School Committee considering adding Mandarin
By Ken Powers Community Reporter

Westborough - The School Committee's Foreign Language Subcommittee has sharpened its focus on adding Mandarin as a foreign language option for Westborough High School students. School Superintendent Anne Towle said, however, that the national language of China has a long way to go before it becomes a class option.

"Adding Mandarin depends of a number of things," Towle said. "It depends on the budget, how it fits into our curriculum and at what age level. I realize that a lot of people in town want to see it added, and we do, too, if we determine that's what we need to do, but the subcommittee hasn't finished its work on the matter."

Towle said Westborough High Principal John Smith is conducting a survey of current high school students to get their input and thoughts on possibly adding Mandarin to the curriculum.

"I've received a lot of feedback from our businesses and business leaders and they feel very strongly that Mandarin is something we should add to the curriculum," Towle said. "They also feel strongly that lessons about the Chinese culture should Mandarin

be incorporated in as well."

Westborough currently off ers Latin, Spanish and French to its students. Towle said Mandarin is the only language Westborough is considering adding at this point. She said if and when Mandarin is added to the curriculum, it will be an additional off ering for students. It will not replace one of the languages already being taught.

Towle said Latin is still taught, she believes, because so much of the English spoken in America was derived from it.

"I think it teaches students skills about their own language," Towle said. "It's certainly not a speaking language, that's for sure."

Towle said there are several factors that make Mandarin a worthwhile language to add.

"A lot of school districts have begun to off er Mandarin, not only state-wide but also right around us," Towle said. "Grafton, Shrewsbury and Hopedale, if they haven't already added it to their curriculum, they, like us, are looking at the possibility of doing so.

"The size of the Chinese economy and number of residents of China make it a huge global partner for the United States," Towle added. "A main component of education is to make sure that businesses remain competitive and businesspeople remain effective. There has been a lot of research and news from an educational perspective promoting adding Mandarin as a foreign language option."

Towle said the teaching of Mandarin, as well as the teaching of the Chinese culture, has become a frequent topic of conversation at School Superintendents Association meetings.

"It's been the focus of much discussion, especially as it relates to global education," she said. "We're beginning to enter into an era where we are preparing kids for the future, not the present, training them for jobs that don't even exist at the moment. We are looking ahead, trying to predict what the important social and economic parts of society will be, and what training our children are going to need to prepare them for those parts."

The Foreign Language Subcommittee is scheduled to make its final report to the School Committee Wednesday March 19.