Foreign language study ... what up's Pennsylvania?
One of the signatures in my email messages from my Gmail account is from Frantz Fanon, the psychoanalyst from Martinique. It reads "Mastery of language affords remarkable power". I have lived by this mantra since my college days. I take great pride in the fact that from the sixth grade straight through my sophomore year of college I was engaged in the academic study of the Spanish language. If I could go back and do it again I would have majored in Spanish. I thank God that Morehouse College being the great liberal arts institution that it is, required in its general requirements for graduation, 2 years of foreign language study. I am even more thankful for my Peace Corps experience which allowed me to learn French, Kiluba (the local language of the Baluba people), and some Ki-Swahili.
English is obviously the official language of the United States of America but I find that too many Americans have an aversion to learning foreign languages. As I continue my Spanish study here in New Mexico, I am continually amazed by how many people in ABQ who are natives or have lived here for a significant amonut of time don't speak Spanish or have any interest in learning how to speak it. The Spanish language resources in Albuquerque are so deep and the opportunities to be engaged in the language are endless.
Foreign language study is so important for so many reasons. I was deeply disturbed to read this from eSchool News today about foreign language study in Pennsylvania. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has the story as well.
