Save French!
Speak It Now, Or Let It Forever Be Forgotten
Petition/Guest Book
Please Sign Your Name, Your Age, and Your future/current language! Thank You for caring and considering our cause. Please do not write unrelated comments here, and thank you again.
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256 Comments
Reply
Megan Savold
06:50 PM on December 08, 2009
I don't take French, I take Italian. Italian is my culture and my heritage. But like I was saying to my friend today, if I had a chance to re-do 7th grade, or better yet, the end of 6th, I would have chosen to take French as my language course. Although Italian is my background, I have always found French a beautiful language. Madame Prestano has never been one of my teachers, but after seeing her around school ever day in middle school and being on the newspaper that she ran, I find her to be one of my favorite teachers. She always has a simile on her face when ever I see her and, from what my friends in her classes tell me, is a lot of fun during class. I don't take the language, I wish I did, but dropping this from our school is a horrible idea. The language teaches so much! Drop it, and I know many MANY people that will be very unhappy. The goal is to keep kids interested in school, to make them actually WANT to come and not feel like it's a chore. Keeping French in our school will do just that.
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elveynutt
05:59 PM on November 22, 2009
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05:56 PM on November 22, 2009
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Janine Canan MD
10:32 AM on September 07, 2009
How sad to lose French. I studied French through junior and high school, and now am the translator of a book of French poetry, Under the Azure by Francis Jammes. French is a language and culture that is important to the whole world. (Paris is the Number One tourist site in the world.) Please put French back into your curriculum.
Sincerely,
Janine Canan MD
Sincerely,
Janine Canan MD
Reply
Janine Canan MD
10:32 AM on September 07, 2009
How sad to lose French. I studied French through junior and high school, and now am the translator of a book of French poetry, Under the Azure by Francis Jammes. French is a language and culture that is important to the whole world. (Paris is the Number One tourist site in the world.) Please put French back into your curriculum.
Sincerely,
Janine Canan MD
Sincerely,
Janine Canan MD
Reply
Alicia
04:06 AM on August 31, 2009
One of my best friends loved french! French is a beautiful language. It's not dead... people still speak it! Let's not let french end up like the latin language which is just as beautiful but sadly forgotten!
Reply
Liz
04:04 AM on August 31, 2009
I hate when they make the greatest teachers who ever lived in your time leave your school! Some of my favorite teachers, including one of the best spanish teachers I ever had, were forced to leave my school! so here is my signature in hopes they don't do it to you guys! 
Reply
Jill
09:50 PM on August 16, 2009
Maria says...
Good luck! We are facing the same problem. What's WRONG with people??
too many things. good luck
Reply
Deborah
09:49 PM on August 12, 2009
Don't they realize, the more languages, the merrier??
French = art, music, dance, literature, cinema, food, sports, and even US history-- connections to EVERYTHING. Good luck and I hope French is reinstated.
French = art, music, dance, literature, cinema, food, sports, and even US history-- connections to EVERYTHING. Good luck and I hope French is reinstated.
Reply
Eileen Walvoord
11:33 PM on August 06, 2009
Am hoping to hear that French has been reinstated for the 2009-2010 school year. Is it true?
Reply
Maria
12:36 PM on August 03, 2009
Good luck! We are facing the same problem. What's WRONG with people??
Reply
MB
08:57 PM on July 23, 2009
I can't believe that the superintendent said French is a "dead language." If she went to Canada, she'd stuff those words back in her mouth.
Reply
Melissa Sellars
01:11 PM on June 23, 2009
As a French enthusiast in Texas, I am so sad to hear that the French program in your school district is being threatened. I wish the school board would be less short-sighted and think about their decision a bit more before ruling out this wonderful language for future generations.
Valerie says...
What a short sighted decision. Replacing French with Arabic and Chinese? Did the new superintendant have a clue how hard those languages are to master?
She can barely read a menu in French, how would she cope if it was in Arabic or Chinese?
Did the school district get some kind of State or Federal grants to teach Arabic to impressionable minds?
No one who is not a native speaker will ever be able to master that language well enough to land a job with the FBI or CIA or for that matter understand the Culture.
As far as Chinese, most Chinese natives master many languages and that would include French and Spanish.
