Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Arabic School Controversy
Here is a link to a story found in the New York Times about the Khalil Gibran International Academy, the first Arabic-language school in New York City. The former principal and founder of the school, Debbie Almontaser, was pressured to step down recently due to a controversy surrounding t-shirts worn by some of the that students attending the school. She claims she is the victim of "an anti-Arab 'smear campaign,'" and that the school has become a target of anti-Arab, anti-Muslim sentiments in New York. Here is a link to the school's website, which has some general info about the school, and this is a link to a blog run by a conservative historian and foreign policy adviser to Rudy Giuliani who is opposed to the school. Do you think the school poses a threat? What about Almontaser's claim that the school was her "American dream"?
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13 comments:
I think that the school does pose a threat. I don't think that a public school should be teaching the arabic language. If it was a private school then it would be okay. Also, if it was Almontaser's "American dream" I think she would have fought harder to keep her position, rather than resign. If she wanted it bad enough she would have fought for it.
I also agree that a public school should not be teaching the arabic language. I also believe that if really was her "American dream" she definitely would have done everything in her power to keep her job.
I think that it is racist to say that the school poses a threat. Just because the terrorists were Arabic doesn't mean that every Arabic person is dangerous! That's like saying all white's are dangerous and psychotic because of Jeffrey Dohmer. It is an injust accusation.
I really don't know whether I should agree on whether the Arabic public school poses a threat or not. This is very controversy; one because of what the U.S.'s perspective of Muslims, and two because in public high schools and colleges, students are taught other foreign languages, such as Spanish, French, Italian, and even German, so why can't the Arabic language be taught as a foreign language? What I would not agree with, is the official language of that particular public school to be Arabic, after all it is in the U.S., so English should be the main language.
Going to her "American Dream", she should stick to what she believes and fight for it if she really wants it. Even though words are powerful, I believe that action speaks more than words.
The only reason this school poses a threat is because there are a lot of ignorant people in the world. How is it just to think that a language produces a certain type of person? I know several Arab people and none of them are jihad supporters. Maybe if more Americans could get their heads out of their asses and realize not all Arabs are terrorists and just because a group of people acts a certain way it does not mean they are all that way.
Since the recent conflicts that have occured between America and Arab countries, Americans and Arabs have not been on the best of terms with eachother. Naturally many Americans feel now threatened by Arabs even though there is little reason to feel that way. I think it is very contradictory for a school to be trying to push these Arab customs. Although contradictory, I think this is a positive step towards better relations with Americans and Arabs. The school crosses the line when they claim Arabic to be the official language. This shows too much Arab pride while putting down American customs. In order to make progress towards peace between Arabs and Americans,they should assimilate Arab customs with American customs . They could do this by trying to promote and equal amount of American and Arab customs.
I don't think this school poses a threat, but I also think that the official language should not be arabic. There is nothing wrong with teaching it, just as we do with other languages such as spanish, french, or german, as long as it is in the kids best interest and there is a high demand. We are in America and most Americans do not understand arabic, so by having these kids speak it all the time is just hurting them.
First of all, teaching Arabic in a public school is not supposed to be anything special. There are many dual-language public schools across the country that teach both English and some other language. I fail to see how learning Arabic will make anybody a terrorist or force them to convert to Islam. It's just as absurd as stating that learning Spanish will make you convert to Catholicism. Where's that (in)famous American tolerance? Moreover, it should be noted that anybody claiming that all Muslims are terrorists and Jew-haters seem to be forgetting that the Inquisition, the European religious wars, as well as numerous persecutions of Jews were conducted by Christians. Also of some interest are recent studies that show that more women were executed for witchcraft in Protestant countries than in Catholic states under the Inquisition. Besides, not many Protestants would want to be associated with (for example) Catholics and the same is true for the majority of Muslims against radical-Islamists. Also, the fact that the principal stepped down does not mean that she is devoid of willpower. She most likely did so because she would have been removed by the board anyway, and she plans to apply again because she is not content with how things are turning out for the school. Why else (but for the realization of her dream) would she do that if she still earns her principle’s salary and can potentially completely destroy her reputation by fighting the decision of the Education Department?
I think it is unfortunate that ever since the events of September 11th unfolded our country has developed a hatered of Arabs. I see no threat in a public school having Arab as an official language. Think of how great an outlet this school would be for Arab children after all they have had to go through. A nice haven for students to learn and grow. I commend the person who thought of this. What a nice cultural experience, I mean isn't America all about celebrating our differences. I think that Almonster should keep fighting for her American dream. There is no excuse for anyone to discriminate against someone else and shoot them down for their opinions or race. If America would just learn to stop focusing on trivial details and accept one another's differences, it would be a much better place.
I think the school does not pose a hreat. Just because someone speaks Arabic does not mean they are a terrorist! We should be trying to break the stereo type not encouraging it. America is the "land of opportunity" so if someone wants to learn Arabic they should be able to
I think school poses a threat, but i still feel it should change its ways because it clearly isnt following policy.
I'm unsure if it's right to say this school poses a threat to our society. I feel that there is a lot of negative feelings towards it. I understand why, but I feel that those negatie feelings are only there because of the current situation in our world and with the war. I believe it's racist in a way saying the school poses a threat and I think people should learn to accept other cultures a little more.
I don't believe this school poses a threat in any shape or form and that the people of new york should be ashamed of themselves for still holding on to grudges towards american citizens. I believe that she can teach whatever language she wants to teach because a lot of schools offer spanish and other languages as a class. And as far as this being her "american dream" until you have been on the other side of the pitch fork you can't say that someone should have done what ever it takes to fulfill their dreams. A lot of people give up on their dreams just because people say it's impossible to achieve at least she laid out the ground work for her school to come into existence so I FEEL EXTREMLY BAD FOR HER.
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