Keep German in Council Rock

German is an important language in the business community of the world! CR students need to be prepared for this!

WHY would you cut this?

Learning German in high school gave me the foundation and confidence to learn more languages. Even while learning a romance language I still pull from my understanding of German, and more importantly the positive experience and environment I had while learning it.

German Honor Society, German Club, Exchange Program Alum

German is a wonderful language and a beautiful country with an intersting culture. It would be a shame to lose such a great language in this school district.

I took 4 years of German and it actually came in common at work because I had a guest that only knew German.

Taking German helped me understand the English language and specifically English grammar to a degree no English class did.

We need people to be able to do business in Europe. South has that NASA program for the international space station and German and science go so well together. We don't all need to know Spanish and Chinese!

Ich habe Deutshe studiert beim deise Schule - Council Rock!

Keep German in PHS!

As an Engineer who works in this Global Economy, I can't begin to over emphasize how important being able to speak a Foreign Langauge will be to an Engineer's future - Especially German which is the considered the language of Technology (French = Diplomacy, English = business). As our economy will become both more global and technology based, I can't believe that a school of Council Rock's stature is even considering eliminating German. Please take the time to sign this petition - especially if you live in the Philadelphia area. Anthony B. Kehoe, Ph.D. (Mech Eng), P.E.

Learning a language is so important. And German happens to be my favorite.

Council Rock needs to think long-term. As a school district it is your job to prepare students for living and working on their own in “the real world.” The state of the “real world” today is this: Germany is THE powerhouse of Europe, and the most widely-spoken language in Europe. Our government has called for a new Transatlantic Trade agreement that will likely only connect the American and German economies even closer. I have a feeling that school districts think the German language exists in a vacuum, confined to classroom role-playing, vocabulary learning and Oktoberfest fun. But it is connected to every other subject you offer. For your science-oriented graduates, German is the second most commonly used scientific language. Germany is the third largest contributor to research and development and offers research fellowships to scientists from abroad (Goethe Institut). Those wishing to join the tourism industry will constantly run into Germans as they are probably the most traveled people in the world, and would benefit speaking their language. Your German graduates will also earn more money, according to MIT economist Albert Saiz’s calculations, with an “average lifetime earnings bonus” of $128,000. As for the Arts-leaning CR students, I only need to remind you it’s the language Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Strauss, Goethe, Schiller – still read and listened to today as part of most curriculum. History majors find it obviously useful, if not mandatory (I speak from experience). Also, have you not heard that most German universities accept foreign American students, and that there are NO TUITION FEES? CR students can get world-class education for a fraction of the price, if they speak the language well enough. Last but not least - students learning German have the opportunity to partake in a true exchange program that few other languages and districts offer anymore. I’ve taken about 100 students on an exchange for the last six years to Germany with the Pennsbury SD.

German has changed the way I see the world; it always will. I want to keep it around to allow the others to see changes too.

Keep German at CR South!

Let us keep the German language, and culture alive, in CRSD.

Keep German alive!

I have 3 Sons who have spent 4 years in the German program at CR South, including the exchange program which offered them valuable insight and world knowledge They have continued their German education into college.. My one son has continue his knowledge of the German language into his career in Germany. He is able to engage German speakers directly - a benefit they greatly appreciate. We has a family have hosted the German Exchange students. Please continue this program.

Do not disadvantage our students by taking away such a useful language. We should be adding foreign languages to our curriculum, not eliminating them!!

Removal of this program would severely hinder the opportunities of those seeking foreign language outside of the typical (Spanish) route. I started my French education at South and continued my education through the Master's level; it would be not only unfair to those interested in the German language to remove this program, but also encourage a greater imbalance between students who take Spanish vs. Latin, French, German (or any other language offered in the curriculum). Perhaps things have changed now, but there was at least a 3:1 Spanish to Other language class ratio when I was in school. In addition to reconsidering the policy, it would help to better inform the students about the academic benefits/cultural importance of each individual language (Spanish included!) before they are required to enroll.