It their general outline, the Governor's budget proposals seem wise to me, reflecting both what is critically needed and what the public does support. But the bigger issue, little recognized and with even less public support, is how Oregon engages China through it educational programs so that it can lead the US away from confrontation toward constructive engagement. I will look for, but doubt that I will find, details in the Governor's educational budget allocating funds for expanding Mandarin classes and sending students to study in China. Yet, future historians, I believe, will judge him and this legislative session by whether they seriously started to engage China or continued our traditional, rather insular and limited, vision for public education. Especially if there is a near future war with China, future historians will look back on the roads to peace not taken.

Fred Kaplan writes in his Slate article(5/26/06)The China Syndrome: Why the Pentagon Keeps Overestimating Beijing's Military Strength :“Every day and night, hundreds of Air Force generals and Navy admirals must thank their lucky stars for China. Without the specter of a rising Chinese military, there would be no rationale for such a large fleet of American nuclear submarines and aircraft carriers, or for a new generation of stealth combat fighters – no rational for about a quarter of the pentagon’s budget.”

Perhaps the Governor and his staff could think that if more Oregon students learned Mandarin and spent time in China then the possibilities for war with China and the rationale for such military spending could be reduced? If they could, what changes would it mean for our educational system where in 2004 only 35 students (0.044%) of the entire Oregon University System’s enrollment studied abroad in China and less than 1% of our high school graduates have studied Mandarin for two years or more?

The Portland Public Schools system has several schools currently teaching Mandarin Chinese in an immersion program. The students can take it every day from Kindergarten through the 12th grade.

All the families have to do is sign-up for the Chinese Immersion Kindergarten and they are in.

PPS also offers Spanish and Japanese immersion programs as well.

Info at pps.k12.or.us

"All the families have to do is sign-up for the Chinese Immersion Kindergarten and they are in.

PPS also offers Spanish and Japanese immersion programs as well."

-Do they have Thai, too?

Perhaps I'm just too cautious, but I think there are a lot of voters who cast their ballot for the Governor, who woke up to this morning's headline, thinking: "a 20% increase???" I know, all of the taxes are things he talked about in the campaign, as are the spending priorities. But you can bet that in another two years, the Republicans will be trumpeting "tax and spend" like crazy. Particularly since the rainy day fund is not really spending, maybe it's just the Oregonian's headline that gives me pause.

Kari,

Where is Speaker-elect Jeff Merkley's website? With a little over a month before his swearing in I would think he would want to get started on that. You know...let the people know what he intends to bring to the table, agenda, priorities, and all that good stuff. I'm sure you'll be building it so let us know soon!

Yes but no Speakermerkley.com, or speakerjeff, or anything fun like that?

Similar increases in future budgets will gradually pull school funding up to the optimal levels identified by the Quality Education Model, Kulongoski said. That model attaches dollar figures to programs designed to assure high student achievement. ...

Just got an email from a friend (politically active retired teacher) who said this:

"it's true that school administrators receive PERS plus health insurance. It seems to me that I've also talked to retired administrators and somehow they have had a better retirement package than teachers..."

http://www.statesmanjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2006612030309 is a story from this weekend about a supt. who wants all the power even if that leaves little for the school board to do.

There is law about administrators, whether anyone wants to talk about it or not: ORS 342.845 Contract teacher; part-time contract teacher; effect of program transfer; administrator contracts

If those specific topics about school district governance can't be discussed because all that matters are generalities like "level of spending" and "programs designed to assure high student achievement", I'm not sure how engaged the general public (parents, interested local citizens who think talking to most school board members is like talking to a brick wall) will be on this.

Perhaps it is time for open debate about school audits done by someone outside the school district--maybe by the state which provides most school funding.

Yes Jenni I'm sure that is the reason. I'm sure the Speaker of the House won't have his own website.

Reply to Sid Leader,

Yes, the Portland Public Schools has a Chinese immersion (half day Chinese, half day English) program at Woodstock elementary that started in 1997. In the Fall semester 2006 it doubled in size from one class per grade (25-30 students) to two classes (50-60 students). So far the double class is only kindergarten. One grade will be added each year as the students get older. Some of the old students are now at Hosford Middle School and Cleveland High School. Cleveland High School also has two first year Mandarin classes and plans for second year classes next year. The Portland Public Schools may start another Chinese immersion program at another elementary school in the future. Franklin High School has one class of first year Mandarin and one class of second year Mandarin. Franklin also has several classes for heritage students (speaking Mandarin in their families) with high school subject matter taught in Mandarin. The Woodstock -Hosford -Cleveland -Franklin programs are part of the federally funded K-16 Chinese Flagship program jointly operated by the Univesity of Oregon and the Portland Public Schools. The Chinese Flagship program is developing a national model K-16 Mandarin curriculum, funds four year scholarships for bilingual students at the U of O, and helps support the Portland Public School mandarin programs.

