Northville Schools May Add Mandarin as Early as 2016-2017

Students at Northville Public Schools may have the option to take Mandarin for one their foreign language credits in the 2016-2017 school year.

A variety of interests are urging the district to adopt the Chinese language, hometownlife.com reports.

Adding Chinese, the most spoken language in the world, to the curriculum would help Northville students compete in a global job market, several speakers said at Tuesday’s Committee of the Whole, which is looking at curriculum recommendations.

Tom Watkins, a former state superintendent of education who lives in Northville, acknowledged adding Mandarin would be expensive, but thinks it’s worth the cost. Watkins, CEO of the Wayne County Mental Health Authority, currently advises the state education department on issues involving China.

“It’s a critical time to step up and do what’s right by offering Mandarin Chinese to our students,” Watkins said. “One-fifth of all humanity speaks Chinese. I’ve spent a good portion of my life building bridges with the People’s Republic of China. If we can build those bridges ... it will affect all humanity.”

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Watkins tried to convince the school board to add Chinese to the curriculum a few years ago, but the imperative is greater now that China is expected to eclipse the United States as the world’s dominant economy, perhaps as early as next year.

“It’s really an investment. I know it’s a difficult one in these tough times ... but it will make a difference in our children’s lives.”

Board President Cyndy Jankowski said that though she agrees in theory with adding Chinese to the district’s foreign language offerings, “there’s a significant amount of work to be done if we’re going to add it to next year’s curriculum.”

The school board will take up the issue after school starts.