Consider the often-heard lament, “some students are just not cut out for school.” The statement passes without question or even a hint of protest, yet think about what the statement says when we replace “school” with what school should be all about: “learning.” Some students are just not cut out for learning? Nobody would dare make the statement. Learning is the hallmark of humanity. We are all cut out for learning. It is what makes us human. If our students are “not cut out for school”, perhaps we have made the mold too narrow or inflexible, or more likely, just not meaningful enough to inspire a student to fit in.

Michael Wesch

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Children to Try Out Six Languages in Elementary Grades

Posted January 21st, 2008 by carrieann
in

Primary school children are learning six different languages from the age of nine under a pioneering new plan.

The idea is to give them a taste of all six so they can then decide for themselves which language to opt for when they transfer to secondary school.

The scheme is being piloted in three local education authorities – Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire and Derbyshire – and is being backed by secondary school headteachers. The children study French, German, Spanish, Japanese, Punjabi and Latin for a term each before they leave primary school. The project is being evaluated by the University of Manchester with a view to promoting it nationally if it is successful. The report will be published by the end of the year.

Read the full article

(Source: The Independent, UK)
(23 June 2007)

Country: 
UK
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