Ms Degrusso, please stop pandering and try to improve the life of your strudents that is what my high taxes are inended for.
A French Supporter.
I like this one the best because it gets the superintendent's name wrong.
tee hee!
The school board candidate who supported replacing French with Arabic and Chinese was unsuccessful. Does anyone have new information on the future of the French program in Kings Park? It's difficult to get a clear answer.
Reply
Valerie
03:31 PM on June 03, 2009
What a short sighted decision. Replacing French with Arabic and Chinese? Did the new superintendant have a clue how hard those languages are to master?
She can barely read a menu in French, how would she cope if it was in Arabic or Chinese?
Did the school district get some kind of State or Federal grants to teach Arabic to impressionable minds?
No one who is not a native speaker will ever be able to master that language well enough to land a job with the FBI or CIA or for that matter understand the Culture.
As far as Chinese, most Chinese natives master many languages and that would include French and Spanish.
Ms Degrusso, please stop pandering and try to improve the life of your strudents that is what my high taxes are inended for.
A French Supporter.
She can barely read a menu in French, how would she cope if it was in Arabic or Chinese?
Did the school district get some kind of State or Federal grants to teach Arabic to impressionable minds?
No one who is not a native speaker will ever be able to master that language well enough to land a job with the FBI or CIA or for that matter understand the Culture.
As far as Chinese, most Chinese natives master many languages and that would include French and Spanish.
Ms Degrusso, please stop pandering and try to improve the life of your strudents that is what my high taxes are inended for.
A French Supporter.
Reply
Rosa Todaro
02:03 PM on May 28, 2009
French has become such a big part of my life, and it is extremely upsetting that students might no longer be offered the opportunity to take it. It is a useful and beautiful language, and the program in Kings Park is wonderful and full of students with a strong passion for French.
Parlons Français!
-Rosa Todaro, Age 18
Parlons Français!
-Rosa Todaro, Age 18
Don't let an idea sit in your head, because right now, ten-thousand people have the same idea, get working.
Michael Adams
I've got awesome sci- fi books coming out, in case you didn't realize
Michael Adams
When you hear Robert Pike on the radio, remember, you heard it from me first
Michael Adams
Michael Adams
I've got awesome sci- fi books coming out, in case you didn't realize
Michael Adams
When you hear Robert Pike on the radio, remember, you heard it from me first
Michael Adams
Everything starts as somebody's daydream.
Larry Niven
I love superconductors.
Larry Niven
I never got good at predicting what millions of people will suddenly decide is rational.
Larry Niven
I'd repair our education system or replace it with something that works.
Larry Niven
I'd visit the near future, close enough that someone might want to talk to Larry Niven and can figure out the language; distant enough to get me decent medical techniques and a ticket to the Moon.
Larry Niven
I'm not predicting; I just love playing with superconductors.
Larry Niven
Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.
Arthur C. Clarke
CNN is one of the participants in the war. I have a fantasy where Ted Turner is elected president but refuses because he doesn't want to give up power.
Arthur C. Clarke
Every revolutionary idea seems to evoke three stages of reaction. They may be summed up by the phrases: 1- It's completely impossible. 2- It's possible, but it's not worth doing. 3- I said it was a good idea all along.
Arthur C. Clarke
How inappropriate to call this planet Earth when it is quite clearly Ocean.
Arthur C. Clarke
Human judges can show mercy. But against the laws of nature, there is no appeal.
Arthur C. Clarke
I don't believe in astrology; I'm a Sagittarius and we're skeptical.
Arthur C. Clarke
I don't believe in God but I'm very interested in her.
Arthur C. Clarke
I don't pretend we have all the answers. But the questions are certainly worth thinking about.
Arthur C. Clarke
If an elderly but distinguished scientist says that something is possible, he is almost certainly right; but if he says that it is impossible, he is very probably wrong.
Arthur C. Clarke
It has yet to be proven that intelligence has any survival value.
Arthur C. Clarke
It is not easy to see how the more extreme forms of nationalism can long survive when men have seen the Earth in its true perspective as a single small globe against the stars.
Arthur C. Clarke
It may be that our role on this planet is not to worship God - but to create him.
