Arabic School Tension

Posted by Barbara Pytel Jun 29, 2007

Another Plot

On Saturday, June 2nd, another terror plot was uncovered by the FBI and law enforcement to blow up fuel tanks and all of JFK Airport. Once again, the men arrested are Muslim. New Yorkers live with this threat daily. They are in a state of vigilance and heightened alert. So, it is very easy to understand the strong, negative reaction many have to a public school opening that would teach Arab culture. It is probably based on fear--fear that Sept. 11th could happen again.

Middle East Scholar

Daniel Pipes, a controversial scholar on the Middle East, wrote, "Arabic-language instruction is inevitably laden with pan-Arabist and Islamist baggage." [Alexandra Marks, Christian Science Monitor, csmonitor.com, June 1, 2007]

Education Chancellor

Joel Klein, New York's education chancellor, will be monitoring the school's political teachings. NYC has over 60 schools that teach language and culture. New York City is in the process of going to smaller schools and academies.

• Spanish
• Russian
• Chinese
• Creole
• and now Arabic

Opposition From Historian

But, not all support a dual-language format. "I object to all dual-language schools," says Diane Ravitch, an education historian at New York University. "It was decided a long time ago in this country that the nature of public education would be secular and it would be inclusive...and its focus would be civic assimilation." [Alexandra Marks, Christian Science Monitor, csmonitor.com, June 1, 2007]

Perhaps, the issue for many is that the Khalil Gibran Academy is a public school using tax dollars to possibly promote a perceived threat to the people who are paying for it. However, the school's leaders say that there will be no political teaching.

In today's atmosphere of terrorism threat, we need Arabic speaking individuals more than ever before. Where are they to learn the language?

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Copyright article 2007 Barbara Pytel. All Rights Reserved.