I was talking with a friend of mine about a year ago, about what humanity has done and is capable of doing. During this discussion, we came to the conclusion that language was one of the most impressive feats of humanity. My friend said that language really is just a bunch of sophisticated grunts, and I have to say I agree with him. There are thousands of languages in the world, and multiple dialects to each language.
I have always felt that wasting potential was one of the worst things people can do. By learning a new language, you are enabling yourself to not only expand your mind and pool of people you can communicate with, but you also make yourself more attractive to future employers. However, many people are not willing to come out of their comfort zone and learn a new language. I understand that many people cannot manage to do this due to time constraints. I know while I was in high school, I should have taken advantage of the Spanish courses that were available. I had a fluent speaker at my disposal; unfortunately, I only took advantage of it my senior year.
If you have children in school, and they have the opportunity to learn a language, any language, be it Braille, Spanish, Sign Language, or Chinese, push them to take the opportunity while they can. As I said earlier, to waste potential is a shame. If a high school is offering the classes for “free” why not take advantage of the opportunity while they can. If they decide to make the language a minor, or pick a language that is similar to it, they could save a ton of money by testing out of the ridiculous general education classes or introduction classes. I can honestly say I made a mistake when I only took one year of Spanish. I cannot speak for the other schools in the area, but Sandusky is very fortunate to have a Spanish teacher like Aaron Seifferlein.
With the world becoming more globalized, learning new languages will become a skill that most people will want to have if they