EYE ON ILLINOIS: Foreign language study is valuable, but not essential in high school

Let’s agree to disagree in an area where we agree.

In October, at a joint meeting of the Senate Education and Higher Education committees, state Sen. Kimberly Lightford made a statement I don’t dispute:

“Students have a better chance of gaining proficiency in a second language when they learn it early on,” said the Maywood Democrat. “That effort can make a significant impact on our children’s career success.”

Maywood introduced an amendment to the state’s education code mandating high schoolers complete two years of foreign language classes to graduate. Lawmakers approved that change, among several others, during the lame duck session. As the bill awaits the governor’s signature, members of the State Board of Education raised concerns — ones I also don’t dispute.

“The message this sends to me,” said Susie Morrison, of Carlinville, during Wednesday’s ISBE meeting, “is that somebody has decided that two years of a foreign language class are more important than art, more important than music, more important than career and technical education courses, in a school day that is already so full and so very limited with time.”

“What’s the best time to teach a foreign language? It is not high school,” said Christine Benson, of Ottawa, a teacher and superintendent for 35 years. “What’s the second-worst time to teach a foreign language? It’s junior high.”

That Lightford was on this issue as far back as October undercuts Benson’s assertion lawmakers “did no research on this,” but she and Morrison are right to raise concerns about the density of high school schedules. Morrison also discussed the potential difficulty of hiring enough teachers to meet the goal.

As written, the language requirement doesn’t take effect until the Class of 2033 starts high school, though it could be advanced. So at least districts would have time to plan. But that’s also enough time for lawmakers to consider whether it might make more sense to work foreign language into elementary curriculum, where it could be spread out over several years and, to Benson’s point, taught when developing brains are more open to that type of education.

I was fortunate to study French in junior high, a two-year class equivalent to the high school’s French I course. After completing French II as a freshman, college admissions counselors accepted my transcript as showing two years of study. Coordinating between K-8 and 9-12 districts has challenges, but the state could write standards to foster cooperation.

There are countless ways to validate academic achievement and career preparedness. Lightford is right about the value of learning a second language, but it’s not essential for every type of high schooler. There are other ways to achieve this goal — and time to make a better plan.

• Scott T. Holland writes about state government issues for Shaw Media Illinois. Follow him on Twitter at @sth749. He can be reached at sholland@shawmedia.com.

Scott Holland

Scott T. Holland

Scott T. Holland writes about state government issues for Shaw Media Illinois. Follow him on Twitter at @sth749. He can be reached at sholland@shawmedia.com.