OT: Attempting to save a high-school French program

[FRITZ JUENGLING]

A friend of mine teaches at another school and faced the same problem,
only that the school wanted to wipe out both French and German.
Reasoning--it will save money.  I'm not sure what genius thought of that
nonsense, but that's what they said.  Since money is always a motivating
factor in course offerings at the HS level (well, college, too), you
might want to say that it will cost more to eliminate French for all
Spanish.  First, you will have to hire another Spanish teacher.  Second,
you'll have to buy more Spanish books  (at, what, $50 a book?  That can
add up very quickly).  This argument alone might cause the school board
to abandon this plan.
Fritz Juengling

>>> gcohen at UMR.EDU 2/10/2007 10:50 AM >>>
(This is my fourth attempt to send this message). ---

    I've been notified of the plans of a school district in another
state to eliminate the French program in favor of Spanish.  The French
teacher will address the school board next week and reportedly has a
list of reasons to save the program.  A friend of hers has asked me if I
could possibly provide any thoughts of my own, and I present a draft of
my response below my signoff.

      Would anyone have any good arguments of the sort that might carry
weight with a school board? You may respond off-list, if you wish.  Any
input would be gratefully received.

Gerald Cohen
gcohen at umr.edu

[Draft # 1 of response]:

    Both languages are important.  French is one of the main languages
of Europe and is (or at least should be) a requirement for anyone
planning any sort of a career in international studies.  Of course,
Spanish should be taught.  But to remove French as an option for
students interested in some day visiting France, working with the French
comercially, or gaining a better understanding of French culture is to
deprive them of a very basic academic discipline.

     It's a bit like saying a school district should cut all its
science courses in favor of mathematics.  Of course mathematics is
important, but so too is science--both for the educational development
of students and for the welfare of our country as a whole.  So, for
students interested in Spanish, it's wonderful that Spanish is being
taught.  Students interested in French--and again, we're talking about
one of the main languages in international communication--should have
the same opportunity.

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org