our High School Russian program is in danger of being cut - need suggestions and ideas

[Jane Shuffelton]

Dear Ms. Ballou,h

First - I used your last name because it is one that goes a long way in my
family.  Ballou is my middle name, my daughter's middle name, her
daughter's middle name.  My mother was Marion Evans Ballou from Keene, New
Hampshire.

As for reasons to use in supporting your program, I agree completely with
the other suggestions posted.  The personal stories of your own students
can be very effective
 with administrators.

I would add some embellishments to the powerful argument that Russian is a
critical language.  I would mention not just NSLI-Y as a study abroad
opportunity, but as part of a continuing series of programs to make
your students proficient. CLS is the national security summer program for
college students, and the Flagship program is yet another step for more
advanced students.  All prepare students to be true global citizens with
valuable skills in language, cultural competence and so many other
domains.  All are funded. I believe a head start in language acquisition in
a Russian high school program is an  indicator of success in progressing
upward in proficiency.

I would also go into some of the reasons why Russian is so critical: oil,
nuclear stores, coordination on efforts to thwart terrorism, and more.  We
need people who understand the region, its peoples, and cultures.  Doing
that well requires language proficiency!

Good luck and keep us posted.

Jane Ballou Shuffelton, nee Jane Ballou Weiss
Past President, ACTR




On Tue, Jan 14, 2014 at 3:17 PM, Pendergast, John J CIV USA USMA <
John.Pendergast at usma.edu> wrote:

> Dear Yuliya-
>
> Given that you've posted this on the AATSEEL bulletin board, I suspect
> this suggestion may be superfluous, but AATSEEL and ACTR have a joint web
> page with interesting ideas on why one should study Russian:
> http://modules.russnet.org/why/
>
> -John Pendergast
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: SEELANGS: Slavic & East European Languages and Literatures list
> [mailto:SEELANGS at LISTSERV.UA.EDU] On Behalf Of Yuliya I. Ballou
> Sent: Tuesday, January 14, 2014 1:29 PM
> To: SEELANGS at LISTSERV.UA.EDU
> Subject: [SEELANGS] our High School Russian program is in danger of being
> cut - need suggestions and ideas
>
> Dear all,
>
> I have to defend my small but productive Russian program (see below) to
> the school board this Thursday. I have a list of reasons as to why learning
> Russian is a great thing to do (not sure if this is the place to post it
> for those who'd willing to help to review), but am looking for more ideas...
> Thank you!
>
> Yuliya Ballou
>
> Russian and German Teacher
> Springfield High School
> Springfield, Vermont
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