Arthur C. Clarke
Perhaps, as some wit remarked, the best proof that there is Intelligent Life in Outer Space is the fact it hasn't come here. Well, it can't hide forever - one day we will overhear it.
Arthur C. Clarke
Politicians should read science fiction, not westerns and detective stories.
Arthur C. Clarke
Reading computer manuals without the hardware is as frustrating as reading manuals without the software.
Arthur C. Clarke
Sometimes I think we're alone in the universe, and sometimes I think we're not. In either case the idea is quite staggering.
Arthur C. Clarke
The best measure of a man's honesty isn't his income tax return. It's the zero adjust on his bathroom scale.
Arthur C. Clarke
Larry Niven
I love superconductors.
Larry Niven
I never got good at predicting what millions of people will suddenly decide is rational.
Larry Niven
I'd repair our education system or replace it with something that works.
Larry Niven
I'd visit the near future, close enough that someone might want to talk to Larry Niven and can figure out the language; distant enough to get me decent medical techniques and a ticket to the Moon.
Larry Niven
I'm not predicting; I just love playing with superconductors.
Larry Niven
Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.
Arthur C. Clarke
CNN is one of the participants in the war. I have a fantasy where Ted Turner is elected president but refuses because he doesn't want to give up power.
Arthur C. Clarke
Every revolutionary idea seems to evoke three stages of reaction. They may be summed up by the phrases: 1- It's completely impossible. 2- It's possible, but it's not worth doing. 3- I said it was a good idea all along.
Arthur C. Clarke
How inappropriate to call this planet Earth when it is quite clearly Ocean.
Arthur C. Clarke
Human judges can show mercy. But against the laws of nature, there is no appeal.
Arthur C. Clarke
I don't believe in astrology; I'm a Sagittarius and we're skeptical.
Arthur C. Clarke
I don't believe in God but I'm very interested in her.
Arthur C. Clarke
I don't pretend we have all the answers. But the questions are certainly worth thinking about.
Arthur C. Clarke
If an elderly but distinguished scientist says that something is possible, he is almost certainly right; but if he says that it is impossible, he is very probably wrong.
Arthur C. Clarke
It has yet to be proven that intelligence has any survival value.
Arthur C. Clarke
It is not easy to see how the more extreme forms of nationalism can long survive when men have seen the Earth in its true perspective as a single small globe against the stars.
Arthur C. Clarke
It may be that our role on this planet is not to worship God - but to create him.
Arthur C. Clarke
Perhaps, as some wit remarked, the best proof that there is Intelligent Life in Outer Space is the fact it hasn't come here. Well, it can't hide forever - one day we will overhear it.
Arthur C. Clarke
Politicians should read science fiction, not westerns and detective stories.
Arthur C. Clarke
Reading computer manuals without the hardware is as frustrating as reading manuals without the software.
Arthur C. Clarke
Sometimes I think we're alone in the universe, and sometimes I think we're not. In either case the idea is quite staggering.
Arthur C. Clarke
The best measure of a man's honesty isn't his income tax return. It's the zero adjust on his bathroom scale.
Arthur C. Clarke
I don't believe in an afterlife, so I don't have to spend my whole life fearing hell, or fearing heaven even more. For whatever the tortures of hell, I think the boredom of heaven would be even worse.
Isaac Asimov
If knowledge can create problems, it is not through ignorance that we can solve them.
Isaac Asimov
If my doctor told me I had only six minutes to live, I wouldn't brood. I'd type a little faster.
Isaac Asimov
Never let your sense of morals get in the way of doing what's right.
Isaac Asimov
People who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do.
Isaac Asimov
The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not 'Eureka!' but 'That's funny...'
Isaac Asimov
The saddest aspect of life right now is that science gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom.
Isaac Asimov
To insult someone we call him "bestial." For deliberate cruelty and nature, "human" might be the greater insult.
Isaac Asimov
Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent.
Isaac Asimov
Building one space station for everyone was and is insane: we should have built a dozen.
Larry Niven
Isaac Asimov
If knowledge can create problems, it is not through ignorance that we can solve them.
Isaac Asimov
If my doctor told me I had only six minutes to live, I wouldn't brood. I'd type a little faster.
Isaac Asimov
Never let your sense of morals get in the way of doing what's right.
