Nice to know these Kansas schools have successfully mastered all teaching of English, and can move on to the really hard stuff:
A suburban Kansas City-area school district plans to add Chinese to its curriculum next year, making it the third area school system to teach the language. "We just can't ignore the whole area (East Asia) anymore," said Dan Lumley, director of curriculum and instruction for the Lee's Summit School District. "It's just unfair to the kids."On the Kansas side of the Kansas City area, the Shawnee Mission and Olathe districts teach the language. According to the education departments in Kansas and Missouri, the only other district to teach Chinese in those states is St. Louis' public schools. The Kansas Consortium for Teaching About Asia at the University of Kansas is promoting Chinese instruction in Kansas City-area schools. It is arranging for Chinese exchange teachers for the Lee's Summit and Shawnee Mission districts.
Actually, I kid. I think an opportunity to learn Chinese would be wonderful for American schoolchildren. I also think that Chinese methods of instruction might be wonderful for American teachers to see. I'd love to be a fly on the wall the first time that a Chinese teacher hears an educrat insist that memorization, individual work, and failing grades are harmful to students.
Posted by kswygert at January 4, 2006 04:53 PM