Mandatory Arabic?

[sgreger1]

Well it's not Islam that is being taught, and it is only mandatory for little children: "Timbers Intermediate School and Kenneth Davis Elementary School", so it doesn't sound like a serious program. Now I do agree, that if you are going to make a second language mandatory, then is should most likely be Spanish (or French if you are in Louisiana, or whatever else is relative to where you live), instead of Arabic, but just the fact that a second language IS mandatory, and I mean any language, is a good thing. When I lived in America, only in middle school was there an OPTION for not a single language, but a class called "foreign languages" which as like an introduction to a few languages (of course, for 8th graders there was an option for German, French and Spanish), so in my eyes, any foreign language is welcome, even if it is not as useful as some other language. It's not exactly forcing children to learn it, because they can, likely, go to another school nearby if they hate Arabic. And also, why force any education? Why force children to learn trigonometry if they are almost certainly not going to need it?

Of course every language is welcome. I believe that our students should get a basic understanding of seeral languages to better prepare them for world business or just the general trend of the world becoming a smaller place. I especially think Americans should start getting familiar with middle easterners, as there are a lot of business oppertunities coming down the road in 10 years. These places we just bombed to the ground are going to be a hotbed of poverty for a long time and that workforce could be capitalized on. Can't do any business with the rest of the world without being bilingual, expecting everyone to know english is a dick move.


Islam has nothing to do with the language and I realize this. My argument against it is that we are spending almost 2 million dollars to teach very young children something they will forget immediately, not because the arabic language is tied to Islam. I think getting younger americans familiar with other cultures is a good step forward for the future. Less people are scared of what is not foreign to them.

[sgreger1]

Well just like trigonometry has cognitive benefits, Arabic provides a wide range of cultural and professional benefits. Did you know that despite efforts to recruit individuals with critical language proficiency such as Arabic or Chinese, shortfalls remain at 39% (U.S. Government Accountability Office, 2009).

Just because knowing English is enough (not quite), doesn't mean that any language doesn't provide a great advantage. 4 out of 5 new jobs in the U.S. are created as a result of foreign trade.

I agree, learning new languages teaches much more than the ability to communicate or read in a second language. Our entire reality and way of thinking is defined by what words we decide to use when describing a concept. For example, there is a word in the philipino language which my wife told me, and amazingly I realized there was no english counterpart to this word. They had taken an entire idea/feeling that we all feel, and given a name to it, yet to relay this information to someone in english would require me giving a whole basckstory instead of using a single word. Language embodies a way of thinking, a way of describing things, therefore it is the tool by which our subjective reality is formed, as most information we recieve is passed on verbally. By learning multiple languages, your brain increases it's ability to see things from different angles and in a different way.

But I have to agree with lx, they are closing woodshop class and art classes in schools, they don't offer drivers trianing anymore and there are almost no good elective clases in California high schools anymore, therefore I think spending millions of dollars on this should be an extremely low priority. Our kids can't even read yet, literacy in America is slipping.

[WickedKitchen]

Well I think it's useful or will be because of the increasing numbers of Arabic speaking people in the western world. 8.1 births per family and all other cultures pale in comparison. Go to YouTube and search Muslim Immigration. There's a video on there that's quite telling.

I agree Spanish is the more logical choice here in America though. I worked in a restaurant for years and learned enough Mexican Spanish to get me by for the most part. When I was in HS I was required to take 2 years of a language. I chose French and don't remember much 'cos as stated I didn't use it regularly.

I wouldn't be surprised to learn that there was a big conspiracy on it in years to come though. There are a lot more Arabic speaking people in the US than ever before...business owners and politicians alike. If the dollar goes away, if even for the way oil is purchased there will be a lot more of them. I am one that thinks that the dollar might collapse in our lifetime which could prove to be the straw that breaks the US camel's back...and bring on massive cultural immigration. That whole topic could be a thread in itself.

[AtreyuKun]

Hey, I'm for it. Not sure it should be mandatory though. Yeah Spanish should be mandatory. And I could even see the value of teaching Mandarin or Japanese. I really think we should focus on our English and Spanish.

