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Provide the figures that your referencing? The provide the student to teacher ratio...then provide the grade statistic for Math, Reading and Language for each state, then this would be a true debate. Its easy to claim these children to not appreciate their education which is BS. YOur last statement is the problem and reason why the Government will continue to fail at fixing the problem with the Public school system.
Right here:
US Census Press Releases (http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/education/011747.html - broken link)
So yes, it should be mandatory for students to learn this language. The earlier, the better, starting in pre-k in my opinion.
I can understand where you're coming from but I don't agree. What would happen in a few years if the Haitian population increases? Will French become mandatory? When I was in high school and college a foreign language was required, but you had a choice of several languages. I think that's good enough.
I did DC public from 1st through 12th- one of the worst systems in the country. It was loaded with kids who just did not try. They were not stupid or inferior. They just did not give a crap. And their parents were never seen or heard from.
I and others, in direct contrast, had parents who pushed us, checked our homework and never missed a parent-teacher night. They made sure our particular school did not slide totally into oblivion.
I went on to a fairly prestigous college and grad school. All with a substandard DC Public school education. A system which spends as much per student as it costs to attend many private schools.
Its not money. Its culture.
Yes, we will have to agree to disagree.
as i stated before, The school system will need to be given the tools required to teach, it is then on the parent and student.
I was in the same situation as you, however the schools systems today are COMPLETELY different than they were years ago. There's too much overcrowding. You have 40 students to a class, not sure how things were in Washington DC, but in New Jersey when i was in school, it was 25 to a class. Children who required extra help were pulled out for resource, today, they remain in the class with those same 40 students.
Students who's first language is NOT english, require extra attention from the VERY same teacher who is required to teach 39 other students. So you see, it involves EVERYONE, the government officials to provide the funds, the teachers to provide the education and the student and parent to put in the work to learn. Until that process is FIXED, how can we expect these children to learn a foreign language when there's obstacles with learning the basics?
US Census Press Releases (http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/education/011747.html - broken link)
Ok, you've provided the 2006 financials that provides cost per child. The Northeast area will be the highest due to the obvious factors (cost of living) teachers in the Northeast area pay rate is higher than that of one in the Southeast or Midwest. New York and New Jersey teachers on average is about $60K per year, add to that the state benefits. http://dcjobsource.com/teachersalaries.html
Now, where is the data (I have yet to see the government breakdown of this unless i missed it) that list the ratio of teacher to student?
If you have one teacher for every 40 students, how many do you believe will fall behind?
Last edited by blackandproud; 06-18-2009 at 11:51 AM..
When I was a high schooler (a couple years back, I'm a college student now) I rejected the idea that one day I may have to learn Spanish. I rejected it based on the notion that we belong in a country of English speaking peoples and that we shouldn't have to cater to Mexicans or South Americans. I was also extremely anti-illegal immigrant.
Towards the end of high school and the beginning of college, I started to realize that things aren't going to change, that these people are here to stay, and that it *may* be a good idea to learn Spanish, just for the benefit of being able to find a job. But I never thought or even dreamed I would believe it should be mandatory to learn.
I was just the opposite in HS. I had planned to take Spanish, as a foreigen language was offered then we moved and my new HS didnt offer and languages. In college a foreigen language was required, but on French and German were offered. I took French for what good it did.
Im not sure it should be mandatory to make every student learn Spanish, but I do think it should be mandatory that all schools offer at least two languages other than English. I believe English should be made the official Language on a Federal level. It would only be to ones advantage to grow up bilingual tho.
Ok, you've provided the 2006 financials that provides cost per child. The Northeast area will be the highest due to the obvious factors (cost of living) teachers in the Northeast area pay rate is higher than that of one in the Southeast or Midwest. New York and New Jersey teachers on average is about $60K per year, add to that the state benefits. Teacher Salaries by State
Now, where is the data (I have yet to see the government breakdown of this unless i missed it) that list the ratio of teacher to student?
If you have one teacher for every 40 students, how many do you believe will fall behind?
Wow, what's w/the close-mindedness? Uh, yeah, we all know this is america where english is the native language. No one's saying it should be spanish, where do you get that from? Why the paranoia? Is it such an awful thing to be bilingual, I really don't understand how ANYONE can be opposed to learning another language. It's like some of you are just completely paranoid, scared, stubborn...I don't know what it is but it's very perplexing.
Wow, what's w/the close-mindedness? Uh, yeah, we all know this is america where english is the native language. No one's saying it should be spanish, where do you get that from? Why the paranoia? Is it such an awful thing to be bilingual, I really don't understand how ANYONE can be opposed to learning another language. It's like some of you are just completely paranoid, scared, stubborn...I don't know what it is but it's very perplexing.
Well you have not read everything in detail. Most of us favor language instruction- many of us think it should be broadened. But the OP wants mandatory Spanish with all the implications that "mandatory" brings.
Mandatory would cast out all other languages. Many of us have or want to learn languages other than Spanish. Nothing perplexing or paranoid about that.
Bi-lingualism slows down learning. In one suburban school district near me, at a parent meeting, they had to stop every 30 seconds to have a translator translate the information into Spanish. How is encouraging that situation optimal?
Bilingualism slows down classrooms too and it's unfair to children. It's also unfair to push a foreign language on people. Would you like it if Latin were forced on you or your kids under some bilingual dictate?
What? First off, I never said it should be required, ever. Secondly, what the heck are you talking about it slowing down the classrooms? Would you not be learning a second language in a foreign language class? Yes, you would. Have no idea what you're getting at.
You can not be serious with this...What disadvantage?
I see absolutely NO advantage in making this apart of the education curriculum. I never understood it when i was in H.S and now that my children have gone through the school system and are now in college, still don't see any point. English is The MOST important language that should be taught in America, anything else is an after thought.
In Europe, all students are taught two or three languages from the very beginning and it's rare that a European does not speak another language.
Why is it okay for Americans to be so Ethnocentric and ignorant? I am bi-lingual, and have studied about 10 languages (French, Spanish, Italian, Russian, Greek, Hebrew, German and a couple others) in my life and the knowledge of other languages also makes understanding my own much easier.
It's a proven fact that the earlier a language is taught to a child, the more their language center of the brain develops. I met 8 year olds in Norway who spoke German, English and Norsk FLUENTLY, and yet here in the US, we have idiots on these boards who can't even tell the difference between "Sordid Past" and "Sorted Pass" and "Your" and "You're".
I coach 14 year old baseball players, and the most successful STUDENT on my team is the one who attended a Spanish-immersion school from K-8. He's a scrawny white boy who is half-Jewish, but he knows more Spanish than the kid on my team born to Mexican parents (he was born in the US, his parents are naturalized citizens) and is a far superior student than anyone else on the team. The fact of the matter is that the more you teach a child while they are young, the more their brain develops. How could it be bad to teach them Spanish? I just think there should be a choice on which language, but all children should learn a foreign language from Kindergarten through HS graduation.
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