Reply to How important is it to take a foreign language in high school?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Just keep in mind that he might be competing for a job with engineers from other countries who speak 2+ languages. Instead of focusing on getting into college, maybe focus on being prepared for the real world.[/quote]

But keep in mind that a lot of those bilingual engineers will have been learning their second language since preschool. They may naturally be bilingual because of the way their societies are set up.

Parents who want to create genuinely bilingual children have to figure out some way to have them live overseas for at least a year or two.[/quote]

I started Spanish in 6th grade (equivalent of Spanish 1 spread out through middle school), took it each year of HS, and minored in it in college. I’m fluent.

Jus sayin.

You wouldn’t dream of letting your kid drop math at this point, right? You see that as necessary for being educated. Why is language seen as disposable? I’d argue that it’s more necessary than math for many professions.  [/quote]

I strongly agree with you that classes in foreign languages are as core to education as math.

On the other hand, I think it's bad for good kids to always have to put their own interests aside to please adults. Especially college admissions people.

I think that kids who are doing well in high school have earned the right to decide for themselves what's educationally sweet, and to define for themselves what they think they need to know. Knowing Spanish is good and important, but knowing something about economics and political science is also important.

I think it would be cruel, for example, to tell a kid who'd really enjoy an anthropology class that he has to take more Spanish instead. If he were going to smoke weed behind the school, that's bad. But if he's choosing between two respectable electives, I think he ought to go with what he cares about. If he can't choose an occasional course based on his own preferences now, when will he?

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