I think you are basing your solution on false assumptions. The way the language classes were divided up probably had more to do with projected interest from the students. Considering that the teachers contracts and the general curricula has to be pretty well set before the students can even be given their class options, there is bound to be students who don't get the classes they want. That is the breaks of attending public schools in a country that doesnt make education a priority.
I had a nice reply all typed out...damn computer ate it...
In short (at work)
if it had been projected interest they would have halted and rebalenced it sometime in the past 20 years after they discovered (through students, Parents, and Teachers [at my schools and several of my friends as well]) that these projections were dead wrong.
Teachers would not be an issue (at least in NYC, where this is most geared for). As I stated most of the teachers in NYC at least are qualified to teach 2 of 3 or more and sometimes aditional langs. (NYS/C wants lang teachers to hold a masters of Romance langs or linguistics. May see like over kill at first, but when you consider the quals that they req for hs math and sci teachers it falls in line).
I guess I should have stuck lo leaving this as NYC specific...things are a bit diff there than elsewhere in this country (education demographics vastly different./Brain drain phenomenon)
i think we should change our education to that of the European way. i had to go through the same thing in h.s., i had an "elective" class; that is required by the state to be able to graduate; of language. the only option was Spanish. when the parents of the students complained then the school added Latin. the parents were still angry and the school then said well if you want french or any other useless language pay for it(when they had already paid for the 2nd language class,and had gotten Latin instead of a useful language) or go else where. i went to a private school. i had friends that went to public and were told the similar things. we also had been told at the civic meetings(due to the fact that our schools are inside most of the neighborhoods) that due to the growing populous of Spanish speakers we had to make our children learn their language to make them feel more welcome in the community. i think that this country is giving into the Hispanic wave that is moving through our country. i never remember hearing that the
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let me clarify something, "the European way" of school in my opinion is this: classes year round, month on week off etc. and learning multi-languages through our your schooling years. learning them from grades 1 on up. having to be fluent in these said languages by the time h.s is complete. going on to a collage to then continue into a university. ending school at about the age of 25. with enough tools to be able to make a good career for yourself. from the friends i had in Europe that is the way things are/were done. i believe that if we did that here our country wouldn't be 42nd in the world for education. ok that is all i am done :)
A little of this, and a little of that.... Dori is right in saying that this country doesn't make education a priority. And I agree with Kala on a more European way of education. Perhaps if we take all of these ideas (and Tait takes over the world), our children will grow up a hell of a lot smarter than the school aged children on today. I don't think language is the issue, however. In other countries language is imbued into the children, thus making them more suitable for international endeavors. We should check the statistics of how many people from this country feel about a more international way of life. We all come from the earth, and into the earth we go when we die. Claiming something as 'our' way of life is wrong. Because within that 'our' are so many other little minutiae making 'our' more individual. I think I'm off topic now. All hail Pimpwhiskers!
this is the beauty of no child left behind, now we are all fucked. any way i think meg is on to something there. good way to tie in both sides to it. i think i would poll for that view of things. :)
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In short (at work)
if it had been projected interest they would have halted and rebalenced it sometime in the past 20 years after they discovered (through students, Parents, and Teachers [at my schools and several of my friends as well]) that these projections were dead wrong.
Teachers would not be an issue (at least in NYC, where this is most geared for). As I stated most of the teachers in NYC at least are qualified to teach 2 of 3 or more and sometimes aditional langs. (NYS/C wants lang teachers to hold a masters of Romance langs or linguistics. May see like over kill at first, but when you consider the quals that they req for hs math and sci teachers it falls in line).
I guess I should have stuck lo leaving this as NYC specific...things are a bit diff there than elsewhere in this country (education demographics vastly different./Brain drain phenomenon)
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