RE: Should schools require students to learn Spanish?

RE: Should schools require students to learn Spanish? (Full Version)

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[Poll]

Should schools require students to learn Spanish?

Yes, across the country (please specify starting grade)

19% (10)

Yes, but only in certain states (please specify state and grade)

5% (3)

75% (39)

Total Votes : 52

(last vote on : 12/28/2011 7:00:18 PM)
(Poll will run till: -- )

Message

GreedyTop -> RE: Should schools require students to learn Spanish? (3/30/2011 6:41:00 AM)
I never took any language class until I was in high school.. living in so Cal, I took French. DOH!! I failed. I have had a bitch of a time learning other languages. I am now a BIT better at Spanish (Mexican version), and I can use enough French to get decent service in France at most places. Honestly? I wish I had been required to have taken Latin in school, if for no other reason than it would have been teh goundwork for several languages and I wouldnt have such a struggle to learn Spanish. edited because once again I am at the computer without my glasses....

sunshinemiss -> RE: Should schools require students to learn Spanish? (3/30/2011 6:51:11 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: LaTigresse The attitudes expressed on this thread only serves to underline why we, as a country, are losing our status in the business world. Our stubborn narrow minds are doing a great disservice to our children and their children. Quoted for truth, absolute truth. Everywhere I've been, people say the same dang thing. It is yet another reason we are looked down upon the world over. Does the "american dream" still have validity? Sure. There are certainly plenty of poverty-ridden countries in which people are desperate to have adequate food, shelter, and safety. But the American Green Card ain't what it used to be. But the world that does business? The world that is gaining in power? They see Americans as arrogant. One of the reasons is this very point. It's damn difficult to learn a new language as an adult. Even Spanish and English which have a lot of commonalities - same alphabet for the most part, generally the same vocalizations, many words from the same Latin roots - are totally different in grammar, and it's tremendously hard to learn. People who speak languages, other than the non- Romance, non-Germanic language, g*d love 'em as they struggle through. It's dreadfully difficult to learn English. It is one of the most difficult languages to learn. We aren't talking going from Italian to Portuguese here. Thank goodness the places where I've lived have been much more gracious about people not knowing the language, and muddling through with a dozen phrases and a lot of gestures and even more humility. ah well, it's bedtime I do believe. best wishes, sunshine

LaTigresse -> RE: Should schools require students to learn Spanish? (3/30/2011 7:06:02 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: DeviantlyD quote: ORIGINAL: LaTigresse He has been in South American for all but two weeks, since the first of September last year. To say that knowing Spanish would be helpful to him, is an understatement. Not all of the countries in South America are Spanish speaking. Most are, but Brazil, for example, is a country of Portuguese speakers. I may be wayyyyyyyyyyyy off base here but I am going to go out on a limb and say that IF a person spoke Spanish......Portuguese would make a hell of a lot more sense to said person, than if a person didn't have a clue about Spanish. Which means.........I would bet my paycheck that Spanish and Portuguese are much more similar than English and Portuguese. Edited to add........I just Googled and what did I find??? Voila'! http://learnspanishonyourown.com/blog/2008/12/08/how-similar-is-spanish-to-portuguese/ Next time........come up with a better debate point.

FukinTroll -> RE: Should schools require students to learn Spanish? (3/30/2011 7:15:50 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: WinsomeDefiance Her children aren't even in school yet, and can speak 3 languages. There it is! Thanks Win, always the ninja ass kicking girl of reason. Too many people think (or do little of it) that school is going to provide the needed education of our ums... yeah that doesn't work out so well. I offered Chinese, regardless of dialect, because the Hànzì are abstract and shared and recognized through most Asian countries. Slurp~

zenny -> RE: Should schools require students to learn Spanish? (3/30/2011 7:22:28 AM)
And how are we losing status in the business world? Nice "think of the children". I believe "Next time........come up with a better debate point." would be ironic, no? Anyway, the 'case study = the world' and 'i'm right, this isn't a discussion' peeps are coming in. I'm out.

