02/14/06  TEACH THEM ALL SPANISH!

Chip Northrup's comment brought up a point I've been making for several years now:

Every student in DISD should start studying Spanish in pre-k, and continue right through 12th grade.  Other languages, like Chinese, can be taken as electives.

If every student graduating from DISD were fluent--and literate--in Spanish, Dallas grads would rule the Western Hemisphere, plus parts of the EEU, and would have an enormous 21st Century advantage--fluency in two of world's most important languages.

Kids are language sponges--if they start learning a language early and keep it going.

Did you know that every student graduating from high school in Holland is fluent in at least four languages?  Dutch, German, English and French.  They start 'em early and keep it up, and voila!  Dutch kids speak four languages at age 18.

Learning Spanish would not detract one iota from excellence in Math, Science, Literature, Civics etc. Plus, there's an enormous Language Lab right outside the walls of the school--opportunities to practice Spanish are abundant, as we all know.

Compulsory Spanish in DISD?  Absolutely!  And let's elect four new board members who agree.

Tim Dickey

Editor's comment:  Other than tulips and lax drug laws, when was the last time something important came out of Holland or from the Dutch?  sb