haw to mak tost
poot the bred in the tosta
wen yoo see sum smok tak it owt
skrap the tost in the sink
wen the blak is gon poot jam on top
yum
(Jamie Sullivan, age 5)
It is easy to accept that the way we do things is the way that it should be done, especially when , as it Jamie’s case, it mostly does deliver the desired result.
Sometimes we show the same attachment to recipes that fail most of the time:
How to Make Bilingual Australian/US/UK Citizens
Take x primary children, 0.00001 x Italian teachers, 0.0000001 x Chinese teachers...., 0.0000000001 x Japanese teachers............
Mix according to where the teachers want to teach, what the current parent body prefers, what the current funding options favour.... re-mix frequently before and during the cooking process.
Cook in 30-60 minute bursts over a period of 1-12 years with frequent adjustment of ingredients and a liberal sprinkling of gaps.
98% of the time this recipe fails to produce a citizen who could function in a second-language environment.
Our country says that it cares about this goal, so isn’t it worth considering a better use of scarce and valuable ingredients to make the success rate at least as good as Jamie’s toast?
Here’s an alternative:
How to Make Bi (or Tri-)lingual Australian/Uk/US Citizens
Take x primary children, 0.00001 x Italian teachers, 0.0000001 x Chinese teachers...., 0.0000000001 x Japanese teachers.................and x/25 Generalist Primary Teachers
Reserve most of the precious 0.00001 x Italian teachers, 0.0000001 x Chinese teachers...., 0.0000000001 x Japanese teachers...for use in the next step.
Add x/25 copies of the teaching resource “Talking to the Whole Wide World”
Mix well, according to the schedules, priorities, abilities and interests of the children and teachers.
Cook for 5-7 years, changing cultural focus at will without interrupting the smooth and integrated acquisition of the language.
This produces close to x bilingual primary school graduates who are well prepared to use the reserved , 0.00001 x Italian teachers, 0.0000001 x Chinese teachers...., 0.0000000001 x Japanese teachers...to learn another language at high school.
Bon Apetit!
.........
esperanto for everychild www.mondeto.com ..............
