Pro-Third-Year
By Sun Down
The topic of adding more courses, especially foreign languages, to the curriculum at Lexington High School is constantly being debated. Right now, Lexington High School only offers two years of Spanish. Should we have a third year of foreign language available at Lexington? If so, it would not be a mandatory course, but only there to help the students better their knowledge of Spanish.
Personally, I believe that an extra year would be a smart idea. Unless you take three years of a foreign language in high school, you have to take a year of it in college. Having to do this makes a student's college course load much heavier and also costs more money. It would be such a great opportunity to offer the third year here. Not only would a student be able to communicate much more fluently, but also it opens up a new job market for them. There are high paying jobs with the government, as an ambassador or interpreter. They could also teach Spanish to others. If one travels to Mexico or Spain or certain parts of the United States, it would be very helpful to have an extensive Spanish vocabulary.
Compared to other schools, our foreign language department is lacking. Most schools offer more than one language, such as French, German, Latin, etc. This gives the students more of a variety. I think it would be nice to have these choices, but it is understandable because of cost and the size of our school. If we cant have more than one language we can improve on the one we do have. Lexington could be the first small school in the area to offer a third year of Spanish.
I know that when I started Spanish it was hard and I wasn't so sure if I'd like it. Now, after all that I've learned and all I can say is I felt good that I have taken these classes and still am. It can be hard work at times, but its so exciting and makes you feel good at something. The Spanish instructor, Senora Sullivan, is willing to teach a third year for any students interested, if the school board would let her. Since we have the resources, why not give it a chance? What do you think?
Anti-Third-Year
"Crazy Dave" Thatcher
It is a known complaint about Lexington High School that they don't offer enough of a variety of classes. For once, I'll take the school's side.
A third year of Spanish would be nice, but it is not feasible at this moment. The Spanish teacher does not have any open class hours with her English classes. It is a fine thing to fantasize of French and German courses, but it will not happen, so you might as well start using your imagination on something constructive. More classes means more teachers, and there is very little space left in the High School. More space means more money, and aren't taxes high enough?
Also, more classes means more teachers which means more salaries. I could not justify hiring another teacher for a class that might attract a few students. It is not an efficient use of money, and again, aren't taxes high enough?
Money is what this entire thing rolls down to. Money is, in some respects, our master. It is a god over us. It tells us, "You can do this, but you can't do that." Without money in this world, it would be a happier place. Unfortunately, this is Socialism. As we all know, most money the school uses comes directly from your pockets. It may be the most unjust thing in the world to those of you who don't have kids, but that's life.