[truthwolf1]

I wouldn't be surprised to learn that there was a big conspiracy on it in years to come though. There are a lot more Arabic speaking people in the US than ever before...business owners and politicians alike. If the dollar goes away, if even for the way oil is purchased there will be a lot more of them. I am one that thinks that the dollar might collapse in our lifetime which could prove to be the straw that breaks the US camel's back...and bring on massive cultural immigration. That whole topic could be a thread in itself.

The dollar will lose it's reserve currency status. There has already been meetings between the arab nations/china and russia about creating the new system once the dollar collapses.

We might still have the dollar but instead of 2 dollars for a loaf of bread we will be looking at 10 dollars. Not sure why anybody will want to still come here if this happens within the next decade.

I think eventually CHina will own us far and above the Saudis. Anybody who speaks Chinese will have better global job opportunities before starving with the rest of the sheep in Detroit style ghost towns.

[sgreger1]

The dollar will lose it's reserve currency status. There has already been meetings between the arab nations/china and russia about creating the new system once the dollar collapses.

We might still have the dollar but instead of 2 dollars for a loaf of bread we will be looking at 10 dollars. Not sure why anybody will want to still come here if this happens within the next decade.

I think eventually CHina will own us far and above the Saudis. Anybody who speaks Chinese will have better global job opportunities before starving with the rest of the sheep in Detroit style ghost towns.

China only owns 8% fo our debt so we should be fine for a while. I'm really not worried about the chinese, theyve been having a boom for the last few decades, but I don't think it's sustainable. China is ahead because it completely disregards workers rights and environmental/pollution standards. Eventually their workers will demand more and China will be less profitable. They won't run things forever. Plus they are making the same mitake the US did, they are spending way too much money on building their miitary, even at a time when they are not in war. Them spending this much on their military should definately be watched though.

[truthwolf1]

China only owns 8% fo our debt so we should be fine for a while. I'm really not worried about the chinese, theyve been having a boom for the last few decades, but I don't think it's sustainable. China is ahead because it completely disregards workers rights and environmental/pollution standards. Eventually their workers will demand more and China will be less profitable. They won't run things forever. Plus they are making the same mitake the US did, they are spending way too much money on building their miitary, even at a time when they are not in war. Them spending this much on their military should definately be watched though.

The Chinese are starting to unload that debt slowly and buying gold in record amounts.

What I was talking about was more of Americas infastructure. http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0227-20.htm

These policies have kneecapped the American middle class. Our nation's largest employer has gone from being the unionized General Motors to the poverty-wages Wal-Mart. Americans have gone from having a net savings rate around 10 percent in the 1970s to a minus .5 percent in 2005 - meaning that they're going into debt or selling off their assets just to maintain their lifestyle.

At the same time, federal policy has been to do the same thing at a national level. Because our so-called "free trade" policies have left us with an over $700 billion annual trade deficit, other countries are sitting on huge piles of the dollars we gave them to buy their stuff (via Wal-Mart and other "low cost" retailers). But we no longer manufacture anything they want to buy with those dollars.

So instead of buying our manufactured goods, they are doing what we used to do with Third World nations - they are buying us, the USA, chunk by chunk. In particular, they want to buy things in America that will continue to produce profits, and then to take those profits overseas where they're invested to make other nations strong. The "things" they're buying are, by and large, corporations, utilities, and natural resources.

[tom502]

I just saw this on the TV news, and it said it was not mandatory.

[sgreger1]

The Chinese are starting to unload that debt slowly and buying gold in record amounts.

What I was talking about was more of Americas infastructure. http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0227-20.htm

These policies have kneecapped the American middle class. Our nation's largest employer has gone from being the unionized General Motors to the poverty-wages Wal-Mart. Americans have gone from having a net savings rate around 10 percent in the 1970s to a minus .5 percent in 2005 - meaning that they're going into debt or selling off their assets just to maintain their lifestyle.

At the same time, federal policy has been to do the same thing at a national level. Because our so-called "free trade" policies have left us with an over $700 billion annual trade deficit, other countries are sitting on huge piles of the dollars we gave them to buy their stuff (via Wal-Mart and other "low cost" retailers). But we no longer manufacture anything they want to buy with those dollars.

