Chinese Influence in U.S. Schools
How do you feel about the government of China paying for American public schools to teach our kids Mandarin? And sending teachers from China to the U.S. to assist in this venture?
Though one tiny corner of my conscience says sure, the more the Chinese spend IN the United States the less they’ll have left to compete with and undermine us. But most of me is outraged–and a little bit alarmed.
It’s not unusual for countries to propagate their language (as well as their literature, their culture, etc.) among the heathen and unwashed of other lands. The Alliance Francais does this for French, the Goethe Institute for German, the British Council for English. To my knowledge, however, they do these things after school, on weekends, at night, and usually for adults, not “compulsory” students. Nor do they subsidize language instruction in the public schools themselves. And I don’t think they should, even though they are (most of the time) allies.
China is no ally, however, at least not on anything important. It is our most dangerous and menacing rival. It is the only country on the planet that the United States needs actively to worry about. It already wields enormous influence in our economy, our foreign policy, our defense strategy–not to mention the clothes we put on our backs and the toys we buy for our kids. It is hacking everybody’s computers and emails. It is censoring communications and information whenever and wherever it can. It shoots people it doesn’t like in the back of the head. It imprisons political dissidents til they get sick–and then sometimes shoots them in the back of the head.
Maybe we want more young Americans to learn Mandarin (and, possibly, other Chinese languages) rather than, say, Italian or even French. But we probably want more of them to learn Arabic, too, for similar reasons. Does that mean we should be receptive if the government of Syria or Iran offers to pay for it in our public schools? (OK, OK, if it were Iran it would be Farsi. But how do you feel about Yemen? Al-Qaeda?) Do we want the government of Myanmar subsidizing the study of Burmese in our schools?
Meanwhile, one U.S. school system after another–many of them aided and abetted by the Asia Society–is nodding appreciatively to the Beijing government and accepting language study courtesy of a branch of the Chinese government known as Hanban.
Is nobody else outraged and alarmed?
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Yes, good reasons to be quite alarmed about teaching Chinese, paid to teach Chinese and Chinese teacher exchange until you realize that may be the only way US kids will be taught to read and write.
The only way a child is prepared for higher learning is to be taught to read and write well early. US schools are not doing that, see NAEP results.
The ability to read and write in ANY language allows children access to information.
Proof of that are the Chinese math, science, engineering and computer science graduate students in the US.
We should be encouraging districts and states interested in offering Mandarin to instead partner with democratic Taiwan instead, a place which shares our values of free speech, unfettered political expression, and respect for human rights. Dr. Finn, why not highlight and advocate for programs such as the American Superintendents/Educators’ Project on Chinese
Language Teacher Recruitment and Sister School
Partnerships, which Ohio and Indiana appear to participate in and looks to be a collaboration with Taiwan? This web site describes in detail the collaborative relationship the state of Indiana has with Taiwan with regard to Mandarin instruction. http://www.doe.in.gov/internationaleducation/indiana_taiwan_memo.html
Not outraged.
Not alarmed.
Maybe a little outraged that people can be so closed-minded that they equate support for language instruction — which is severely neglected and underfunded in our sadly mono-linguistic society — with an evil Communist plot to indoctrinate our children.
The post is insulting to school administrators, like those who run my son’s school, who are getting help and instructors from mainland China AND Taiwan sources as well as whatever help the U.S. government offers. Where else should they turn for native speakers, Ireland?
I can’t take seriously a claim that “our most dangerous and menacing rival” China is the “only country on the planet” that we need to worry about. Perhaps the author should stick to education and not foreign policy. It’s always dangerous when “experts” commentate outside their area of expertise.
What’s going to happen if China wants us to pay our debts back and the USA cannot pay? Well, China will take over the USA. We should not allow any other nations government into our Public School system. I agree in having foreign languages in our schools, however not a political philosophy program sponsored by another country into our public schools. I cannot believe that our US Government would allow for such thing to be taught! Political indoctrination Communism in the USA especially in our public school system should be banned and outright illegal. The so-called confucian classrooms are not really about confucius, but Chinese Communism. I do not agree with communism in America as I am a patriotic American. Americans need to come back and make our own goods and become an exporting nation again.
I am outraged. This is happening at the Socrates Academy in Charlotte, N.C. where my children attend. Parents have voiced concern in an overruling majority but the board refuses to acknowledge our concern. I will have no course of action but to pull my children from this school. What a sad course of action for our nation.
I am baffled at the narrow-minded individuals who are commenting here. We are supposed to be educated people, and yet we are looking language – another form of education – as a national threat.
Do people actually think this form of language communion will let China take over the US? Really?
S. Glazerman said it first and best: “Perhaps the author should stick to education and not foreign policy.”
Honestly, it is this kind of threatened behavior that feeds into racism and ruins hope for a more integrated future for our children.