On January 31st, the Palo Alto School District rejected a plan to immerse forty kindergarten to first grade students in Mandarin language instruction. However, due to concerns that the program would give a small percentage of students – those learning the language – an unfair advantage over those who are not, a narrow vote of 3 to 2 rejected the proposal.
Mandarin is the most widely spoken language in the world – nearly one billion Chinese across the world – and with the Chinese economy growing at breakneck speeds and predicted to surpass the U.S. economy in a few years (the actual decade is disputable but safe to say it will happen in my lifetime), more and more schools are planning on introducing the study of Mandarin as an option besides the usual Spanish and French.
However, the decision to introduce Mandarin is not yet a no-brainer. Those in favor cite current global economic trends, while those against it flounder between “it’s the latest fad and will die out after its 15 minutes of fame” to the Palo Alto argument that it will give a small number a leg up in the college admissions process.
What I don’t understand is why Palo Alto did not float a proposal to offer the language immersion as an option to all its elementary students. One parent who voted against the plan said giving special access to certain students is “undemocratic” and against the idea of what makes a public school a ‘public’ school.
On a personal note, my former employer in Dallas made a special trip to China last year to hire a Mandarin language instructor to teach in our school. I commend the decision, and would encourage more schools to look at Mandarin (and Hindi) as an option in their curriculum.
A word of caution though: As the Palo Alto SD episode suggests, the decision is not for every school (not yet, at least) and will not happen without debate and adequate preparation for change.
