FOREIGN LANGUAGES

Not a foreign concept Learning languages encourages a more empathetic society

Grace Mossing mossigra000@hsestudents.org

English-speaking Americans seem to have the preconceived notion that everyone around the world speaks their language. In all actuality, only about 20% of the world speaks English. We are infatuated with the idea that people across the world can speak English as well as we do; therefore, America has not put in the eff ort to learn other languages. Across Europe, 92% of students study a foreign language, and the U.S. disappoints with only 20% of students studying a foreign language, according to American Council for International Education. One of the reasons Europe’s percentage happens to be so high is because most European countries have national level mandates that require students to study a language, diff ering from the =.;., _here the state or local government run these mandates. The U.S. continues to lose focus on learning foreign languages in colleges as well. From 2013 to 2016, universities across the US cut 651 foreign language programs, with French taking the hardest hit. With these cuts, colleges are losing opportunities for their students. 3no_ing and being profi cient in a second language widens various job opportunities. Careers now are globalized with employers traveling across the world physically and through their computers, so speaking a language gives a large competitive edge. Learning languages also teaches people empathy. I know I take for granted being able to speak English in situations. For example, when I am out of the country, I tend to speak primarily English because that is safer for me. I do not want to mess up trying to speak their native language. I completely forget about the discomfort and nervousness of the people speaking my language bacS to me, being selfi sh _ith my o_n interests. By speaking the language of others around us, we begin to learn of a gap in communication and that both sides must learn to bridge. It is okay to be nervous about messing up as long as a person tries, because everyday people around you speak English as their second language here in the US, putting on a brave face trying to learn. Dr. Viorica Marian’s study, “The Cognitive *enefi ts of *eing *ilingual” discusses the

advantages of being bilingual across all ages. Children as young as seven months old that speak more than one language can adjust better to environmental change, and older age people will experience less cognitive decline, such as dementia and Alzheimer’s. In our district, learning languages has become more of a focus. The high school requires three years of a language from students, and provides four languages: French, Spanish, German and American Sign Language. In the past three years, Spanish has started to be taught in elementary schools with 40 minute classes once a week for a semester. It is now part of the curriculum in seven out of 13 elementary schools in our district. Spanish teacher Jessi Shelton began at Sand Creek and New Britton this year and has loved her new job teaching younger children to appreciate learning a new language. “It’s a lot easier to learn a foreign language _hen you¼re younger,” ;helton said. ¹)nd they just pick it up so naturally that I think it’s really great that _e¼re starting it no_.” With many students at New Britton speaking English as a second or third language, Shelton believes that she is teaching her kids to empathize with children who have to work that hard on a language all day. Each class they focus on a new Spanish speaking country’s culture to learn to appreciate it mixed in with games and songs. The language progress our district is making can always go one step further. We could introduce Spanish to intermediate schools to give students a continuous language education starting the year they begin school, and schools could think about introducing more languages than just Spanish among the younger grades. If every school district in the country could slowly begin integrating foreign languages into their curriculum, children would begin growing up in a more empathetic and compassionate U.S. for other cultures and their people. As a whole, we would be able to communicate better with the rest of the world and pursue greater career choices. <he =.;. could fi nally overcome one of its greatest weaknesses, but progress must continue.

Recess for high school

STAFF Editor-in-Chief: Ellie Albin Web/News Editor: John Yun Features Editor: Ben McHenry Arts & Culture Editor: Kristen Rummel Sports Editor: Nate Albin Assistant Web/News Editor: Benjamin Grantonic Social Media Editor/Unity Director: Rebekah Shultz

Reporters Hayley Brown, Riley Gearhart, Meg Gibson, Fletcher Haltom, Carter Hanefeld, Andrew Haughey, Grace Mossing, Ben Rosen, Sydney Territo, Lily Thomas, Emma Tomlinson

Photographers James Fortozo, Avery Krasnow, Elissa Mitchell, Emma Nguyen, Kathleen Tran

Principal Jason Urban

Adviser Kristine Brown

Associations IHSPA CSPA NSPA Quill and Scroll Printer AIM Media

FHS needs to invest time experimenting with new breaks during day along with block schedules

Letting students _atch the first t_o days of 5arch 5adness on their phones, laptops or together as a class is not such a bad idea. ;ometimes, a breaS from the tasS at hand is needed, and 5arch 5adness provides the perfect opportunity to test this out.

