Students may be required to take Spanish

NBC News ^ | 11/10/05 | David Karsh

[TheForceOfOne]

Wow, and when they get to college they can get started on those porn classes dubbed in Spanish.

PROFESSORS & PORN
NY Post - November 9, 2005
http://www.nypost.com/seven/11092005/postopinion/opedcolumnists/57062.htm

[hershey]

Bingo, bingo, bingo!!!!!

[L98Fiero]

"Mandating spanish isn't a bad idea in south Florida, just like kids in Louisiana learn French"

Used to. I was going to school in LA in the 70's when this was stopped (in my parish, at least).

[Hildy]

I think it's a great idea to make a second language mandatory at that age. That's when they can learn it the best. I'm trying to learn Spanish now at the age of 46. Believe me, it ain't easy! However, I think it should be a language chosen by the parents of the students, but it's a good thing to know other languages. I'm all for it. There was an article several months ago in the New York Times that rich parents are sending their children to pre-school to learn MANDARIN....can you imagine? That's the future.

[Paleo Conservative]

Millee I agree whol heartedly!

I'm all in favor of teaching a second languaged starting at kindergarden or first grade, but I absolutely oppose any measure to make Spanish an official language in the US. I think all parents should have a choice in which second language their children will be taught. High performance on the verbal portion of the SAT strongly correlates to studying foreign languages in school.

[Clemenza]

1. There is no chance in hell this is going to pass.

2. I still believe that kids in the U.S. should start learning a foreign language in elementary school. However, they should be given a choice of Spanish, Latin, Mandarin Chinese, or any other language besides French.

[19th LA Inf]

Americans could profoundly benefit from being bilingual

Hey, I met my wife in a Spanish class at the YMCA 45 years ago! I wanted to go back for more fun in Mexico, and she was a just-licensed RN who, even then, was having to deal with non-English speaking patients. (We went to Mexico on our honeymoon).

[txdoda]

A proposed law would make Spanish mandatory

SPANISH ONLY ????....HOW RACIST !!!!

People should start demanding that ALL children should be made to speak ALL languages spoken in Fl.

/sarcasm

[brownsfan]

"George Muentes, an English as a second language teacher. "

And therein lies the problem. If you live in the USA, English should be your first language. You want to speak something else at home, great. But, in all public discourse, English is our language that binds us. Contributes to making us all Americans. Don't want to be American? Leave, now.

Think multi-culturism and diversity is good and productive? Ask a native Frenchmen how he or she feels about it now.

Sowing the seeds of our own distruction.

[brownsfan]

RACIST!! /heavy sarc (but you get my point)

You know, that's one of those "1984" things. Just the mere charge of racism is enough to strike fear into an American's heart. The key is, we have to be strong. You can call me racist, I don't care. If you want to be American, embrace America, speak our language. If you don't, get out.

[Danae]

How about teaching kids to read and speak English instead of graduating them illiterate? Last time I checked, the language of say high tech development, is based on ENGLISH. That's part of the reason nonnative English speakers are not usually quite as good at coding as native English ones...

[TeenagedConservative]

It's not the 'idea', kid, it's what underlies and drives the 'idea'.

I understand that. I totally despise the destruction of our language that is taking place. I was merely pointing out that having all kids learn both English and Spanish is fine. Kids used to have to learn Latin.

[I'm ALL Right!]

On the other hand, there is a lot of Spanish people here.

Looks like someone should have made English mandatory at Ed's school.

[Woodstock]

I am all for having other language classes available to young students. However, something like this..."NO WAY!"

The real agenda here is to water down the importance of the English language so Spanish can become the new national language. Sadly, it is already happening. All you have to do is look at the labels on daily items such as soaps and food and you will see everything translated into Spanish. -Asta la-

[doc30]

A proposal in Tallahassee is causing a stir in schools in Southwest Florida. The state's top democrat is supporting a plan to make Spanish classes mandatory for all students in kindergarten through second grade, just like English or Math.

Jeb, if you either sign this bill, or fail to veto it, I swear, I will never, ever vote Republican again. I guess that means I will never vote again. Don't you dare pander to the illegal immigrant crowd when you aren't even up for re-election!

[doc30]

One other thing, too. Why are education requirements being changed depending on where you live in FL? SHouldn't the whole state have the same standards? I thought that's the way the A+ Education plan was supposed to work!

[doc30]

Justg wait until they make Spanish instruction a home schooling requirement!

[jude24]

It's a very good idea to require a foreign language be learned when the kids are still young. It's much easier to learn it at that age than in high school. That is why you see kids in foreign nations who speak immaculate English as their second language - most schools abroad require English language classes begin at the kindergarten age.

Specifically Spanish? It's the language I choose, believing it to be the most useful one to learn today, though arguably Chinese or Arabic might be more useful if it were availible.

[doc30]

Learning another language can be rewarding if you are motivated to learn one. I'm from Canada and it's when they made learning French mandatory in English Canada while banning the teaching of English in Quebec that taught me the impact of forced language requirements. People rejected having a language they will never willingly use forced down their throats. I thought moving to the U.S. would free me from language politics because English was always on the losing side. All I can say is resist being assimilated into Spanish as much as possible.