Options for Language Instruction after DCPS Cuts?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A lot of kids also don’t learn enough history, science, or math to “do anything” with it. Should we cut those too? What a ridiculous position.

Those are considered basic educational requirements. You really don't see the difference? Language instruction in public school is not a must-have so when budgets get cut, that and arts-related classes go. If having your pick of languages (or arts, theatre, etc.) are non-negotiables for you or your student, you need a school system with more money.

I was only responding to the PP who said that it doesn't mattter if they cut Mandarin because students don't learn enough to "do anything with it." Obviously foreign language is a lower priority than core subjects, and I can understand why a school would cut Mandarin before Spanish. But can't we agree that it matters if foreign language is cut because it's an important part of educating citizens of a global city? And that maybe instead of cutting teaching staff they should cut central office?

[Anonymous]

Limitations on languages often stem from difficulty in recruiting teachers, not how much the language us valued or desired. If recruiting teachers in a particular language is an uphill battle, it might be the easiest to cut.

[Anonymous]

Nonsense. MoCo and NoVa schools clearly don't have trouble recruiting a whole bunch of qualified Mandarin teachers, and apparently, neither do YuYing and DCI. DCPS doesn't give a damn about teaching non Indo-European languages. The staff at the Chancellor's Office can't see beyond the end of their noses on the issue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Meh. Unpopular opinion but most of these kids aren’t going to learn enough Mandarin to do anything with it anyway. In fact most kids don’t learn enough of a second language in the US (in school) for it to be useful.

None of them has a chance of it becoming "useful" if they don't learn it in the first place.

But there is so much more education involved in learning a language than it being useful for a job or something. Grammar, vocabulary, memorization, geography, history, comparative arts, literature, and culture, etc etc. are all part of learning a language. And it's good for the brain.

Everyone learning Spanish is what's "meh." It's a good language to learn, but it hardly makes us educated in aggregate.

I agree with above of the numerous benefits of learning another language even if you don’t achieve fluency.

But disagree that Spanish is meh. It’s a huge advantage to be able to converse in Spanish if you are in any service oriented field such as business, medicine, law, sales, etc… not to mention if you outsource things like lawn, housekeeping, etc… and our DS being able to communicate with locals on 3 continents on his travels is priceless.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's official, DCPS is in decline. Teaching Mandarin isn't a frill, it's a far more important world language than others DCPS isn't axing, namely Italian and French as noted. In the burbs, it's not uncommon for high schools in upscale areas to teach all 6 AP languages: Latin, Japanese, German, French, Spanish and Mandarin, plus Arabic and Russian. Looks like soon enough, J-R and Walls will only teach a few languages, all Romance languages. This just isn't a 21st century approach.

I agree with your general premise but your argument is weakened by claiming German is a 21st century approach. German is no more useful than Italian.

[Anonymous]

You're really splitting hairs. The salient point is that DCPS isn't remotely competitive in the DMV where language instruction goes and the trend in downwards. At the rate DCPS is going, they will only teach 2 or 3 Romance languages at all of their best high schools, Banneker, Walls and J-R. The trend in suburbia is to add languages on top of the half dozen AP languages already taught, maybe add Russian, Arabic, Korean, Portuguese. Here, we reduce with almost no pushback from stakeholder communities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You're really splitting hairs. The salient point is that DCPS isn't remotely competitive in the DMV where language instruction goes and the trend in downwards. At the rate DCPS is going, they will only teach 2 or 3 Romance languages at all of their best high schools, Banneker, Walls and J-R. The trend in suburbia is to add languages on top of the half dozen AP languages already taught, maybe add Russian, Arabic, Korean, Portuguese. Here, we reduce with almost no pushback from stakeholder communities.

I don’t think Walls and Banneker have a large enough student body to support this many languages. Unless you did part time teachers (which is hard to schedule). The Walls Chinese program only has about 50 kids in it. That isn’t sustainable.

[Anonymous]

No planned cuts to Mandarin at J-R....

[Anonymous]

Right and there weren't plans to cut Mandarin at Hardy (and Deal?) a week ago. Death by more cuts seems to be what we're in for where Chinese goes.

[Anonymous]

https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/1206590.page

Competitive colleges want to see four years of foreign language. UVA treats it like a core class, not an extra. Walls is really screwing over those rising juniors and seniors who have been taking Chinese. They should have cut a counselor instead.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/1206590.page

Competitive colleges want to see four years of foreign language. UVA treats it like a core class, not an extra. Walls is really screwing over those rising juniors and seniors who have been taking Chinese. They should have cut a counselor instead.

It’s honestly not that many kids. They didn’t even have enough kids to offer AP Chinese this year. The program is very small.

[Anonymous]

So put in the resources and effort to build the program here in the Century of the Rising China. Don't cut it, pretending that we're still in the last century, sending a clear message that DCPS is slipping. I say this as a DC resident of several decades and native Chinese speaker raising bilingual teens.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/1206590.page

Competitive colleges want to see four years of foreign language. UVA treats it like a core class, not an extra. Walls is really screwing over those rising juniors and seniors who have been taking Chinese. They should have cut a counselor instead.

No one, not even UVA, is going to hold it against kids that the program at their high school was cut. Just as they don’t hold it against Walls kids now when AP can’t be offered because there’s not enough demand.

[Anonymous]

Not buying the above in an age when it's not unusual for teens to prep themselves for APs, to prep via summer study and to prep via private tutoring. UVA etc. aren't necessarily going to admit an UMC, non-URM, unhooked straight-A student under the best of circumstances. When a language gets cut, the most ambitious UMC families will find a way forward. There are good heritage language weekend programs in MoCo that will prep your kid for AP Mandarin nicely. There's also the 4-week long Concordia camp for HS credit in MN (just $6,000!) and immersion camps abroad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/1206590.page

Competitive colleges want to see four years of foreign language. UVA treats it like a core class, not an extra. Walls is really screwing over those rising juniors and seniors who have been taking Chinese. They should have cut a counselor instead.

No one, not even UVA, is going to hold it against kids that the program at their high school was cut. Just as they don’t hold it against Walls kids now when AP can’t be offered because there’s not enough demand.

Like colleges know the language was cut. It's not like their data screeners have fields for personnel changes.