This weekend's Wall Street Journal (subscription required) features a piece on the number of CEOs hiring tutors to teach their children Mandarin Chinese, or even hiring a Chinese nanny. They do this because they strongly believe that an understanding of the language will give their children a strong advantage in the business world.

I believe the public schools need to get with the program and start offering Chinese language courses, because most parents can't afford to hire a Chinese nanny to prepare their 7-year-olds for the business world. The fact that rich people can buy their kids the skills they need to succeed can only perpetuate the status quo: the children of the rich arrive in the business world in their 20s with a valuable skill that their savvy parents paid for in their preteen years.

Does your local public school offer Chinese? Chances are it doesn't. Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty has taken steps to level the playing field. In his 2006 state of the state address, he said, "I'm directing the Department of Education to develop a model Chinese language curriculum so it's available to every school district." More governors should do the same, or the only people with the skills to succeed in the global economy will be the children of the rich, and that is un-American.