2.
A seasoned educational administrator,
Romain Dallemand has been the
superintendent of schools for Georgia’s Bibb
County Public School District. As part of a
series of district reforms, Mr. Dallemand
introduced a plan to make Mandarin Chinese
language instruction mandatory for all K-12
students.
3.
This unique initiative has caught the
attention of major news national news outlets
such as ABC World News. In a story by ABC
reporter Dan Harris, Bibb County’s Mandarin
Chinese program was presented as a way to
help the children in the “poor, struggling”
Macon, Georgia school district “get a leg up.”
4.
However, Harris also acknowledged that
many parents and local residents have
expressed grave concerns about the
initiative. His October 15, 2012 report
revealed that the city of Macon partnered with
China’s Hanban Confucius Institute to help
fund the Mandarin instruction.
5.
As part of its mission to promote the country
of China around the globe, the Hanban
Confucius Institute trains Bibb County’s
Chinese instructors and pays half of their
salaries. Mr. Dallemand addressed the
concerns of those who worry about
propagandizing in the classroom by insisting
that politics have no place in Macon’s
language education curriculum.
6.
As part of its mission to promote the country
of China around the globe, the Hanban
Confucius Institute trains Bibb County’s
Chinese instructors and pays half of their
salaries. Mr. Dallemand addressed the
concerns of those who worry about
propagandizing in the classroom by insisting
that politics have no place in Macon’s
language education curriculum.