By Dahlia Deener
Spanish is one of our country’s most spoken languages as around 41.3 million Americans speak it fluently. Thus, it is vital to learn as part of the American school curriculum. In a private Jewish day school, where a double Judaic curriculum is required, it can be hard to incorporate a third language and encourage students to learn it. So how does a school with a double curriculum embrace global culture and teach Spanish?
Students who take Spanish express the importance that the language brings to TLS’s environment. Sophomore Eli Zargari, who was enrolled in Spanish IV, explains why he enjoys learning Spanish.
“I feel like it’s a good change from the normal curriculum we have,” Zargari said. “I think it’s nice to explore other cultures.”
Although fundamental to our community and our school’s beliefs, Jewish learning and culture cannot be the only topic discussed when there is such vast Spanish history. While Zargari conveys the importance of expanding fixed Jewish learning, sophomore Sonia Bemporad-Fishman, who was enrolled in Spanish I last year, states the issues with this need.
“I think Spanish is harder because I’m not as used to it as I am with Hebrew,” Bemporad-Fishman said. “It’s still being developed at this school.”
While it is necessary to include this type of learning in a Jewish day school, Bemporad-Fishman explains the difficulty of making it equally as important when it’s still a growing topic of interest. Zargari agrees.
“I think it is hard because it’s something completely new, especially if you’re coming in from not having a background of taking it,” Zargari said.
When discussing the requirement for Spanish at TLS, students express their thoughts and concerns about this option and if it is necessary for TLS to require a third language. Junior Maya Levi, who took Spanish I last year, shared her feelings.
“I think it should be required because more people speak Spanish here [in the United States],” Levi said. “It’s good [for] when you go out of high school because in college you’re not just going to be with people speaking Hebrew every day, there’s going to be other languages and it’s important to know other people’s cultures.”
On the contrary, Bemporad-Fishman thinks differently about the future of the Spanish program.
“I don’t think it should be required.” Bemporad-Fishman expresses.“The longer time Leffell keeps the option [of Spanish], the more kids will want to join.”
As seen from three students in Spanish classes, the Spanish language is certainly vital to the future of TLS’s students’ learning, and the culture is needed for the expansion of education. Spanish and French teacher Rafal Krazek discussed his thoughts and desires for the future of his current program.
“Every single language that you learn is very beneficial for you. For example, Spanish is spoken by a significant portion of the U.S. population.” Krazek said. “Soon, the number of Spanish speakers is likely to continue to grow, so studying Spanish is a strong recommendation.”
In addition to his advocacy for his classes, Krazek expresses what the current Spanish curriculum could do to better prepare his students, and the curriculum, for success.
“Making trips to Spanish-speaking countries would be very helpful for students of the language,” Krazek said. “Immersing themselves in the culture and connecting with native speakers would be a rewarding experience.”
The Spanish curriculum and culture are essential to all schools, both Jewish and not. Some students speak Spanish at home, and our school community should be aware of that. Zargari explains his ideas, saying that the Spanish curriculum and culture are essential to all schools. Furthermore, Zargari thinks that, not only as Jews but as people living in The United States, TLS students shouldn’t brush off a topic that is so relevant to our lives.
“I feel like Spanish is the most important language we can learn as Americans,” Zargari said. “We go to a Jewish school but Spanish is really essential especially since there are so many people in our community that we don’t even realize [who] speak Spanish at home. There’s such a large population in New York, especially immigrants and people of Spanish descent.”
