“Students who are in elementary school today, by 2050 they’ll be at the pinnacle of their career,” Dallemand says. “They will live in a world where China and India will have 50 percent of the world GDP. They will live in a world where, if they cannot function successfully in the Asian culture, they will pay a heavy price.”
This school year, Dallemand is rolling out Mandarin in stages, a few sessions a week, with the youngest kids starting first. In three years, it will be at every grade level.
Some parents see a communist regime enacting its geopolitical agenda on their children. The more common critique, however, is not political. It is the practical concern.
“Bibb County is not known for producing the highest achieving graduates,” says Macon resident Dina McDonald. “You’ll see that many of them can’t even speak basic English.”
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