forgetting your roots

[Busyman]

Busy get off the spanish language. IT IS JUST AN EXAMPLE

on the second post about them not having to learn English i will say again that schools will teach both so in a generation nearly the whole country would speak BOTH...not one or the other. there would not be spanish only school or english only schools

Why should I get off the Spanish language if it is just an example.

Seems like a damn good one since IT ACTUALLY APPLIES HERE.

Schools teach what the student elects to learn. For example I took 3 years of French in high school because that's what I picked. Some learned Spanish, some German.

You haven't given a reason why we should go dual language. Saying that we may get left behind is a crap reason. There are countries that have dual official languages and neither are widely used in the global marketplace.

[clocker]

Busy get off the spanish language. IT IS JUST AN EXAMPLE

on the second post about them not having to learn English i will say again that schools will teach both so in a generation nearly the whole country would speak BOTH...not one or the other. there would not be spanish only school or english only schools

And this a benefit how?
Being multilingual is a luxury we can indulge when our students can compete in science, math and other technical areas.

[Busyman]

And this a benefit how?
Being multilingual is a luxury we can indulge when our students can compete in science, math and other technical areas.

Good point.

I liked French aiiight and everything but I loved Calculus in comparison. Going far French might have got me a good job as a translator.

However if was good at both, I could have been a French mathmetician...uh sort of.

[vidcc]

And this a benefit how?
Being multilingual is a luxury we can indulge when our students can compete in science, math and other technical areas.

How is it a hindrance?

As to education standards should we reduce ourselves to the lowest denominator? Our education system could be improved that goes without saying. My 17 year old is in the gifted program and he still finds he has time to fill during the day. Surely the idea would be to make school more challenging to pupils not easier.

[Busyman]

How is it a hindrance?

As to education standards should we reduce ourselves to the lowest denominator? Our education system could be improved that goes without saying. My 17 year old is in the gifted program and he still finds he has time to fill during the day. Surely the idea would be to make school more challenging to pupils not easier.

Seems like we have multilinguals without having a second official language though don't we?

I too was in gifted programs since elementary school yet played sports, made music blahblahblah. Even when I was in a Science and Technology high school we had to take more years of foreign language than "the rest".

You still have not put forth a rationale behind a second official language here.

I get the point that being multilingual begets a more well rounded individual.

I have layed out a focus of study that involves science, mathematics, language and music because that's what made me more well rounded.

However, a second official language doesn't really accomplish this. First there is the question..What language?

It's almost like me having to learn to play official musical instrument. I learned 4 because of what I was interested in. What if I was forced to learn the sitar?

I would be popular in...India.

[vidcc]

You still have not put forth a rationale behind a second official language here.

Because you don't agree with it...that doesn't mean I haven't.

You still haven't put forward a reason why it would be a hindrance. All you've said is people won't learn something unless they have to.

[Busyman]

Because you don't agree with it...that doesn't mean I haven't.

You still haven't put forward a reason why it would be a hindrance. All you've said is people won't learn something unless they have to.

Show me where I've said that.

And no you haven't.

What language and why? (since Spanish was just an example)

[clocker]

How is it a hindrance?

As to education standards should we reduce ourselves to the lowest denominator? Our education system could be improved that goes without saying. My 17 year old is in the gifted program and he still finds he has time to fill during the day. Surely the idea would be to make school more challenging to pupils not easier.

As far as the industrial nations go Vid, the US already is the lowest common demoninator.
Having failed to adequately keep pace in the Three R's, you propose that we can afford to become more well rounded by adding language requirements?

Don't get me wrong, I took six years of Latin (Gaulia est divisa in tres partes...or something like that) and it was a tremendous benefit to my appreciation of and (somewhat debatable) grasp of English, but I was a product of an earlier system which also demanded mastery of more pedestrian (read:useful) skills.
That system is long gone, replaced ( for various reasons- I know J2 has some definite thoughts about that) by a carebear, feel-good, pamper 'em and pass 'em joke.
After that is fixed, by all means bring on the language requirements.

[Busyman]

As far as the industrial nations go Vid, the US already is the lowest common demoninator.

I disagree.

We fail up through high-school but easily surpass in college (even the Japanese).

That's why everyone (including Middle Easterns) wants to send their kids to college here.

[clocker]

How is that possible?
The elite Indian students consider US colleges as fallback options and I suspect that Middle East parents like their kids to come here to sow their wild oats without fear of retribution from Islamic law.