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Amador Valley High School administrators have decided to reinstate two additional advanced language sections, after seven students showed up to a recent school board meeting to oppose their removal from the course offerings list.
Amador school officials had decided to cancel AP Spanish 5 and Honors French 5 due to low enrollment, according to the students at the March 13 meeting, who all expressed disappointment that they would not be able to continue pursuing their respective languages.
Honors French 5 was already being taught alongside a lower-level French class, which had been raised by parents as a concern, according to the students. They pointed to the benefits of collaborative learning, adding that completely eliminating the course was not the solution.
But on March 18, Amador principal Mike Williams sent out a public statement announcing that the classes would take place in the 2018-19 school year.
“Amador Valley Administration recently reviewed how the site’s 2018-19 allocation for class sections was dispersed,” Williams wrote. “Since Tuesday’s PUSD Board Meeting, we have determined that two additional sections should be allocated to accommodate the requests for AP Spanish 5, Honors French 5 and French 1. Teachers have been identified to teach these classes. To create the student requests for French, we are combining French 1 and Honors French 5.”
Williams added that the students who had originally signed up for the courses would receive a direct email communication.
Kudos to Principal Williams! Depriving Pleasanton students of courses to continue the advancement of their educational interests is not the Pleasanton way.
I think the credit really needs to go to the students who had the sense and the courage to go to the school board meeting and ask for their classes to continue.
But I have to ask…… a single class for both Level 1 and Level 5 Honors students? Does the school seriously expect that to work?!
The proficiency of the French 5 students may well be an asset to the beginners. But the beginners will be less able to work independently and will probably outnumber the Level 5 students. Logic therefore indicates that the Level 5 students will be actively taught for at most 50% of the time. And languages are like math – linear: it is difficult to move on to a higher level unless one has completed the previous one. Even when two adjacent levels are placed together, it can be a problem. I pity the unfortunate teacher of this mixed class and, indeed, the students.
In future years, knowing that the class is unlikely to be especially interactive, advanced students will be discouraged from taking it. And when no one opts for it, the district will be able to say that there’s no call for it and cancel the class altogether. Not that any educational body has ever done this, of course. 🙂
I really hope that I’m wrong and that the class will succeed.
JtJh,
In a way, isnt that the concept of any language learning – immersion with those more proficient?