OT: Attempting to save a high-school French program

[Amy West]

It's a problem not only in the secondary schools, but higher up as
well. I teach in a department where there is only 1 full-time French
teacher and the French major is no more. Spanish is the only other
foreign language (though now we have Arabic and Mandarin being
offered by adjuncts). It is a rarity nowadays to have a German
program in a secondary school, but that's a whole 'nother rant on my
part.

---Amy West

>
>Date:    Mon, 12 Feb 2007 15:42:32 -0800
>From:    FRITZ JUENGLING <juengling_fritz at SALKEIZ.K12.OR.US>
>Subject: Re: OT: Attempting to save a  high-school French program
>
>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

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