Isaac Asimov
People who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do.
Isaac Asimov
The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not 'Eureka!' but 'That's funny...'
Isaac Asimov
The saddest aspect of life right now is that science gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom.
Isaac Asimov
To insult someone we call him "bestial." For deliberate cruelty and nature, "human" might be the greater insult.
Isaac Asimov
Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent.
Isaac Asimov
Building one space station for everyone was and is insane: we should have built a dozen.
Larry Niven
I don't believe in an afterlife, so I don't have to spend my whole life fearing hell, or fearing heaven even more. For whatever the tortures of hell, I think the boredom of heaven would be even worse.
Isaac Asimov
If knowledge can create problems, it is not through ignorance that we can solve them.
Isaac Asimov
If my doctor told me I had only six minutes to live, I wouldn't brood. I'd type a little faster.
Isaac Asimov
Never let your sense of morals get in the way of doing what's right.
Isaac Asimov
People who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do.
Isaac Asimov
The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not 'Eureka!' but 'That's funny...'
Isaac Asimov
The saddest aspect of life right now is that science gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom.
Isaac Asimov
To insult someone we call him "bestial." For deliberate cruelty and nature, "human" might be the greater insult.
Isaac Asimov
Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent.
Isaac Asimov
Building one space station for everyone was and is insane: we should have built a dozen.
Larry Niven
Isaac Asimov
If knowledge can create problems, it is not through ignorance that we can solve them.
Isaac Asimov
If my doctor told me I had only six minutes to live, I wouldn't brood. I'd type a little faster.
Isaac Asimov
Never let your sense of morals get in the way of doing what's right.
Isaac Asimov
People who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do.
Isaac Asimov
The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not 'Eureka!' but 'That's funny...'
Isaac Asimov
The saddest aspect of life right now is that science gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom.
Isaac Asimov
To insult someone we call him "bestial." For deliberate cruelty and nature, "human" might be the greater insult.
Isaac Asimov
Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent.
Isaac Asimov
Building one space station for everyone was and is insane: we should have built a dozen.
Larry Niven
we need to get people to have accounts so that they become more interested than a pass by of the website. For starters, let's get the ambassador to have one.
Be wary of strong drink. It can make you shoot at tax collectors... and miss.
Robert A. Heinlein
All sorts of computer errors are now turning up. You'd be surprised to know the number of doctors who claim they are treating pregnant men.
Isaac Asimov
Creationists make it sound as though a 'theory' is something you dreamt up after being drunk all night.
Isaac Asimov
Humanity has the stars in its future, and that future is too important to be lost under the burden of juvenile folly and ignorant superstition.
Isaac Asimov
Be wary of strong drink. It can make you shoot at tax collectors... and miss.
Robert A. Heinlein
All sorts of computer errors are now turning up. You'd be surprised to know the number of doctors who claim they are treating pregnant men.
Isaac Asimov
Creationists make it sound as though a 'theory' is something you dreamt up after being drunk all night.
Isaac Asimov
Humanity has the stars in its future, and that future is too important to be lost under the burden of juvenile folly and ignorant superstition.
Isaac Asimov
Reply
Monique Seefried
12:24 PM on May 22, 2009
As a French and a US citizen, and chair emerita of the Board of the International Baccalaureate Organization, I congratulate you on this website and your love for languages. Learning French not only opens you to the cultures of many countries, it also gives you as an American a deep understanding of your own American culture and history. Take a look at the January Issue of IB World, it is about why languages matters.
My best wishes to you and to your teacher Brooke Prestano. Teachers like her are the people who make connections and understanding around the world. Bientôt les vacances, bon été.
My best wishes to you and to your teacher Brooke Prestano. Teachers like her are the people who make connections and understanding around the world. Bientôt les vacances, bon été.
Reply
jean pierre
12:33 PM on May 18, 2009
here is another gem
Maureen Rossi for KP BOE Acording to the FBI, the most sought after languages are Swahili, Urdu, Farsi and Bahasa Indonesian.According to Forbes, people learning Chinese and Arabic have risen 51% and 127th% respectively.Of course French is not a dead language ? it?s beautiful, it?s the language of love, the main language for Doctors Without Borders, for the UN and I believe The Red Cross. Unfortunately, it can?t be done here right now.
