Harding High School offers a wide variety of courses, but when it comes to the language department, the options start to run a little dry.
Believe it or not, Harding used to offer four languages, double the amount we have now. The typical French and Spanish were still taught, but German and even American Sign Language (or ASL) were also available to students. Each language had classes available up to level four, and sometimes even level five for students who were ahead in their language education.
So what happened to these language classes? In the case of German, the teacher, Ingrid May, retired, and no one was available to take her place. Eventually the ASL teacher took a job at a different location, and similarly, no one filled her place.
According to Mrs. Carol Bebout, classes often leave with teachers. Furthermore, language teachers are incredibly difficult to find, simply because it takes a very specific person to teach a language. Even when language teachers are available, students may not be interested in such a class. Ingrid May was shared between Harding and River Valley because there weren’t enough students enrolled in German to fill an entire day of classes.
So now that German and ASL classes are gone from Harding, how could they hypothetically get back on the roster? It all starts with recommendations. Bebout says “everybody in this building” has the capacity to recommend a class. If a teacher wanted to start instructing a new class, they could submit their idea to the “curriculum team” that finalizes Harding’s Program of Studies before it goes out to the students each year. Department Leads from each academic department would then add the class to the Program of Studies.
All that’s left to do after that is wait and see how many students sign up for the proposed class. If the sign-up rate is super low, the class might not get taught. But if many students are interested in it, the class can find a place in Harding’s school day!
Now, you might not care about language classes, saying, “Sofya, why would I even want to read this article you wrote, it’s long and boring and I don’t even like school!” to which I would reply, “Actually, this article is significantly smaller than my average article this school year thus far.” But the real point is that languages, according to Madame Kemp, are extremely important life skills.
Kemp knew a bit of high school French, which helped her get hired on a cruise ship that sailed around the world. Had she not spoken French, this opportunity wouldn’t have arisen. “Freedom is about having choices,” she says, “and the more choices you give yourself when you’re young, the more freedom you have when you’re older.” Learning a high school language gives you the freedom to do more when you’re older. So consider taking a language course, and if none of the language courses seem interesting to you, maybe consider recommending a new language course.