Obama thinks your kids should learn Spanish

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The only possible mandatory service I see on the horizon involves wearing green, marching, and carrying a gun.

Lkl and That is not true. I would be able to function perfectly fine had I not taken algebra. I don't use it daily.,

you don't know what algebra is do you? Just because its simple, or you learned it as part of another math class first., doesn't mean it isn't algebra if you said you weren't going to use algebra you couldn't do a single thing I gave an example of, including how to figure out the amount of money you need for the parking meter. 2x=6 is algebra just as much as 3y+5x - (-4)(3.567) - |-456| +5786 is

Thats just plain pathetic then. The kids around here are able to do that by 8th grade.

Sure- I could do it by 6th. Most kids could do it by 8th. We are, however, talking about retention after the class is no longer being taught. Most americans do not retain higher math skills after school. I've had a year and a half of calculus, but at the moment I couldn't derive a function to save my life, unless I was able to use my old text as a reference. This is because I do not use calculus on a daily basis. Likewise, my Spanish suffers during the interludes when no patients are coming by with whom I can practice that skill.

As far as what is algebra and what is not, I am referring to the types of things that are taught in the classes that are specifically named 'algebra.'

If someone who speaks 2 languages is called bilingual and someone who speaks 3 languages is trilingual, what do you call someone who only speaks 1 language?

American

american? damn! i thought it was mexican.

I don't get the push for spanish language considering I hear alot of mean things said against english language here in America by people whose ancestry is more towards Aztec yet they are pushing for another white person's language. Shouldn't there be a movement to get children to speak the native language of Aztec which is Nahuatl?

Spaniards who control Mexico have not made Aztec's lives better even though some Aztecs integrated into Spanish way of life. This would be the ultimate rebellion.

This is silly, and it's because idiots like my freaking family refuse to learn English (my parents do not speak English at all). English should be the national language because it's what most people here speak. Although it's useful to know Spanish or any other language, it's not something we should waste our national spending on teaching kids. If kids want to learn Spanish, they can learn it by going to Spanish Harlem. That's how I picked up some Spanish.

Americans should be required to take at least three languages other than English, including one non-Europoean language with its own alphabet. Similarly, all people around the world should learn English as well as their native tongue, and the reason is this:

English is the "king idea" language because it freely admits words:
Japanese - sushi, katana, ninjitsu
Chinese - kung fu, lo mein
French - tete-a-tete, savoir faire
German - wienerschnitzel, gestalt
Spanish - llama, rodeo

Could work on that list all day, point being that every other language can freely contribute any word, even if one or more English words already denote the same. English makes it easier to dissolve the barriers between people; in Europe, often one will hear two people from opposite corners of the continent in an English dialogue.

One need not know the entire above languages
to have an understanding of the words listed.

If you are hinting that a "world language"
using the more prominent bits and pieces of all
languages, is overdue.. I applaud the concept,
as long as it is English based.

I wouldn't worry that much, with the American economy heading towards a collapse and China's progress, all countries might end up having to learn Chinese.

I wonder what China would do
if they had a problem with invasion



Oh ya nevermind

Last edited by Fred2670 on 29 Jul 2008, 12:20 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Yes, why not? It would add a much needed layer of learning and hopefully culture as well. The only culture I seem to get these days is the one in my yogurt.

In California, it's very useful to speak Spanish, but I doubt people in the Midwest would share my opinion...

why dont you stfu about this "topic" now, huh?

No way

believe it or not there are Americans who have no idea that Mexico's plan to conquer America is working. I understand that I alone can do nothing to stop it, except raise awareness through the discussion of certain sensitive and directly related topics such as this one.

Let me guess..
you hate America because you think its too "white"

One need not know the entire above languages
to have an understanding of the words listed.

No, but a deeper understanding of the words is derived from knowing the language and culture from which they originate. For example, philosophy originates from the words for "love" in the fraternal (familial) sense and "wisdom", not agapesophy (spiritual love of wisdom) or erosophy (lust for wisdom), whereas a mundane English understanding might give the impression that philosophy was wanting to be pleasing in wisdom or desiring wisdom. That's why we should all learn other languages, to speed integration of language and culture into the Global/Information/Space Age.

If you are hinting that a "world language"
using the more prominent bits and pieces of all
languages, is overdue.. I applaud the concept,
as long as it is English based.

Wasn't hinting at all, it was explicitly stated as my position. Thank you for the support.

A wall that allows entrance to tourists, how tough against "LOL invasions"

If you would count the number of first world countries that have bilingual school programs... Well, with US' economic crisis and huge deficit they may not fit that much in the first world anyway.