Rosetta Stone: ¿Habla usted español?

Diversity plays a key role in today’s society. Everywhere you turn you find people of different cultures and who speak different languages. Since English is the most commonly spoken language, other language speakers tend to reside in the same regions to feel safe and united; to feel home. But if this is the land of the free and if our country depends on the various existing cultures to make it as great as it is then it would be vital to make our diverse counterparts feel comfortable. They should not have to be reassured that there are others like them and they should not feel threatened when all their neighbors look and speak differently than they do. Although this is the way things should be, it does not necessarily mean that this is the way things are. One way to break down barriers between different cultures and language speakers would be to learn different languages, and  as easy as it is to make this claim is as easy at it is to realize that it  would be naive to think that everyone will voluntarily go out of their way to learn a new language. I guess it is a good thing that many people do not have the choice anymore. In many schools throughout the country changes are being made to the curriculum. With Spanish as the second most commonly spoken language in the country, school districts all over have decided to make Spanish a mandatory class that all students take regardless of personal opinions.

In my opinion I think this is awesome and I am so thankful that my district was one of the many that decided to take this route. When I was in the second grade my district added Spanish to the mandatory curriculum and from then up until I reached high school I was learning Spanish. After taking it for 7 years I thought it would be a waste to not continue it throughout high school where I then had a choice to take it.  Knowing Spanish has not only been really helpful but it has also been fun. It was helpful for me the two times I vacationed in Puerto Rico and it is still helpful for me day to day. At work there are many Spanish speaking customers and many times they do not speak English so being able to connect with them on some level makes things easier for both me and the customers. I find Spanish fun too because I am one of the only ones in my group of friends that can speak Spanish as well as I do so whenever they have questions about the language I am the one they come to. I wouldn’t trade my knowledge of Spanish for anything and I plan on continuing to pursue more languages to learn. 
I understand that not every district has the appropriate funds for this however an alternative may be to integrate technology such as Rosetta Stone into the 'study' periods many middle schoolers have once a day. Schools can keep the computer lab open to the students during these periods so that they can further expand their education.   

Do you guys think this would be practical?