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]First of all, four years of high school Spanish is different than getting to Spanish level 4. Getting to Spanish 4 in 11th grade shouldn't mean you're "done."

Second, so many people are talking about what is the best decision for just getting IN to college. What about being a well-educated person who can work in a field that isn't hyper local? Most companies are multi-national. Having a good working knowledge of a second language should be seen as a good thing, not just a check box for getting in to college.[/quote]
Except the kid is taking Spanish 5 in 11th grade.
Also for those posters talking about the importance of foreign language proficiency and the importance of loving to learn different subjects instead of just checking boxes, I hear you but I think it is possible for a child to love learning while not loving one particular subject.    [/quote]

When did we decide that you had to love the different subjects that are necessary for being an educated person? It's a huge bonus when you love math or English or science, but if you don't, you understand that it's important to continue your education in those areas to be an educated person. The same should go for language.

If we teach our children to only pursue an education in the area they love, aren't we missing the boat?[/quote]

The DS in the original post here has already taken a lot of Spanish and already seems to be taking rigorous courses. The student wants to take social science courses, not spend the time playing Donkey Kong.

Bright students who can tolerate it should get a rigorous, well-rounded education, even if they hate some of the courses involved.

But, at some points, kids also have to start thinking about who they actually are, who they want to be, and what they think a well-rounded person should know.

If, at some point, they choose to know a little less Spanish, and a little more about Adam Smith, or a little more about the Olduvai Gorge, why not? Maybe the kid will end up working as an archaeologist in Kenya and never use Spanish.

And I think the real point of what Harvard admissions people say online is that they want to see kids who are the masters of their own fate, not puppets who do what parental or college strings make them do.

There has to be a balance between requirements and electives. At least some electives ought to be real electives.

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