So instead of buying our manufactured goods, they are doing what we used to do with Third World nations - they are buying us, the USA, chunk by chunk. In particular, they want to buy things in America that will continue to produce profits, and then to take those profits overseas where they're invested to make other nations strong. The "things" they're buying are, by and large, corporations, utilities, and natural resources.

America has become a corporation. Except our stockholders are other countries and large corporate interests.

For example, The House Energy Committee is now a wholly owned subsidiary of oil billionaire Koch Brothers


The game has become this: the government makes regulations that make it hard for small/medium business to thrive, then it turns around an issues waiver to all the big corporations so that they can stay afloat while their competition slowly goes out of business.

For example, ObamaCare has been slowly getting ruled unconstitutional by the court. The courts already carved out a section that changed how 1099's were reported, and now they are looking into Obama's practice of giving out waivers to big business which exempts them from having to participate in Obamacare.



WAKE UP PEOPLE. Obama is pulling the same old tricks on us as every other looter that's held office for the last hundred years did before him. Why else would they pass healthcare reform and then exempt all of the big corporations/unions like the SEIU etc from the new law? Why do I now have to provide health insurance to my 50 employees, when Obama just gave out 800 waivers to mega-corporations like McDonals & the SEIU because following the new law would cut into their profits?

At the very least, it suggests the impracticability of the health-care law; HHS gave the waivers because it fears the law will cost many Americans their jobs and insurance.


Now all this big employers in the US don't have to follow OBamcare or provide health insurance/pay the 8% penalty, now they get to do business as usual while the little guy takes the brunt of the cost for this health care reform plan.

The Department of Health and Human Services has granted 733 waivers from one of the statute’s key requirements. The recipients of the waivers include insurers such as Oxford Health Insurance, labor organizations such as the Service Employees International Union, and employers such as PepsiCo.

Wake. Up. It is a corporate machine designed to take money from you and give it to someone else. This is hardly a democratically elected republic anymore. When everyone on the house energy subcomittee is on the payroll of an oil company, you know it could not possibly mean anything good for the country. We have been bought and sold.

[GoVegan]

Arabic is actually somewhat of a universal language. Traditionally, you are supposed to learn enough Arabic if you are a Muslim to read the Koran. Arabic is spoken in many parts of Africa as well as through out the middle east.

[sgreger1]

Arabic is actually somewhat of a universal language. Traditionally, you are supposed to learn enough Arabic if you are a Muslim to read the Koran. Arabic is spoken in many parts of Africa as well as through out the middle east.

It's the Official language of 26 countries, the third most after English and French (according to wikipedia), and 280 million people hold arabic as their native language. Thought that number would be higher but i guess not. Every "real" muslim knows enough arabic to at least read/recite the koran, and in a shit load of places it's a defacto second language and almost everyone knows it. If there are 280 million native speakers, than there have to be like tripple the total number of people who can speak it, even if it isn't their native language.

[Joe234]

I made it through one year of Arabic. It would take 3-4 years
to know how to converse. I forget most of it. It's been some time.

Al Hamdu Lila

[tom502]

Esperanto is the only language that matters.

[truthwolf1]

The game has become this: the government makes regulations that make it hard for small/medium business to thrive, then it turns around an issues waiver to all the big corporations so that they can stay afloat while their competition slowly goes out of business.
Wake. Up. It is a corporate machine designed to take money from you and give it to someone else. This is hardly a democratically elected republic anymore. When everyone on the house energy subcomittee is on the payroll of an oil company, you know it could not possibly mean anything good for the country. We have been bought and sold.

The steps to create and hold a small profitable legal business in this day is just one more thing to add to the list of why our Republic is failing. Innovation should be rewarded but they make everything such a pain in the ass that most people just give up or leave.

[Maher]

I speak/read and write Arabic having been brought up in the ME, I also know Greek as well , it is really a romantic language when you master it, a word can mean many different meanings depending how it is used, very colorful and the romantic side of it is awesome, never did understand the poem grammar of it, very very hard with scales and many different rules, but the poems are outstanding. The great American poet Jubran is of Lebanese origin he has some great poems in Arabic as well.