Teaching Chinese in US schools (#15; Topic L)

Today's Washington Post, datelined Portland OR, has a long article on teaching Chinese in US schools. The article begins by saying that, while there are 3 million students studying Spanish, there are but 24,000 students studying Chinese, most of them in high schools. However, with a $700,000 grant from the Defense Department to the Univeristy of Oregon, the Oregon program will be the first in USA that "track[s] students from kindergarten to college." Marvellous. The article also says that the Senate's Foreign Relations Committee is "considering a proposal to allocate $1.3 billion to boost classes on Chinese language and culture in public schools." Bravo. This is exactly the aim of this space, and I shall do my share of contributing to a better understanding of Chinese culture and language in the USA.
Posted at 12 noon, Tuesday, January 3, 2006