high school and spanish

[Anonymous]

Kid did spanish for 2 years in middle school and now the final schedule for high school does not have spanish. He did sign uupfor it at the end of grade 8. Counselor says class is full and he cannot even do it as extra subject without ateending classes.
What can I do? Transfer to another high school, homeschool, attend high school for some subjects and homeschool for spanish?

[Anonymous]

Isn't language a required class in HS? It certainly is for college bound kids. That's very peculiar.

I would go to the principal on this. We are in a MCPS HS and have never had a problem getting all the classes requested.

Your other alternative is to take a language other than Spanish. Not ideal but better than no language. Our school offers 6-7 languages.

[Anonymous]

How many years are required though? If four years are not required (I think it's 2 or 3), and classes are full, then a freshman has to wait.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How many years are required though? If four years are not required (I think it's 2 or 3), and classes are full, then a freshman has to wait.

This. If he's already had 2 years of Spanish, will he really be taking 4 more?

No, you can't request a transfer to another school for this reason. Sheesh!

[Anonymous]

OP, if my child had been taking Spanish for several years and couldn't continue for 9th grade I'd be upset too. Have you talked to your DC's school counselor about this? What do they say?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How many years are required though? If four years are not required (I think it's 2 or 3), and classes are full, then a freshman has to wait.

Depends on the college. I don't think MCPS requires 4 years but some colleges strongly prefer 4 years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How many years are required though? If four years are not required (I think it's 2 or 3), and classes are full, then a freshman has to wait.

Depends on the college. I don't think MCPS requires 4 years but some colleges strongly prefer 4 years.

I was referring to how many are required in MCPS. If a class is full with juniors and seniors who need the class to fulfill their graduation requirement, an incoming 9th grader (who already has two years of Spanish) isn't more deserving of a spot. I agree that it's upsetting, but not everybody gets to take every class they want. Certainly not worth changing schools over.

[Anonymous]

MCPS requires 2 years of a language (or technology) to graduate.

My gripe is that our (higher FARMS rate) MCPS middle and high schools only have two languages: French and Spanish. We certainly don't have 6 or 7 like 14:43.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How many years are required though? If four years are not required (I think it's 2 or 3), and classes are full, then a freshman has to wait.

This. If he's already had 2 years of Spanish, will he really be taking 4 more?

No, you can't request a transfer to another school for this reason. Sheesh!

Some people don't take a foreign language just because it is a requirement. I started taking Spanish in 7th grade and took it EVERY year of high school through 12th grade and then majored in Spanish in college - undergrad (studied my junior year abroad in Spain) and then went to work for a Latin American think tank. Spanish is not just a fluff subject for those truely interested in learning the language!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How many years are required though? If four years are not required (I think it's 2 or 3), and classes are full, then a freshman has to wait.

This. If he's already had 2 years of Spanish, will he really be taking 4 more?

No, you can't request a transfer to another school for this reason. Sheesh!

Some people don't take a foreign language just because it is a requirement. I started taking Spanish in 7th grade and took it EVERY year of high school through 12th grade and then majored in Spanish in college - undergrad (studied my junior year abroad in Spain) and then went to work for a Latin American think tank. Spanish is not just a fluff subject for those truely interested in learning the language!

+1 For a school district as high quality as MCPS I'm really surprised that foreign language isn't a priority. You don't even need to take it in middle school. Why is this the case? The DC area is so international -- speaking a foreign language well is such an asset!

[Anonymous]

Or should we say that not speakinf a foreign language is a major disadvantage.
Why can the kid not change schools? If the local high cannot provide the subject of choice, then why not?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Or should we say that not speakinf a foreign language is a major disadvantage.
Why can the kid not change schools? If the local high cannot provide the subject of choice, then why not?

I think the advice was being offered to the OP that changing schools over this issue is probably more hassle than it's worth. The student has already gone through orientation, possibly made new friends and gotten adjusted. To switch over one class, even if the change was approved, is a big deal and means her son would be starting a new school right after the school year begins. That's not impossible, but I wouldn't want to push that on my 9th grader just so he could take Spanish. Taking 3 years of Spanish in high school instead of 4 does not equate "not speaking a foreign language" and put him at a major disadvantage. He can just take it next year.