I’d like to talk about how within AAPS less and less languages are being offered
In the past few years, Skyline has had fewer world languages. Across AAPS, we currently offer American Sign Language, Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Latin, and Spanish. But over the past few years, the number of American Sign Language, Chinese, Arabic, and Latin classes has decreased significantly. Last year at Skyline, ASL three and four weren’t offered at all as well as Latin. While these languages are being offered online through A2V and MI Virtual, it’s not the same as an in-person class, and despite some being able to benefit from an online class, learning online can be a struggle for others.
Personally, I’m an ASL(American Sign Language) student, and this year I was really disappointed that I wasn’t able to get into an ASL two class. I personally feel that the phasing out of the languages is harmful to our learning spaces. I think that having a variety of languages allows so many people the freedom to choose what they get to learn, and when students are in control of their learning, it can make us want to pursue further education in these fields.
What can we do about the phasing out of languages? One thing we can do to try to stop the phasing out of these languages is attending board meetings and speaking on the issue. We can also raise awareness in hopes that it inspires the protection of our languages.
