Community Corner

Should Schools Stop Requiring Foreign Language Classes?

Currently, students in the Berkley School District are required to take at least two years of foreign language classes.

The House Education Committee, hoping to free up more options for students when it comes to high school electives, approved two bills last week in Lansing that would eliminate the foreign language requirement for graduation.

The proposal aims to give students not headed to college more vocational options in school by eliminating the two-year foreign language requirement, but the Michigan Department of Education opposes the bill, according to The Detroit News.

[What do you think of the possible elimination of a foreign language requirement in Michigan schools? Leave a comment!]

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"Students, regardless of post-secondary plans, will benefit tremendously with at least one additional language to be competitive in the global marketplace," spokesman Martin Ackley said in the report. "World languages is essential for all of our students."

The Berkley School District requires students to take at least two years of a foreign language and offers several options.

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"They can choose from Spanish, French, and next year we're adding Chinese," Berkley School District Communications Supervisor Jessica Stilger said Monday. "Students can also take the language classes offered at (the Center for Advanced Studies and the Arts in Oak Park), which was Japanese this year."

House Bills 4465-4466 would also modify required credits in physical education, the arts, career and technical education, science and math, according to the Livingston Daily Press & Argus.

The bills await a full House vote.


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