By Linda Markley
Linda is a retired Spanish and French teacher, who won the first Joint National Committee on Languages (JNCL) Power of Advocacy Award
Unlike most murder mysteries and other tales of fiction that are playing out in education today, the case of computer coding or computer science counting as world languages credit for college entrance is not a closed nor a shut case.
Many have felt that it is an inevitable conclusion given the power of tech firms and the STEM focus in schools these days. As a result, many have become complacent. Similar bills have been introduced in other states as well, and, sadly, they have passed into law. As a result, in those states, World Languages programs are being cut and/or eliminated from the elementary to the post-secondary levels. This is an injustice to the future of our children and to the future well-being of our world. The first time such a bill was introduced in Florida was 2015. House Bill (HB) 104 proposed that schools allow computer coding classes to count as and replace the required world languages credits for entrance to the State University System.
World Languages advocates, like myself, learned VERY quickly some critical lessons about the legislative process. Legislators count on the fact that teachers work during the day and cannot attend legislative sessions held during the school week. Legislators count on being able to bury controversial bills in other less-controversial bills in order to get them passed without opposition. Legislators count on the support of groups of interest and the lack of knowledge or information that the public might have on such topics. Legislators count on the public not knowing legislative procedures and protocol to combat unwanted legislation.
For World Languages teachers in Florida, it quickly became a huge lesson on legislative policies and procedures and how to best educate others and call them forth to help our cause. We needed more people, besides teachers, to advocate on our behalf…to join us, hand-in-hand to form a community and become the informed voice of reason. Advocate comes from the Latin word advocare, which means to call to one’s aid. We have learned that we cannot just have teacher voices praising the merits of learning another language, but rather, we must call upon others in the community and around the world to raise their voices and also take action to show how and why learning another language is important to the humanity in all of us.
We partnered with the Parent-Teacher Organization (PTO), National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Florida Education Association (FEA), National Association for Bilingual Education (NABE), Network of Business Language Educators (NOBLE), Teachers of English for Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL), The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL), Joint National Committee on Languages (JNCL), and businesses and community members across the state and the country to write letters, contact their legislators and make in-person visits to congressmen, schools, conferences, and any other venue that had people who might have a stake in the future of world languages education.
We showed up for every legislative session in which the coding bill was going to be reviewed and voted on by yet one more committee in the House and the Senate (and there were many!)
We used social media to reach out and make connections with others to join our cause as well as to speak up and educate those who were not well informed.
However, one of the BEST and most effective strategies that we used to make a real impact on the outcome of the vote was for teachers to advocate for their own programs and to show the world the difference that learning another language has on children, our community, and our humanity.
HB 104 was finally defeated in Florida in 2016. The good that came from it was that we were able to finally get the Florida Seal of Biliteracy passed as a result of the awareness that had been raised regarding the importance of learning another language.
The “coding bill”, as we have come to call it, surfaced again in Florida in 2017 as Senate Bill (SB) 104, in 2018 as SB 1056 and in 2023 as HB 0459.
The latest iteration changed the wording from computer “coding” to computer “science”, thinking that using the term “science” and tapping into the focus on STEM and funding that is tied to STEM would help it pass.
However, we are happy to say that HB 0459 “died” in the Higher Education Appropriations Subcommittee thanks to all those whom we once again “called to our aid” to speak up on behalf of World Languages education.
Florida continues to fight this ongoing battle to replace World Languages with computer coding or computer science classes.
If there is one thing we have learned here in Florida, that is to not let our guard down or give up because, like a boomerang, legislators will keep throwing this bill out there, and it will keep coming back.
This is what we want all World Languages teachers and advocates to realize and understand, in order to not be taken by surprise or to give up without a fight.
We MUST constantly be advocating for our programs and calling others to do the same. We need to show the world the power of World Languages education.
Here are some tips and suggestions as to what World Languages teachers can do to advocate for their programs, their students and for the humanity in us all:
- Create a positive world language learning legacy in your classroom that will promote legendary stories to be shared outside the classroom for generations to come! Create experiences for students that are meaningful and motivating; that connect to them personally and to the real world in which they live. Share your passion to ignite a lifelong learning “fire” within them. Create a nurturing environment that allows them to be risk-takers with the language. Empower them to explore content and develop their proficiency more or less at their own pace and in their own way. Help them “own” the language for good!
- Promote your programs – share and highlight what your students are doing through newsletters, social media, newspapers, business partnerships, present at conferences, connect with other teachers and schools.
- Develop relationships and create WL communities of support and advocacy. Invite, share, and connect with parents, colleagues, district personnel, businesses, PTA, local/state/national organizations and your local/state legislators or policymakers.
- Partner with teachers in your school from other disciplines (art, music, history, etc) to create cross-curricular lessons, experiences and connections that highlight the relevance and relationship between the subjects.
- Hold a school-wide World Languages Awareness Day in which the school announcements are done in other languages, signage around the school is in another language, “translators” are stationed in the cafeteria/media center/admin office/guidance office/attendance office to “facilitate” communication with anyone who doesn’t speak English as their first language, etc. Invite community members in to share their stories about how knowing another language has positively and powerfully impacted their lives, the lives of others and that of their community.
- Hold a district-wide event that allows world languages students to “share and shine” at a festival, conference, field day, community “hook-up”, or global job fair with businesses who have international connections and whose employees are required to have multilingual/intercultural skills, etc.
- Create short videos of students, parents, business leaders, community members and anyone else who can give personal stories as testimonial to the importance of learning another language, the difference it has made in their life and the impact they have now because of their language and intercultural skills. Share these videos during “Meet the Teacher Night”, at school board meetings, with community organizations like Rotary Club, Sister Cities, local Chamber of Commerce, Board of Commissioner meetings and any public venue that will allow you to share and showcase.
- Prepare your students for the Seal of Biliteracy and/or the Global Seal of Biliteracy. The Seal of Biliteracy is an award given by a school, district or county office of education in recognition of students who have studied and attained proficiency in two or more languages by high school graduation. The Seal of Biliteracy encourages students to pursue biliteracy, honors the skills our students attain and can be evidence of skills that are attractive to future employers and college admissions offices.” Most states have now passed legislation implementing an official state Seal of Biliteracy. For more information, go to http://sealofbiliteracy.org/ or https://theglobalseal.com/
Finally, here are some FABULOUS resources from our partners for advocacy:
http://www.actfl.org/advocacy (Advocacy packet, Capwiz.com for contacting your legislators)
www.languagepolicy.org (you can sign up for newsletters too)
https://nble.org/resources/advocacy/ (great advocacy videos to show parents, admin, superintendent, legislators, etc.)
And some final food for thought before that boomerang comes back around…
What legends are you creating?
What stories can you share?
What connections are you making?
What language legacy will you and your students leave?
What action can you take and who can you call to your aid?
Happy advocating!