If the Scholl Board makes Chinese mandatory, than they should make Spanish, French, German and Latin mandatory.

As a graduate of the Janesville school district and a college student planning on getting a degree in German, I believe foreign language is an essential part of today's education. There are a great deal of benefits to learning a second language reagardless of what that language is which have been outlined countless times before in this debate. When I saw that Janesville was looking into teaching foreign language in elementary schools, I was very pleased. I know if I had been able to start learning German sooner, I would be able to speak with the same fluency that Germans can speak English. However, I do question the decision of Chinese. I feel it would be more efficient to extend the middle and high school Spanish/German/French programs down to the elementary level.

http://www.hrworks.com/in-the-news8/16-i...

An article about how much knowing Mandarin Chinese or a couple other languages can boost your earning potential...but the downfall is how much it costs to learn it as an adult. And our kids have the chance to learn it for free and at an age that makes it easier to learn.
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(Still shocked that people are complaining about this! And that the whiners cost our schools $10K!!!)

Here is why Mandarin Chinese(the most widely spoken language in the world)..
http://www.tcsol.us/news/more.asp?id=18

At these schools, people are on waiting lists! And we have people who are turning down this opportunity at no cost and with no wait.
And a NANNY who speaks Mandarin Chinese can make $70,000 in New York.

While I agree that is more efficient to teach a second or third language at an earlier age, I have at least two misgivings with this program. First, why would a single language be mandatory? Languages other than English have always been electives. While my five years of German made me a better English student, I would not force it upon anyone. Secondly, we have far too many students who struggle with the core classes throughout school. To add another mandatory class requires either a longer school day or less time in Math, Science, History, etc. We are so far behind the world in education already, that to cut back on the basics would be a shame. Lastly, why Chinese...how many of the Janesville students will ever get to China? We are being taken over by the minority that speaks Spanish...soon you will not even have the option of doing business in English... Rethink the program...we lack the money and time to properly teach in English, now we are going to make Chinese mandatory?

localboysince1968
that was really stupid

taryn - if you like Chinese so much, move to China. I know it is hard to see the big picture through your red commie eyeballs, but in America, we speak English. In the land of freedom, we should be allowed to choose which 2nd langauge we think is the best fit for our profession or future. BTW, if you ask your kids, I bet they would want Ding Dongs, Fritos, and Soda for dinner tonight. You should take your stance on that, not your emotions.....

I think it's really sad to read what some of the people in this community have to say about their children learning Chinese. My husband and I recently visited both Harrison and Roosevelt to make a final decision on what school we would like our kids to attend. As we poked our heads into the regular classrooms, several children turned their attention to the door to see what was going on. Would anyone like to know how many children turned their attention to the door when we peeked into the Chinese classrooms? NOT A SINGLE ONE! Those kids were completely engulfed in everything their Chinese teacher was saying, who did not speak a word of English while we were observing her in action. The principal at Roosevelt told us that as she walks around the school, various kids bid her a Chinese greeting as she passes them by. It's quite obvious that the children who take part in this program love it! Why parents would want to deprive their child of a learning opportunity that they enjoy is beyond me.

A message to those parents who feel anger over the fact that their child/children are forced to take this absolutely terrible Chinese class: Why don't you ask your victimized child what they want? Ask them if they like to go to their Chinese class. Depending on what your kid's response is, take your stance based on that instead of your own emotions.

Spanish would be much more useful in daily life in the states, but learning any second language particularly early on, really is a value add for the student later on in learning proper english usage. Mandarin certainly is a handy language, and will grow more usefull in time since the Chinese pretty much own us anyhow.

Since when is ANY class taught in elementary school NOT mandatory? Just where are these children who "opt out" supposed to go and with whom during this time? Resources (teachers and programs) are continually cut and yet the community is screaming more choices, more choices. Why are these parents only considering the needs of their own child? If this is how they're going to react every time a new subject is added to the curriculum, I can understand why there's no incentive for growth and innovation in our schools.

I thought the purpose of taking another language was to learn how language works, regardless ot whether it is German, French, Spanish or anything else. Here Janesville has an opportunity to be part of something unique, relevant and different in a world that no doubt rewards global thinkers, and the whole program gets turned on its head because of whiners and ignorance. What I hear is, "I don't want my child to learn anything I can't understand myself."

In a perfect world, we would offer a variety of languages to all the grades. But guess what? It costs MONEY to do that! We have a grant to teach Chinese at two schools and everyone should be thrilled that we are able to offer that much. It is an amazing opportunity for those students and I cannot believe that people have a problem with it.
I was "forced" to take French in high school (my small school could only afford to offer one language and two years was required for college admission) and no one complained.

Ditto Hooter. Started taking spanish in junior high until the teacher started speaking so fast I couldnt understand her. Then took french. Really wanted to take russian but it wasnt one of the 4 languages we were offered in school (spanish, french, german and latin).

janesvillecomments - you are exactly right, and hit it on the head. To offer foreign languages at a young age is a good idea. To force the children on which one to take is wrong. To think the school district would force children to take Chinese and not think it wouldn't cause any issues, shows how far detached the administration is from reality.

What do you call someone who speaks 2 languages? Bilingual.
What do you call someone who speaks 3 languages? Trilingual.
What do you call someone who speaks 1 language? American.

There should be a choice of foreign languages, but taking one should be mandatory. Including foreign languages will assist in getting Janesville's youth of today up to the educational standards of much of the rest of the world. That is far more important than gym class and that's mandatory.

I took french in junior high and high school. Been kicking myself for it ever since...Spanish would have made a hell of alot more sense!

Call me old fashioned, but 62 years ago my husband and his family moved to the states from Europe. His parents never took a dime of public assistance and taught their son English. No one did it for them.