Not sure if you're arguing against language classes in kindergarten or languages classes in school in general, but I personally had a really good experience with French classes for several years in junior high and high school and one year of Spanish in high school (both schools were public school, too). I don't remember as well as I did back then, of course, but I've by no means "forgotten everything", even though I've been out of high school for over 25 years.
Of all the things I learned up to the end of high school, the foreign languages and all the math are the things I value the most. I still remember French well enough that I could ask for help with various things if I needed to, and I can read it even better than that (well enough to get the gist and some of the detail of something I read, as long as it isn't really heavy with slang). I only had one year of Spanish, but that at least allows me to understand a lot of basic signage in the language and some other reading comprehension. I can watch shows and movies in French and understand some of the lines without the subtitles, and even understand how and in some cases why the subtitles don't match the literal translation.
So if your point was against language education in school in general, I very strongly disagree. I use my foreign language knowledge somewhat regularly, even though I live in the US and have never had a job that required or even used it. There were plenty of kids in my classes who picked it up faster and spoke and read/wrote it far better than me, so I don't think I'm particularly good with foreign languages. This leads me to suspect that you might just not be a languages kind of person, and that's why it's meant so little to you?
Of all the things I learned up to the end of high school, the foreign languages and all the math are the things I value the most. I still remember French well enough that I could ask for help with various things if I needed to, and I can read it even better than that (well enough to get the gist and some of the detail of something I read, as long as it isn't really heavy with slang). I only had one year of Spanish, but that at least allows me to understand a lot of basic signage in the language and some other reading comprehension. I can watch shows and movies in French and understand some of the lines without the subtitles, and even understand how and in some cases why the subtitles don't match the literal translation.
So if your point was against language education in school in general, I very strongly disagree. I use my foreign language knowledge somewhat regularly, even though I live in the US and have never had a job that required or even used it. There were plenty of kids in my classes who picked it up faster and spoke and read/wrote it far better than me, so I don't think I'm particularly good with foreign languages. This leads me to suspect that you might just not be a languages kind of person, and that's why it's meant so little to you?