chicowalker

I'm torn on language requirements.

First of all, a year or 2, the way they're taught in most public schools, is a complete waste. many kids don't take it seriously, and they can barely say hello and goodbye after completing the requirement.

Even for students who do take it seriously and have an aptitude, though, I think it's of questionable value. I took Spanish in middle school and high school, and I was a good student. But living in Massachusetts, one's ability to use the language (then, anyway) was limited -- unlike, say, many parts of Texas. So my Spanish skills deteriorated greatly after high school. That said, when I took a refresher course before going to South America for a few weeks, I at least had a pretty good base to work from, and after those few weeks, my Spanish was pretty good.

Long way of saying that foreign language skills are a great idea in theory, but there are some practical limitations even when handled well by the school andd the students.

Harry Boy

Not gonna do it (Arabic)
Mansfield Arabic Program On Hold CBS Dallas / Fort Worth

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Harry Boy (Genius)

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wistahpatsfan

Learning a foreign language opens the mind. It exercises synaptic circuits that are important to creative and flexible thinking. Those pathways become hard-wired and open to learning new languages when you get older, as you have experienced yourself, Chico. It also opens the mind to the concept that there are humans on the planet- most of them, in fact- who do not speak English (or as they say in Texas, "American"). There are many more jobs one can qualify for if they speak a second language. It should be mandatory in middle and high school for six years. Even better one that uses a different alphabet.

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pherein

It's an interesting point you bring up.

Do we want to allow other cultures and languages within America? ,opening different ways of thinking and diversity. Exposing more Americans to foreign parts of the world.

or

Do we want to force our own way of life on the cultures, that enter America, and require they become Americanized, learn english. Forget there old ways.

Never thought of that. Maybe it is worth the money to keep their culture intact, so we can experience it.

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PatsFanInVa

It's not a bad idea in general for kids to learn foreign languages, and in the best case, even do some traveling so they get to use them. I understand the point about "basics first," but language acquisition is basic.

I had a back and forth with one of our locals who works in ICE, who had this whole involved understanding of these illegals and what drives them and how they all have a 'flat screen tv' when he kicks in their doors, etc. ('Flat screen TV' is evidently the new meme for something someone shouldn't have because they should be impoverished.) He had a whole long involved concept of what they were saying to each other in Spanish, because he knew all about their inner thoughts. I asked him whether he spoke Spanish -- as keenly concerned as he was with this group, he didn't.

Hell, it would be useful to know Arabic if you go to one of those countries the U.S. has on the payroll, like Detroit. DOH. I mean Kuwait.

PFnV

PatriotsReign

"...to force our own way of life on the cultures that enter America"?? WTF??

Look, the way of the world is and always has been that if you go into someone else's land, you adopt their lifestyle, language and culture. That is not only common sense, it's the right way.

If you come into my house, you respect my rules, not vise-versa.

I LOVE the fact that immigrants must learn english and that our culture forces them to become Americanized!! That's awesome stuff pherin and the way it should be. We and our immigrants should celebrate becoming Americanized...hell, why else would so damn many people want to become American?

Wakeup my bru-tha!~

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Mrs.PatsFanInVa

That's all well and fine, but all of America is not your house, PR. There are many people who keep the ideals and "customs" of their ancestors and their homeland here in America - and they are welcome to do so. That's one of the reasons that people DO come here - because they are free to become or retain whatever the heck they want.

Um, no one must learn English. Most people who come here do learn it, but there's no law which says they "must." Nor do we force anyone to become anything. Wouldn't forcing anyone to become anything negate the idea of freedom?

A good portion of the people in our condo building do not speak English - another portion speaks it brokenly. At any given time you can get in the elevator and there will be a girl in skin tight blue jeans, a woman in a sari pushing a baby carriage, a woman in a burka, a man with a turban and a pug on a leash, a hispanic teenager with his pants falling off, a 20-something with a tattoo on his neck and two full sleeves, a Polish speaking woman with a walker, a black guy with dreadlocks down to his waist and a guy in a suit with earbuds in his ear and a FBI ID hanging off his belt. You will hear 5 different languages being spoken and someone's IPod will be playing rap music loud enough for everyone to hear.

We all smile, we all say "Hello," or "Buenos dios," or whatever greeting is appropriate for the time of day. We all ask, "What floor?" and push the proper button and we all say, "Have a good day," when someone gets off on their floor.

That's America as it was intended to be, PR. Not some small suburb where everyone speaks the same language, where everyone looks alike and where everyone's afraid of anyone who doesn't look, sound, smell and talk exactly like they do.

DarrylS

Back in the day when I was in Seminary School(thank you Jim Morrison).. on a serious note back in the day when I was in school with the good Christian Brothers had to take two years of a dead language, Latin.

Hated every moment of it.. amo, amas, amat... but somehow made it, and contend to this day that this and typing were the two biggest benefits of high school( except booze and sex)...

Later took French and Portuguese, all of which help immensely with this language of ours..

The reality was in 2011 there were very few folks in the US intelligence community who understood Farsi and the nuances of that language...

BTW teaching Farsi does not mean that they are teaching how to be a good muslim..

BTW if they did not want to do this they should not have applied for this 2009 grant..

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Mrs.PatsFanInVa

I, too, chose Latin to fullfill my language requirement in high school, and it's stood me in good stead all these long years later. Of course you can't "talk" it, but so what? There are numerous languages, ours included, which are based upon Latin and if you've got a good grasp of it you can suss out many different words in many different languages - and appreciate where it all came from.

There's a part of me which wishes that a foreign language was required in grammar schools instead of high school. Little kids learn so fast and retain so much that it would be much easier to teach them when they are younger rather than wait until they are older. My two grandchildren are bi-lingual thanks to a Hispanic babysitter. They learned Spanish right along with English and there never seemed to be any confusion for them. They will, hopefully, retain both languages throughout their lifetimes.

I do freelance writing and I occasionally pick up odd jobs on CraigsList. Virtually every ad which is looking for a translator is looking for someone who speaks/reads/writes Arabic. I'm pretty sure they can name their price.

No more so than teaching Engish means you are teaching someone to become a good Christian. While we're at it, let's not forget that the bible wasn't originally written in English, either - it was written in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. Plus, one can learn Chinese without learning to be a good Buddhist.

It's a stupid argument and I can't believe the parents in Texas are using it.

DarrylS

What seems to be lost in this idle banter is that this was a grant they applied for, and the teaching of Arabic was a prerequisite.. if they did not want to fulfill the mandates of the grant they should not have applied.. comprende???

INOW you do not have to apply for this type of grant.. it was their choice.

Also this grant was awarded in 2009.. interesting or just a strange coincidence

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