Maureen Rossi for KP BOE Acording to the FBI, the most sought after languages are Swahili, Urdu, Farsi and Bahasa Indonesian.According to Forbes, people learning Chinese and Arabic have risen 51% and 127th% respectively.Of course French is not a dead language ? it?s beautiful, it?s the language of love, the main language for Doctors Without Borders, for the UN and I believe The Red Cross. Unfortunately, it can?t be done here right now.
Reply
jean pierre
12:30 PM on May 18, 2009
tell your parent to vote french when they vote for the school board
Here is what one candidate said from her face book account
Maureen Rossi for KP BOE So when there wasn?t enough interest in the French language in the Kings Park district, our leaders did what good leaders must do ? they made a tough decision based on the good of the whole group. We can?t afford to run classrooms with a handful of children in them. In a perfect world, we could offer French, German, Russian, Chinese, Arabic.
Here is what one candidate said from her face book account
Maureen Rossi for KP BOE So when there wasn?t enough interest in the French language in the Kings Park district, our leaders did what good leaders must do ? they made a tough decision based on the good of the whole group. We can?t afford to run classrooms with a handful of children in them. In a perfect world, we could offer French, German, Russian, Chinese, Arabic.
Reply
kings park voter
08:08 AM on May 08, 2009
A candidate who says that "French is dead" is not qualified to make decisions for our school district. We need intelligent people on our school board.
Reply
Sarah Jourdain
02:04 PM on May 07, 2009
I am perplexed to learn that 7th graders in Kings Park will not be able to take French in the fall due to budget cuts. If there are enough current 6th graders who would like to take French in the fall so that the District can make (at least) one full section of French, then it should be possible to offer French to these students in the fall. Whether one of the teachers teaches one section of French or one section of a different language, the budget impact is the same. Perhaps interested students, and their parents, could indicate their interest on a common form so that it would be clear how many students would like a section of 7th grade French in the fall. If the interest is great enough, it seems to me that it should not be too late to make a modification in next year's schedule to include a 7th grade French class.
Ultimately, the decision about what is of value in the education of Kings Park students rests in the hands of Kings Park residents (parents and students included). Currently Kings Park has an excellent, award-winning French program, so naturally I hope that the value of French will be recognized.
Sarah Jourdain,
President, American Association of Teachers of French, Suffolk County Chapter
& Director of Foreign Language Teacher Education, Stony Brook University
Ultimately, the decision about what is of value in the education of Kings Park students rests in the hands of Kings Park residents (parents and students included). Currently Kings Park has an excellent, award-winning French program, so naturally I hope that the value of French will be recognized.
Sarah Jourdain,
President, American Association of Teachers of French, Suffolk County Chapter
& Director of Foreign Language Teacher Education, Stony Brook University
kingsman730@yahoo.com says...
Ryan Stewart
12-almost 13
French-ALWAYS!
Short, sweet, and AWESOME! SAVE FRENCH!!!
Reply
Jill
05:09 PM on May 05, 2009
All Comments that were uncalled for and/or inappropriate will be deleted from the site immediately. please cease these unneccessary remarks, thnx
Jillian
Jillian
kings park voter says...
It is a sad fact of the ecomony that the school district has to cut any classes and teaching positions. But the fact is, they are doing what is fiscially responsible to the entire community. I do think that French is a wonderful language, and should be taught. But the fact remains that their aren't enough students who have signed up for the courses. The same thing happened with other languages. If you want to keep French in the schools, you need to students who want to speak it. Kings Park does't have that. The BOE wasn't happy about this decision, but they weren't happy about many decisions they were forced to make. People want it all, we are parents want the best for our children. That isn't possible with the way things are, or we would be looking at a huge budget increase. People can't have it both ways.
I am sorry that the French is being cancelled, I am sorry that many people are losing jobs, I am sorry that the distrcit is in the financial situation they are in. But times are tough, and eveyone is going to be missing something here.
Be sure to determine prospective Board of Education candidate's opinions about the French program. Should we support a Board member who considers French a "dead language?" Look for information on "Meet the Candidate" dates. We need a Board member who is fair and intelligently considers the voters' input. Board members don't work for the schools.
