Learning a second language in school is a waste of time for most students unless they actually plan to use it, and I say that after struggling through three years of high school Spanish that I've since forgotten completely. The hours spent conjugating verbs could be better used for coding, financial literacy, or even public speaking—skills with more direct career payoffs. Some argue that language learning boosts cognitive development, but those benefits seem marginal and not unique to language. Unless a student has clear motivation to become fluent, mandatory language classes are just a box to tick.