GreedyTop -> RE: Should schools require students to learn Spanish? (3/30/2011 7:24:19 AM)
I have a few words/phrases of several languages. it works to get me by as a tourist. but if I were planning to do business in any of those countries/languages... SERIOUS FAIL! again I say: US students should be required to learn BUSINESS languages in order to be marketable in the global economy. And let's face it, Spanish is one of those languages

LaTigresse -> RE: Should schools require students to learn Spanish? (3/30/2011 7:24:47 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: zenny And how are we losing status in the business world? Nice "think of the children". I believe "Next time........come up with a better debate point." would be ironic, no? Anyway, the 'case study = the world' and 'i'm right, this isn't a discussion' peeps are coming in. I'm out. I've read your post three times and still do not understand what your point is. If you wish me to reply.........rephrase your post. Otherwise I am going to ignore your babbling.

GreedyTop -> RE: Should schools require students to learn Spanish? (3/30/2011 7:26:22 AM)
~FROT~ Love the new pic, LaT!! (it makes me purr ;) )

LaTigresse -> RE: Should schools require students to learn Spanish? (3/30/2011 7:29:10 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: GreedyTop ~FROT~ Love the new pic, LaT!! (it makes me purr ;) ) Thank you Greedy! I love it also. It was a gift from Poise.

GreedyTop -> RE: Should schools require students to learn Spanish? (3/30/2011 7:31:18 AM)
scritchies to the assorted furbabies! (btw. arent you due for a vacation? grins)

LaTigresse -> RE: Should schools require students to learn Spanish? (3/30/2011 7:33:23 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: GreedyTop scritchies to the assorted furbabies! (btw. arent you due for a vacation? grins) Due yes..... available paid time off and savings account level says......"Not bloody likely!"

GreedyTop -> RE: Should schools require students to learn Spanish? (3/30/2011 7:36:08 AM)
well, damn. All too familiar with THAT. (You are always welcome wherever I am...)

gungadin09 -> RE: Should schools require students to learn Spanish? (3/30/2011 7:36:50 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: zenny quote: ORIGINAL: gungadin09 My question is: why does speaking English equate with being American? You already said English was either the language of the vast majority of the USA legally or de facto. Last I checked to acquire citizenship one has to show good command of English. Across a country many things will be different (city/suburb/rural, buildings/architecture, views on work/life, etc.). One of the few universals is language. Also, why would you make it easier for people to break our laws? Why would you not want to encourage people to learn the language of their country and the one that is oft used in business around the world? to add: How is it American to refuse to be American? To live in a community that largely reflects your country of origin, to not only refuse to learn the customs and language of the country but to avoid it as much as possible. Sorry, i'm not sure if my computer's up again or not. Fingers crossed. What i said is that English is not the official language nationally, only at the state level. Maybe it reflects on a person's state pride if they don't speak English when it is the official language, but i don't see why it necessarily makes someone un-American. And, when the demographics change and Spanish is the majority language in some states, it will seem bizarre to me to say that speaking English is un-Californian, for example. i believe English was required for the citizenship test dating from the time when there were no other major languages spoken in this country. My point is, that's changing. i'm NOT attempting to prove that Spanish speakers in this country should not be expected to learn English. What i'm trying to say is that, at least in the Southwest, the opposite needs to be true as well. pam

mnottertail -> RE: Should schools require students to learn Spanish? (3/30/2011 7:39:23 AM)
Write a fuckin' essay, ese. Vato

gungadin09 -> RE: Should schools require students to learn Spanish? (3/30/2011 7:45:26 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: Termyn8or How about this, all the kids learn Spanish but Hispanics are not required to learn English. There's a twist. Who would have the advantage now ? Termy, my point is NOT that they shouldn't. They absolutely should, make no mistake. My point is that, in the Southwest, both should be required in school, because both are going to be needed in the near future. There's already many jobs here that require bilingualism. In 20 years, i think it will be difficult to even get a job if you don't speak both languages. It's not a matter of catering to one group of languages speakers, or another. I think it's a matter of being realistic. In the forseeable future, in order to function in a bilingual society, people will need to be able to speak both. In order to prepare for that, they should start teaching both in school, or else i think there's gonna be major problems down the road. pam

sophiesback -> RE: Should schools require students to learn Spanish? (3/30/2011 7:50:53 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: gungadin09 Just to clarify, the topic of this thread is not whether U.S. students should be required to learn a second language at all. They are required to do so, in high school. The topic is whether Spanish should be required, and, if so, in what states, and from what grades. pam P.S.- i'd be very happy if Mandarin were at least offered as an elective. But i think Spanish should be required in states that have more than a 25% Spanish speaking population. P.P.S.- i'm actually learning Mandarin myself. Referring to the bold.... since when? I didn't. I'm a college grad, so no, it's not because I didn't finish school.

