Sunday morning's Reporter greeted me with its lead article about yet another German program being phased out because of budget concerns.
Next to it was a report about low language scores in state tests. Could our language scores be lower than they should be because school boards keep making decisions limiting our students' exposure to LANGUAGES?
School boards show repeatedly how little value they place on the global community that they promote in their mission statements. Pat Antony of Mayville mentions the "trend in favor of more global-type topics." What is more global in our schools than World Languages?
Ms. Antony uses the phrase "I think" twice in her statement while telling us she's following - not thinking. She thinks other schools have cut German, so it's ok for Mayville to cut it, too. That's thinking? Not in the global community I know.
If school boards and other decision-makers who continually cut language programs were being honest, they would have to tell us that they do not value languages, the global community or cultures other than American, despite the words of the mission statements they proudly display in the halls.
If they understood the value of learning a second (or?brace yourselves?a third!) language, they would not keep cutting language programs because of budget issues. They would find a way to support them and keep them alive - providing choices for our students rather than only allowing them to learn Spanish - just as we all personally find a way to support the activities and programs that we value.
Germany's economy is the strongest in Europe and the fourth strongest in the world. Many companies in the U.S. have German parent companies (Siemens, T-Mobile, BASF, Bayer, ThyssenKrupp) or at least important connections to Germany.
With most students learning Spanish in high schools here and so many people speaking it natively, claiming the ability to speak Spanish on a résumé or in an interview is nothing special. Those who take a different path and learn a language that fewer job applicants speak may have an edge with these companies with German connections. Taking away options from our students and further limiting their exposure to countries and cultures outside of the U.S. is not helping them prepare for their future in a global community.
We in Wisconsin have celebrated our German heritage for generations. Many of our communities have Oktoberfest in the fall, we say "Gesundheit" when someone sneezes, many of us drive German cars, we love German food, and a number of our language quirks have roots in German (like adding "once" on the end of commands - "Come here, once!" - "Schau mal!").
Taking away a language in schools is turning our backs on that culture as well as the language.
I've had students tell me their grandparents say "Gesundheit", but the students never knew that was German. Their ignorance will grow with the cutting of language programs, and their language scores will continue to drop, while school board members scratch their heads wondering how we got to where we are.
We cannot call ourselves a global community that cares about global concerns while we continue to cut programs that deal with and teach about the world outside our borders.
Beth Hejl is a German teacher at St. Mary's Springs Academy. She lives in Fond du Lac.