Double major in Spanish?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The only reason I was "NO" on the double major was the specificity of getting a double major.

It doesn't seem like a thing that will get anyone hired, so why not just take the classes you want and skip the idea that it could be an additional line on your diploma?

I'm not saying Spanish is bad. Or any language! It's that you could skip those couple annoying 'do this to get the double major just take classes that are enjoyable and lock down your primary major and breathe easier.

I agree with this. Stated slightly differently, your son should take whatever Spanish classes he wants and enjoys but not stress about officially taking enough to “double major.” If that amounts to a second major, great, if not, the classes have still been enriching and who knows where they may benefit him in the future. My older kid will graduate one class short of a second major in Spanish and I advised him the same way. Beyond satisfying university distributiom requirements and his primary major requirements, I wanted him to be able to take the classes he wants and not feel like he needed to cram Spanish into all of his remaining open class slots, but to still feel free to take as much Spanish as he wants (he, too, enjoys the classes and studied for a semester in Chile).

To those who asked, upper level collegiate Spanish classes will not be language focused - they will include literature, poetry, history, politics, etc.

A double major does carry weight because a student is not dabbling in a field. Sure it’s fine to get advanced language training and stop there but I’d be more impressed if students take advanced literature and other related courses and demonstrate depth and breadth in their studies.

We aren’t disagreeing (I don’t think). As I said, my kid will be one class short of a Spanish major so he has taken advanced literature, history and culture classes within the major - I see value in all of those classes. I didn’t see the need to tell him to push to fit in one extra class at the expense of another unrelated class he wanted to take just to officially declare a second major, that’s the point I was making to OP.

Yea well that’s a stupid point. I would’ve advised my kid to fit in an extra class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t think there much value added, unless he decides he hates the math stuff and just wants to teach Spanish. (The schools are always short on Spanish teachers!). I think kids always overestimate the value of extra majors or minors. But if he loves it, he should take the classes.

Such a narrow-minded response on many levels. First of all, a student who double majors in a math/science field and a humanities field demonstrates intellectual curiosity and breadth, along with some very useful skills. Second, having a Spanish major opens many doors locally and internatiomally beyond being a Spanish teacher (although I agree that Spanish teachers are in demand.)

+1 Some of these posters live in a bubble and don't live in communities with people who speak Spanish as their first lsngusge.

I was the one who said Spanish teacher. I was bilinguall and worked with Spanish speaking immigrant communities out of college — no Spanish major needed, I just put it on my resume and interviewed in Spanish. My daughter is also Spanish fluent and will probably get the minor just because she likes the classes. I don’t think having the actual major adds much unless you need it for verification purposes like teaching.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The only reason I was "NO" on the double major was the specificity of getting a double major.

It doesn't seem like a thing that will get anyone hired, so why not just take the classes you want and skip the idea that it could be an additional line on your diploma?

I'm not saying Spanish is bad. Or any language! It's that you could skip those couple annoying 'do this to get the double major just take classes that are enjoyable and lock down your primary major and breathe easier.

I agree with this. Stated slightly differently, your son should take whatever Spanish classes he wants and enjoys but not stress about officially taking enough to “double major.” If that amounts to a second major, great, if not, the classes have still been enriching and who knows where they may benefit him in the future. My older kid will graduate one class short of a second major in Spanish and I advised him the same way. Beyond satisfying university distributiom requirements and his primary major requirements, I wanted him to be able to take the classes he wants and not feel like he needed to cram Spanish into all of his remaining open class slots, but to still feel free to take as much Spanish as he wants (he, too, enjoys the classes and studied for a semester in Chile).

To those who asked, upper level collegiate Spanish classes will not be language focused - they will include literature, poetry, history, politics, etc.

A double major does carry weight because a student is not dabbling in a field. Sure it’s fine to get advanced language training and stop there but I’d be more impressed if students take advanced literature and other related courses and demonstrate depth and breadth in their studies.

We aren’t disagreeing (I don’t think). As I said, my kid will be one class short of a Spanish major so he has taken advanced literature, history and culture classes within the major - I see value in all of those classes. I didn’t see the need to tell him to push to fit in one extra class at the expense of another unrelated class he wanted to take just to officially declare a second major, that’s the point I was making to OP.

Yea well that’s a stupid point. I would’ve advised my kid to fit in an extra class.

Why? I was an econ major and had the requisite classes to register political science as a second major but never bothered because what would that have added beyond the value of the classes themselves, which I had by simply taking them.