We finally got DS6's results this spring and are now trying to figure out what our next steps might be. Our biggest dilemma is whether to switch him out of French immersion, and I'd love feedback from anyone who has experience with this.
Here are the thoughts so far:
- The principal at his school is firmly of the belief that he'll get greater depth and breadth in the English program because there's little to no time spent on learning the vocabulary and they can get onto the subject matter itself.
- We feel like it might help DS6's frustration in school because his grade 1 teacher indicated that he often didn't have the vocabulary in French to communicate his big ideas. He was constantly asking her how to translate very sophisticated ideas.
- DS6 also got restless when they were going over the vocabulary in grade 1 because he already knew the basics (we also speak French at home).
- I also happen to know that he would be in a very small class this year if he were in the English program, which would be great.
- On the other hand, it has also been suggested to me that it's the same curriculum with the added distraction of a new language, which slightly softens the blow of the ridiculously too-easy content. It would at least be something new to learn and probably the only new thing to learn in the earlier grades.
- It was also suggested that an English class might not be more challenging. Because bilingualism is so valued in our area, most parents would probably prefer to place their kids in French immersion. As a result, the English program would likely tend to have more kids with learning challenges and this means the classrooms would tend to be far, far more diverse than French immersion, and dealing with a much wider range of needs and learning readiness. As a result, the curriculum in most English classes might move even more slowly and in less breadth and depth.
And the most emotional factor for me: It would break my heart to have him not learn French. Would it maybe be enough for him to have an IEP in FI? Maybe his vocabulary would catch up fast enough? He did learn awfully quickly in grade 1.
Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!!
