Charlemagne once said "To possess another language is to possess another soul." My name is Zoe, and this quote is something that has always stuck with me. Languages have always been fascinating to me, and as I grew older they became my passion. Through my studies of Spanish and Mandarin Chinese I have found that what Charlemagne said is true. When you learn another language you aren't simply learning a new vocabulary or a series of sentence structures: you are learning a completley new way to look at the world. With a new language comes a new culture, new customs, new peoples, new outlooks, and new opportunities. So this is why, I am optimistically if not a tad nervously, embarking on a quest to spread my love of languages in my community.
I'm currently a Senior here at St. Andrew's Episcopal School in Jackson, MS and as a part of my work with our School's Global Certification Program I decided that for my "Senior Project" I would start an after-school Mandarin program for grades k-2. Encouraged by my work with the Central Mississippi Culture and Language School, my incredible Mandarin teacher Pei Laoshi, and our amazing Director of Global Studies Dr. Chris Harth I thought that this might be a really wonderful way to inspire future generations to pursue language study. The title of this blog, which roughly translates into "expect our sons to be dragons, expect our daughters to be phoenixes," means that we expect the very best for our children and hope for them to have the best lives possible. I believe that because we expect the best from our children, we should help them by giving them every tool possible to succeed. In our increasingly global society, learning another language such as Mandarin or even getting excited about language learning will prove instrumental. Wish me luck!
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