IB Director puts language misconception to rest
Summer O'Neill
Señor Martinez plans for his class during a lunch break.
Summer O'Neill, DEC Crew
February 9, 2012
Filed under News, Top Stories
Sudden change is always a cause of concern, especially when those concerned are teenagers. Specifically, Decatur teens when it comes to their Spanish class.
According to sophomore Sarah Stubbs, change is especially difficult if it were to affect her Spanish class. Stubbs reacted to the idea that Spanish 5 would be replaced by AP Spanish. Decatur supposedly toyed with the idea of the shift, which would have forced rising Spanish students into a college level language class.
“Personally, I do not feel prepared for that class,” Stubbs said. “I would be at a disadvantage because everyone else in it would have taken both Spanish 4 and 5.” In disagreement with the proposal, Stubbs even went so far as to write a letter to the administration.
But while Stubbs involved herself in the ordeal, others claim that they had never even heard about the change. Eileen Zack, one of Decatur’s Spanish teachers, reported that she didn’t know anything about the proposed policy. Jesus Martinez, another Spanish teacher, was unaware of the policy, as well. So if teachers aren’t even in the know, how was Stubbs?
Wes Hatfield, Decatur’s IB Coordinator, said that Decatur’s current policy has been in place for several years, at least, and will stay there. While the idea of only AP Spanish was tossed around, it never got past that first round. Hatfield stated that the current policy is simply to encourage students to achieve language proficiency (also to satisfy college requirements) and would not be changed.
