Prioritizing Spanish education over librarians foolish

Public Forum: The suggestion from the Wauwatosa School District that elementary school librarian positions be eliminated in exchange for teachers to instruct all Wauwatosa elementary school students in Spanish is certainly the silliest proposal I have heard come out of this administration. It is so absolutely absurd that, if the School Board is seriously considering the idea, it is almost a lost cause to publicly comment on it. The foreign language offerings already in place allow Wauwatosa students ample opportunity to study and excel in a foreign language, thanks to an absolutely fantastic foreign language instructional staff in place at the middle school and high school levels. The proposal to do away with so many librarian/media specialist positions is yet another indication that this administration is completely out of touch with what Wauwatosa residents want and need from their school district. Concentrate on reading. Concentrate on writing. Concentrate on math. Concentrate on art and music. Maybe even let the librarian/media specialists concentrate on the rapidly changing 21st-century information technology landscape. Concentrate on preparing students for college and/or technical schools. Concentrate on school safety! But Spanish? I wonder how much valuable staff time has been spent studying such an odd idea. It is not only foolish, it is sad.   Dan Jones Wauwatosa