there is a wide variety to choose from, including the difficult language of Chinese. Chinese translation materials as well as other materials for the different languages are available for parents, but the children go completely without any English translation services during their lessons.