Dear editor:
There’s a feeling of desperation in the classroom!!! The feeling culminates from week to week, and the students dread the Monday or Thursday night blues that are associated with taking beginning Spanish at Raymond Walters College (RWC). There is something going on here that students should consider inappropriate by design.
There is something sinister in nature, whether deliberate or not. And it’s bad for all of those persons unaware who wait in its path. This is a call of WARNING! Beware the Beast that boggles the mind! This is the Halloween season but I assure you that this monster lurks all year ’round. Come join me, my readers, as I have a tale to tell.
This story involves our [Foreign Languages] Department at RWC, and the students who elect to take Spanish at this institution. But at the heart of the matter is any student unfortunate enough to believe that it is possible to join the Spanish speaking community through a well devised beginner’s course at RWC, because at present they could only discover that there is no such program available on this campus. Those who do attempt may only discover that there is little if any distinction between the (MTH) Accelerated 5-credit hour and the Monday or Thursday night Beginning Spanish 3-credit hour courses. You might ask, “How can this be so?”
But it certainly appears so: students use the same text, find themselves subjected to the same standardized tests as are used in the accelerated course, cover approximately the same lesson plan, and are monitored (and graded) for progress by the same standard (as determined by a departmental head). And even worse yet, those students who believe that they’ll grasp the fundamentals of the language through the Beginning Spanish course, are probably doing themselves and their finances a great injustice by receiving less credit for their studies.
The numbers are elusive to me at this point, but, given what I understand, I must wonder how it is possible, given the scenario as I comprehend it, that one exact duplicate program can achieve greater success in the same allotted time over the school year. Admittedly, the courses do vary somewhat, because the beginning class appears to have less instructional time to achieve nearly the same level of learning as is expected of the accelerated class. And at present, this unrealistic standard is exactly what appears to be expected by RWC’s [Foreign Languages] Department’s standards.
So, I for one, believe that Raymond Walters College would benefit greatly from a kinder, gentler, more supportive Spanish Program. A department that recognizes the student’s needs, as well as the students appear to themselves when they sign on for a Beginning Spanish course. And I believe that RWC’s [Foreign Languages] Department should appropriately address those needs, by doing what is right. And would be offering a Beginning Spanish program for beginning Spanish students.
Humbly yours,
A Beginning Spanish Student
[Name withheld by request]
Tuesday, June 24, 2025