Obama - Can Your Kids Speak Spanish?
There was a lot of hype on the news channels about Obama's comments about having our children learn to speak Spanish.
All of our children are bilingual, some multilingual.
Our oldest son learned Spanish in the Jefferson County School system in Colorado when he was in kindergarten.
So what is the big deal? Are sons all lived over seas and spoke foreign languages.
So did my son-in-law.
It is part of the western U.
S.
culture.
Two of my sons use Spanish daily.
One is a veterinarian and all of the dairy farmers in this area hire Mexican nationals to run the operations.
Many do not speak English well when they first arrive here but they do seem to learn fast.
My other son is a doctor in St.
Louis.
He deals with Spanish-speaking families all the time, especially those who have family members suffering in the pain clinic where he spends part of his time.
Others are concerned about pending surgeries or about the recovery surgery of a family member.
If your spouse had a heart attack in Paris, wouldn't it be a comfort if the attending physician spoke English? Two of my sons are fluent in German.
When they go to Europe, it makes a more pleasant journey.
Some of my grandchildren are also bilingual.
My oldest granddaughter is fluent in French.
She lived in France and her ability to speak French is valuable when she returns to France.
Although learning a second language is second nature in our family, it is not in most families.
That is why folks say, "Why does Obama want my children to be able to speak a second language? Why Spanish?" One reason is that we need to increase our relationships with other countries.
Many or our neighbors and trade partners speak Spanish.
If we want to improve our trade balance, we need to have folks that speak Spanish.
Well, we need more people who speak Chinese too.
Another "language" that we might force on our children is mathematics, the language of engineers and scientist.
Other countries are way ahead of us in this areas and we are paying the consequences.
All learning can be beneficial.
We should not restrict ourselves.
Fly Old Glory!
All of our children are bilingual, some multilingual.
Our oldest son learned Spanish in the Jefferson County School system in Colorado when he was in kindergarten.
So what is the big deal? Are sons all lived over seas and spoke foreign languages.
So did my son-in-law.
It is part of the western U.
S.
culture.
Two of my sons use Spanish daily.
One is a veterinarian and all of the dairy farmers in this area hire Mexican nationals to run the operations.
Many do not speak English well when they first arrive here but they do seem to learn fast.
My other son is a doctor in St.
Louis.
He deals with Spanish-speaking families all the time, especially those who have family members suffering in the pain clinic where he spends part of his time.
Others are concerned about pending surgeries or about the recovery surgery of a family member.
If your spouse had a heart attack in Paris, wouldn't it be a comfort if the attending physician spoke English? Two of my sons are fluent in German.
When they go to Europe, it makes a more pleasant journey.
Some of my grandchildren are also bilingual.
My oldest granddaughter is fluent in French.
She lived in France and her ability to speak French is valuable when she returns to France.
Although learning a second language is second nature in our family, it is not in most families.
That is why folks say, "Why does Obama want my children to be able to speak a second language? Why Spanish?" One reason is that we need to increase our relationships with other countries.
Many or our neighbors and trade partners speak Spanish.
If we want to improve our trade balance, we need to have folks that speak Spanish.
Well, we need more people who speak Chinese too.
Another "language" that we might force on our children is mathematics, the language of engineers and scientist.
Other countries are way ahead of us in this areas and we are paying the consequences.
All learning can be beneficial.
We should not restrict ourselves.
Fly Old Glory!
Source...