Samantha Tinto says...
O.K, I may have already signed but all i have to say is ive been waiting on French as a language since, oh, what, the 3rd grade and now, as always, my futture hopes and dreams and all that i live for is taken from under my feet and i am crushed and I cied my eyes out all weekend after I heard the news and it seems like every dream that I ever have is just like a person teasing a dog with a bone and then just tossing it into a thorny thicket where that dog is to never seee it again and then they just walk away like it never happened. It is cruel and first of all, when are you ever going to use Italian anyway unless you have close-living, Italian-speaking realatives, but those people are seldom. So to all you Italian takers out there, think 'whats the point? When will I use this?' I feel punished for having a small school district and for all of those rumors about French being hard! Rumors spread easily here and this has lead to a lack of French takers. William T. loves french, but the schoolboard just doesnt understand. Mrs. Prestano, I hope you read this\]
-Samantha Tinto, 6th grader. Go French!!!!!
I am glad to see that a sixth grader has so much intrest in French. YAY!
Reply
Jenna Murray
11:25 AM on May 03, 2009
As a French and Spanish certified teacher graduating from Marist College in New York, I am writing my senior thesis on the decline in interest in French in the United States, and how this is untenable, and ridiculous, to say the least. French has played, and will continue to play such an important role in our history and futures, and to eliminate the opportunity to take French, is absurd. I hope to fight to save French programs across the country, and I thank you students and locals for supporting such a wonderful website- with cooperation and collaboration, I believe we shall succeed in opening this country's eyes to the reality that French is as important as they come. Feel free to contact me anytime for references from my research or a copy of the thesis! (it is in French of course!) Merci, et bonne chance!
~Jenna Murray
~Jenna Murray
Be sure to determine prospective Board of Education candidate's opinions about the French program. Should we support a Board member who considers French a "dead language?" Look for information on "Meet the Candidate" dates. We need a Board member who is fair and intelligently considers the voters' input. Board members don't work for the schools.
Reply
Bruno Bernardino
08:51 PM on April 26, 2009
Chers amis:
Bon courage! As a fellow teacher and student of French I am constantly finding people mistake quality and quantity. In our high school, our French program is experiencing a ?renaissance? in large part due to the efforts of our students. We promote it daily. And yet, I keep hearing how few we are in numbers. I must say, anyone would admit, although of the three languages offered at our school, French is the one with the fewest students. It is however, the one with the biggest and most felt impact on the students, the school and the community. Just because French has fewer students than Spanish or Italian doesn?t mean it can?t be a powerful educational resource. It certainly has been and our French family is thriving at Centereach High School. I often find misguided opinions and perceptions of France and French. In all of our trips abroad, students are shocked to fall in love with France, be it Paris or a quaint village in Normandy. In addition, I?ve been advised numerous times that our French students outperform other son the standardized exams. There are many more important aspects of a program than number of students. The impact of some of our ?petit? French programs is immeasurable. Keep up your efforts! And bonne chance.
B. Bernardino
Teacher of French
Bon courage! As a fellow teacher and student of French I am constantly finding people mistake quality and quantity. In our high school, our French program is experiencing a ?renaissance? in large part due to the efforts of our students. We promote it daily. And yet, I keep hearing how few we are in numbers. I must say, anyone would admit, although of the three languages offered at our school, French is the one with the fewest students. It is however, the one with the biggest and most felt impact on the students, the school and the community. Just because French has fewer students than Spanish or Italian doesn?t mean it can?t be a powerful educational resource. It certainly has been and our French family is thriving at Centereach High School. I often find misguided opinions and perceptions of France and French. In all of our trips abroad, students are shocked to fall in love with France, be it Paris or a quaint village in Normandy. In addition, I?ve been advised numerous times that our French students outperform other son the standardized exams. There are many more important aspects of a program than number of students. The impact of some of our ?petit? French programs is immeasurable. Keep up your efforts! And bonne chance.
B. Bernardino
Teacher of French
I'm posting this for Marcelle Smith, a French professor at Suffolk Community because she had difficulty accessing the site.
Continuez vos efforts!
Dear students,
The ignorance of people about international affairs never cease to astonish me. Reading the comments that "French has no place in the modern world" demonstrate how misinformed this administrator is.
