Can't Speak Japanese? That's Okay. Here, Teach Advanced Japanese

In a nutshell, much of what is wrong with public education.

Kayla Chung sits in her advanced Japanese language class at Rosemont High School but learns nothing about how to read or write the language.

That's because Chung's teacher – a long-term substitute – does not know Japanese.

"All we do is sit in class, watch movies on Japan and take notes," said Chung, 16, who is in Japanese III. "I'm pretty sure that's not how Japanese is supposed to be taught." 

The situation at Rosemont highlights the difficulties schools face when offering specialized programs that have relatively few qualified teachers.