Introduce Esperanto as a foreign language subject in schools.xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

http://www.change.org/ideas/view/introduce_esperanto_as_a_foreign_language_subject_in_schools

According to numerous studies and tests in schools throughout the world, children who were taught Esperanto before another foreign language succeeded in learning the second language much faster and better than without taking a prior course of Esperanto. The use of a grammatically simple and culturally flexible auxiliary language like Esperanto lessens the second-language learning hurdle.

If a 6-months to 1-year course of Esperanto were introduced in secondary schools in America, it would greatly help American school-children in their efforts to learn another foreign language afterwards, like French, Spanish or any other that their school is offering.

Oleg Izyumenko (student, activist), Lund, Sweden Nov 26 @ 04:48PM PST

Mijn bijdrage:

On December 10, 1948 the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted and proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.  In my opinion, the possibility of communication with everyone, in spite of his/here mother tongue, also is a human right. To achieve this goal in a democratic way, one needs a SIMPLE and NEUTRAL language that 1/ ‘everyone’ CAN learn,  with a minimal investment of expenses, time and effort and 2/  everyone MUST learn because it is nobody’s native tongue. No first rate (privileged) citizens who always can speak their mother tongue. No language-racialism. So, it s obvious that only an ‘artificial’ language, such as Esperanto, is in agreement with the terms. All the rest is irrelevant. Equal rights, equal obligations!

Posted by Dan Van Herpe on 12/13/2008 @ 01:04PM PST