An article by Eduardo Cue at US News and World Report of this month proves what an erroneous statement this is.
The facts are that France is the leading nation in clean, safe, and efficient nuclear power. Nuclear energy "provide more than three quarters of the nation's electricity" U.S.News and World Report quotes Luis E. Echavarri as saying "France has become one of the leading countries capable of exporting technology around the world". France bought British Energy and invested in the United States acquiring just under 50% of the shares in Constellation Energy Nuclear Group.
Whether one is for or against nuclear energy it cannot be denied that France is alive and well in the modern world.
Jean Claude Trichet born, raised and educated in France is the President of the European Central Bank .
Should we remind anti-French administrators that France is a permanent member of the Security Council with veto power; that business at the United Nations is translated in French?
On the cultural scene, events -too numerous to be mentioned- are constantly being organized by Francophones et Francophiles: every years lists of states and cities are published where "la dégustation du Beaujolais Nouveau" is celebrated. The list of French schools in the United States published every year by France-Amérique, is eight pages long. One could go on and on about the presence of French in the United States and around the world.
Finally, I would like to point out to these narrow minded and ignorant people that they have insulted people from the state of Louisiana, people from Canada, the French people and millions of people in forty Francophone countries.
Marcelle Smith
Adjunct Professor of French
Suffolk County Community College
Selden
Continuez vos efforts!
Dear students,
The ignorance of people about international affairs never cease to astonish me. Reading the comments that "French has no place in the modern world" demonstrate how misinformed this administrator is.
An article by Eduardo Cue at US News and World Report of this month proves what an erroneous statement this is.
The facts are that France is the leading nation in clean, safe, and efficient nuclear power. Nuclear energy "provide more than three quarters of the nation's electricity" U.S.News and World Report quotes Luis E. Echavarri as saying "France has become one of the leading countries capable of exporting technology around the world". France bought British Energy and invested in the United States acquiring just under 50% of the shares in Constellation Energy Nuclear Group.
Whether one is for or against nuclear energy it cannot be denied that France is alive and well in the modern world.
Jean Claude Trichet born, raised and educated in France is the President of the European Central Bank .
Should we remind anti-French administrators that France is a permanent member of the Security Council with veto power; that business at the United Nations is translated in French?
On the cultural scene, events -too numerous to be mentioned- are constantly being organized by Francophones et Francophiles: every years lists of states and cities are published where "la dégustation du Beaujolais Nouveau" is celebrated. The list of French schools in the United States published every year by France-Amérique, is eight pages long. One could go on and on about the presence of French in the United States and around the world.
Finally, I would like to point out to these narrow minded and ignorant people that they have insulted people from the state of Louisiana, people from Canada, the French people and millions of people in forty Francophone countries.
Marcelle Smith
Adjunct Professor of French
Suffolk County Community College
Selden
They can't do this to our school! It broke my heart to realize that my friend's younger sister was one of the sixth graders that wouldn't be able to take French.
They claim that they're not going to get rid of French, but I went to the Board of Ed Meeting, and I saw how poorly the budget was going. They're cutting programs left and right. They claim that they want more people to speak French, but if they do, why aren't they educating more people to try and get them to take French? Also, why are they changing the CATS program (for you non-Kings Parkers, its the districs gifted and talented program) so that instead of taking French a year early, they take some stupid enrichment-type class? And for the record, that accelerated French program was the best thing to ever happen to me. Basically, if I were to list all the wonderful things there are about French, this comment would be pages long.
Emily Schaefer, Kings Park 8th grade Francophone
They claim that they're not going to get rid of French, but I went to the Board of Ed Meeting, and I saw how poorly the budget was going. They're cutting programs left and right. They claim that they want more people to speak French, but if they do, why aren't they educating more people to try and get them to take French? Also, why are they changing the CATS program (for you non-Kings Parkers, its the districs gifted and talented program) so that instead of taking French a year early, they take some stupid enrichment-type class? And for the record, that accelerated French program was the best thing to ever happen to me. Basically, if I were to list all the wonderful things there are about French, this comment would be pages long.
Emily Schaefer, Kings Park 8th grade Francophone
