News-Banner
Bluffton, Ind.
May 24, 2005

Advanced Japanese Courses at BHS Rescued As Worman to Return
By Sarah Pulliam

Kandice Spera, a freshman at Bluffton High School, happily hugged  Linda Worman after she heard her former high school teacher will teach Japanese III and IV next year.
“I was relieved that I didn’t have to take two more years of a different language and that I could just take another year of Japanese,” Spera said. “She just inspired me to take Japanese because she has made it very fun.”
Spera is like her Bluffton High School classmates who are required to take three years of one language or two years of two languages to receive an academic honors diploma.
Principal Steve Baker said in Monday night’s school board meeting that 22 students were signed up for the fall Japanese III class and 17 students for the spring Japanese IV class.
Worman, who taught  the school’s popular comprehensive Japanese program, retired in December 2004 saying she wanted to spend more time with her grandchildren and mother.
The school had planned to hire another full-time Japanese teacher, Worman said, but the school had to make budget cuts that did not include another teacher.
The school’s decision left many students without the option of continuing their Japanese studies.
However, Worman said she decided last week to teach the two classes.
“I guess it was just meant to be,” Worman said. “This is my hope to keep things alive.”
She said it was not her intent to teach next year so her mind has to refocus.
“I think it’ll be something that by the time fall comes by, I’ll look forward to it,” Worman said.
Baker said it’s only because of Worman’s decision that they were able to offer the classees.
“No student will be left behind,” Baker said to the the 21 audience members who chuckled in response. He said the school will not offer Japanese I and II.
“The only people we are not able to satify are those who have never been in Japanese and who want to start the program,” Baker said. “We have to let [Worman] retire sometime,”
The school currently offers four years of both Spanish and German. Baker said the school is unsure whether the Japanese program will continue after next year.