There is a private elementary school in Portland, the International School, that has a full-day Chinese immersion program. In addition, the International School is discussing with other immersion private schools to create Chinese tracks at the middle and high school levels. Catlin Gable, a private preschool-12 school in the Portland area, introduced Chinese at all grade levels above one this year. The Episcopal School, a pre-K-12 private school in the Portland area, also introduced Chinese at its middle school and high school levels. The Beaverton School District this year added first year Chinese language classes (1-2 classes at each school) at three schools: Southridge High School, Stoller Middle School, and the International School of Beaverton (a public school currently with grades 6-9, eventually 6-12).

Those are the Mandarin classes that I know of in the Portland area. Adding in the rest of the state, it is still unlikely that there are more than 100 students, probably less then 50, across Oregon high schools who have graduated with two years or more of high school Mandarin (not counting heritage students). The Oregon Department of Education reports that for the 2003-04 academic year there were 32,972 high school completers with regular diplomas. 100 students would represent less than 1% (actually, 0.303%).

Thanks to Dave for the info on world language immersion programs in Portland and around Oregon.

So, where's the Arabic?

NBC News reports the FBI has fewer than 20 agents with advanced Arabic skills. That means they can say more than "Hello" and "Gitmo".

Just 20... and that's after a very very long five years after 9/11.

But the Federal Bureau of Incompetents (Hi B.A.!) have also wasted more than $150,000,000 on several computer systems that do not work.

I'd put Deputy Barney Fife and his one bullet up against FBI Director Mueller and his M-16s any day of the week. And win.

The Portland Public Schools system has several schools currently teaching Mandarin Chinese in an immersion program. The students can take it every day from Kindergarten through the 12th grade.

All the families have to do is sign-up for the Chinese Immersion Kindergarten and they are in.

PPS also offers Spanish and Japanese immersion programs as well.

Well, as someone who wished his child could have gone to a foreign-language immersion program and did some careful checking, allow me to make some important clarifications. First of all, the demand for the immersion programs exceeds available slots, so there's a lottery. Second, it is important to note is that kids cannot get into any immersion program after kindergarten unless they demonstrate a certain level of proficiency. So if you move from out of the district, or for any other reason decide that you would like to try to enroll your post-kindergarten kid in an immersion program, your only option (unless you speak the target language yourself) is to hire a private tutor and put your name in the lottery.

Also, regarding that federally funded "Flagship" program mentioned in another comment, this is de facto aimed primarily at ethnic Chinese kids who speak a Chinese language at home.

There are many children in PPS world language immersion programs whose families have moved to the suburbs over the years and they are still enrolled in PPS. I teach em.

Reply to Sid Leader:

I think you missed my point. Previous postings implied that getting kids into PPS language-immersion programs is trivial, a slam dunk. Would that it were so. I know from experience it ain't. I wanted to enroll my daughter in such a program when her school was on the list of potential closures. I contacted several principals and was told what I wrote before: if you decide that you would like to enroll your post-kindergarten kid in a PPS immersion program, your only option (unless you speak the target language yourself and can teach your child) is to hire a private tutor, have your child pass a proficiency test, and put your name in the lottery.

Sid and lin qiao,

Thanks for the additional info. I didn't know.

Sid, I would echo you on Arabic.

To quote the Iraq Study Group report (p. 92):

"All of our efforts in Iraq, military and civilian, are handicapped by Americans’ lack of language and cultural understanding. Our embassy of 1,000 has 33 Arabic speakers, just six of whom are at the level of fluency. In a conflict that demands effective and efficient communication with Iraqis, we are often at a disadvantage. There are still far too few Arab language–proficient military and civilian officers in Iraq, to the detriment of the U.S. mission."

China, and therefore Mandarin, is just so much more important to our economic and strategic future than Arabic. But all foreign language are not getting the attention they deserve.

You might find the proposal "Developing the China Connection through Educational Programs" by Rep. Richardson and myself currently pending before the steering committee of the Oregon Business Plan interesting.

Further reply to Sid Leader regarding Arabic interpreters in the Middle East:

Andrew Sullivan in his Daily Dish quoting an army linguist at length ends with:

Army linguist: "That is, if the military really wanted to, they could have flooded the streets of Iraq with Arabic linguists by 2004."

<h2>Andrew Sullivan: "That is: if we had had a halfway competent defense secretary and halfway competent president. We had neither. You want to know who lost Iraq? Bush. Period."</h2>