1t may seem counterintuitive to advocate for disrupting class _ith some basSetball, but  this is 1ndiana, the state that loves this sport more than any other. )nd Sids desperately need some time to blo_ off steam and enjoy one of 1ndiana¼s favorite pastimes. 8lus, taSing breaSs during the school day has proven to be beneficial, as students have short attention spans and get stressed.

)ccording to a  study by psychologist 3arrie /od_in, ontasS behavior decreases as instruction increases. 7verall, the study concluded that breaSs can help students refocus on the tasS at hand, reduce stress levels and increase their eٻciency.

<hinS of taSing breaSs in high school as recess for a Sid in elementary or early middle school. -lementary school teachers _ould probably get pretty annoyed if their Sids did not have some sort of play time  and high schoolers are really no different. ?e get antsy, too. ?hile _e may not _ant to go jump up and do_n on a playground, _e do deserve to have a breaS. 0igh schoolers have much more _orS compared to elementary schoolers, yet all _e get is a ish minute breaS in the middle of the day for lunch. 6o_, obviously, the first t_o days of 5arch 5adness only occur t_o days per year, but students need breaSs yearround. <his is not just a plea to _atch 5arch 5adness at school _ithout any grief# _e genuinely _ant more breaSs during the school day.

?ith .0; no_ e`perimenting _ith blocS scheduling page , this _ould also be a good time to e`periment _ith a longer breaS for all students during the day. 7ur school currently has ;5a:< 8eriod once a _eeS, but it serves practically no purpose, e`cept _hen there are class meetings. 8lus, liSe _e said, it meets only once a _eeS.

;ho_ing _illingness to maSe progress, the school has recently e`perimented _ith a longer passing period. 1t only adds an e`tra five minutes, though, _hich is not really much of a breaS.

4ucSily, as our school considers blocS scheduling, it might be easier to fit in a designated ¹breaS” period during the day, _here students could host club meetings, asS teachers Yuestions, catch up on home_orS, hang out _ith friends or even just sit and stare at a _all. ?ith the sample blocS schedule, classes are ! minutes. ,uring our current schedule, _hich is a sevenperiod day, classes are appro`imately  minutes. <here must be a middle ground _here the school can still pursue the blocS schedule, but maSe the classes a little shorter and create a breaS period. 1t _ill taSe a little bit of math, but it is obviously a problem our school can handle.

;ome may fear that adding a breaS period during the day might harm academic achievements. <hat is not the case. <his _ill al_ays be a high achieving school, and a period during the day to rela`, _hich is a normal desire, _ill not deter our tracS record as a good school. 7verall, our school is ranSed eighth among state high schools and  nationally, according to =.;. 6e_s. ?e have an )8 participation rate of ! , a ! graduation rate and are above average in both mathematics and reading proficiency. ;o, a little bit of a breaS each day' Aeah, _e thinS _e have earned it.

EDITORIAL QUESTION Should the school create a break period for students during the day so they can take time to decompress?

6tudents currently use the &&$ space during study halls and Ŵ e[ periods ,f a breaN period were placed somewhere during the day, then this space could be used during that time as well Photo by Benjamin Grantonic.

EDITORIAL POLICY As the student-run newsmagazine of FHS, Tiger Topics N the Red is dedicated to providing the staff, students and community of FHS with a timely, entertaining and factual publication once a month by means of public forum. In publishing articles that students enjoy reading, we are furthering both the educational experience and the expansion of FHS culture. The staff works to create a sense of unity and awareness and to allow the students of FHS to have a better insight to the world around them.

MISSION STATEMENT Tiger Topics N the RED is the offi cial monthly newsmagazine of Fishers High School. It is distributed free to 3,500 students and over 300 school personnel. It is designed, written and edited by students. Opinions expressed in the newsmagazine do not necessarily represent those of the adviser, administration or staff. Letters to the editor may be submitted to A218, or to fhstigertopics@gmail.com. Letters must contain the writer’s phone number for verifi cation. Letters to the editor will not be published anonymously. If there is any incorrect information, corrections will be made in the next issue.