Scarsdale 10583

The school board voted and Scarsdale will start teaching Mandarin beginning in the 9th grade starting in September.

Mandarin is essentially a group of dialects from Northern China and is often simply known as “Chinese.” Mandarin is the official spoken language of the People’s Republic of China and one of the six official languages at the United Nations.

According to some estimates, there are over 1 billion people in the world that speak Mandarin as either their primary or secondary language. It is estimated that it has the largest number of native speakers, followed by Spanish then English.

As of December 2010, China owns over $891 Billion in long-term U.S. government debt, by contrast, the UK owns $541 Billion.

China’s economy grew at 10% last year and in 2010, China became the world’s largest exporter.

Saying that China is a major player on the global stage is an understatement, but becoming proficient in Mandarin is not easy.

So do the residents of Scarsdale think teaching Mandarin is a good idea?

Evan Evangelides

Here’s what some of you had to say:

“It’s a wonderful thing.” Evan Evangelides, Heathcote.

“It’s very current. I think that as an additional elective to other languages it’s a good idea.” Anna Marie Magagna Hyde,

Anna Marie Magagna Hyde

“It’s surprising that this hasn’t happened earlier. China is such a huge market and economy. So many people speak Mandarin. I think this is a good idea. Matt Martin, Edgewood.

Matt Martin

Debra Zitrin

“With most languages, unless you are using it daily it’s pretty hard to become proficient and Mandarin is more difficult than most. Because of that, I’m not a huge proponent of using our resources in that way. Debra Zitrin, Edgewood.

Jen Geller is a freelance journalist who has covered the economy and markets for over a decade at a major financial news outlet. She lives in Scarsdale with her husband and 2 children. Jen has yet to bake a successful batch of cookies.

Comments (9)

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written by michael, February 21, 2012

Spanish is a 100% waste of time. And the guy who said its takes years to learn Chinese is an idiot. First, in 3 months anyone can speak enough Chinese to talk to most Chinese people. It also takes about a year to learn 500-1000 chinese characters and with that you can read most chinese newspapers.

Short sighted people in America still want their kids to take Latin.

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written by Lauren, February 28, 2011

If we can get Sophie Wang to teach in our school, everything will be worth it.

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written by read the headlines, February 27, 2011

arabic might be more useful.

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written by Carolyn, February 25, 2011

Mandarin is the "it" language at the moment. It is too difficult to be mastered in the course of a High School career. Nor do I feel it will be useful unless you go into direct business with China. It would be more practical to have Italian in the High School given that Westchester is filled with Italian Americans.
I do however think the elementary school Spanish program is a good idea even though it is not daily. It is preparing the students for the middle school and high school curriculum and they will be more advanced with the language once they reach middle school. Young children don't necessarily need to have language classes daily because they adapt to language quicker and with more ease than older kids do. Parents, however can get involved outside the classroom by using it is the home or reinforcing with Spanish videos or DVD's.

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written by GA Resident, February 25, 2011

I disagree that the current Spanish program is a waste. My 6th grader, having had Spanish throughout elementary school, has a good accent, an appreciation of the way a foreign language works (i.e. different grammar, different sounds that need to be made), a greater interest in other countries where Spanish is spoken, a greater interest in trying different foods, and in general a great start to learning a foreign language that is quite different from how it was for my ninth grader, who had no exposure to any of the above until 7th grade, which is ridiculously late to start.

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written by anonymous, February 25, 2011

I agree that teaching Spanish only a few hours a week in the elementary classrooms is a waste of budget money. It should be taught correctly - i.e,, every day - or not at all. Teaching a foreign language to elementary school students is an excellent idea, but not if it is done only half-way.

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written by Bill B, February 24, 2011

Let's at least pretend we are concerned with the rising budget and not add any more langues. At some point we need to cut costs as funds are not unlimited.

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written by Has2kids, February 24, 2011

Teaching Mandarin (or any useful lamguage) is a great idea as long as it is taught DAILY. The introduction of Spanish in grade school was the right decision, but it is completely ineffective. The kids learn numbers, colors, and letters the first year and nothing after that. Hopefully, the Mandarin program will be more effective than the elementary Spanish program. One more point: If there is a budget for Mandarin at SHS, why is there no indoor pool?

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written by madison, February 24, 2011

I think teaching Mandarin is a wonderful idea. My concerns are financial. The school board is discussing removing the class size limits at the elementary level. Small class sizes are the backbone of our wonderful school district. If we increase class sizes at the elementary level to make up for the addition of Mandarin teachers at the high school it would be a disgrace. If it works within the confines of our restrictive budget than Mandarin is a fantastic addition but not fundamental.

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