![\"Learning](\"http:\/\/www.latimes.com\/media\/photo\/2010-04\/53083255.jpg\")
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Most students in the Chinese language class at Cedarlane Middle School in Hacienda Heights have never heard of Confucius. <\/p>\n
<\/br>"Con
\nwhat?" asked Ricardo Ramirez, 11, who loves to impress classmates with
\nhis loud and clear greetings of "Hello!" and "I love you!" in Mandarin.
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But
\na proposal to bring more resources to his school’s Chinese program has
\nsparked heated debate over whether the Chinese government — in the
\nancient philosopher’s name — should have a role in helping American
\nschoolchildren learn. It’s a controversy that lays bare tensions in a
\ncommunity that has undergone a major demographic shift and is now more
\nthan a third Asian.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
<\/br>In January, the Hacienda La Puente Unified
\nSchool District board voted 4 to 1 to adopt a new Chinese language and
\nculture class at Cedarlane next fall, at no cost to the district.
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<\/br>Confucius Classroom is paid for by the Chinese government’s Chinese Language Council International, also known as Hanban.
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"I
\nam not against the teaching of foreign languages, but this is a
\npropaganda machine from the People’s Republic of China that has no
\nplace anywhere in the United States," said John Kramer, 73, a former
\nsuperintendent of the district who has been vocal in the debate.<\/p>\n