DesFIP -> RE: Should schools require students to learn Spanish? (3/30/2011 8:04:13 AM)
Since I'm in NY state, let's say that it is a good thing for Spanish to be taught in the schools. However this is only the case in the lower Hudson Valley. If you live in the northernmost part of the state, French Canadian should be required since it's so close to Montreal. However, let's re-examine NYC here, there are a great many Spanish speakers however deciding just to teach Spanish, or just teach ESL to Spanish speakers would mean that the 90 some other immigrant groups who speak 90 some languages would no longer be able to be served by the school system. NYC has a large Haitian immigrant group, Thai, Korean, Chinese - which involved several very different dialects, Hmong and so on. More importantly is that the children of the native Spanish speakers are not nearly as fluent. I know a kid who failed Spanish, both of his parents are fully bilingual and his grandfather speaks no English. And this replicates the experience of my greatgrandparents who lived in an immigrant area with their own food shops where they could conduct all business in Yiddish. My grandmother translated for them when necessary as she was fully bilingual, my mother was forced to learn a modicum of Yiddish by her grandmother who announced when she was 12 that she wouldn't get a snack after school unless she learned how to talk in Yiddish. I grew up hearing my father and her talk to some elderly relatives in it but I never became proficient in it and haven't needed it in the last 40 years. The same is true of the kids of the immigrants today.

LaTigresse -> RE: Should schools require students to learn Spanish? (3/30/2011 8:16:18 AM)
All well and good to base it demographically IF you can guarantee the child will always live and WORK within said demographic, throughout their entire life. I would think, especially in today's job markets (and most likely future job markets ), any available tool to increase job potential can only be a good thing.

peachgirl -> RE: Should schools require students to learn Spanish? (3/30/2011 10:18:36 AM)
I live in Los Angeles, I have my entire life. I took a lot of Spanish in school because it was offered beginning at the junior high level. I have some command of the language but generally think my accent is too gringo [:D] It's sad because my mother is Puerto Rican and we never spoke Spanish at home. When it comes to making Spanish a requirement, I don't think it's a necessity. I think this is strictly a demographic issue. For people in many states, it's just not relevant. HOWEVER to ignore the fact that learning Spanish will greatly improve your job prospects in areas with a large Hispanic population would be foolish. When my children were in private school, Spanish was part of their curriculum. I wish it was part of their curriculum now, but with their current workload from other classes I see how it would be next to impossible. We are fortunate that we live in a city that is incorporated with their own school district and I feel their education standards are very high. When they get to the high school level I'm sure the topic will be revisited. Interestingly, the 3rd largest demographic here is Armenian. I'm 1/2 Armenian and don't speak the language, which also puts me at a disadvantage. Right now, if I had to choose, I would rather my children learn Armenian than Spanish. It would serve them just as well living here in Los Angeles. Unfortunately to do this privately would be cost-prohibitive.

RacerJim -> RE: Should schools require students to learn Spanish? (3/30/2011 10:31:50 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: soul2share Under no circumstances should Americans be required to learn a language other than the recognized one for the country they live in. Period! When I lived in Germany, I made the effort to learn at least the basics in German. If the child wants to learn another language, then fine, but requiring it....no. I wholeheartedly agree. Whenever I lived in Germany, 1947-49, 1959-61, 1963-64 and 1966-68, I respected my host country enough to make the effort to learn at least enough German on my own to be able to hold a decent conversation. When in Rome do as the Romans. PERIOD! The alternative, which is happening even here in Rockville MD, is hearing public address announcements in supermarkets made first in SPANISH then in English!

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