March 29, 2003
VOUCHERS NOW:
Students want out of Muslim culture class (DARLA L. PICKETT, 3/26/03, Blethen Maine Newspapers)Some students at Madison Area Memorial High School are objecting to studying the Arab and Muslim culture and religion while the United States is at war with Iraq.About three dozen students have signed a petition that calls for seniors to be given the option to take alternative assignments in the senior English class project, according to 18-year-old senior Richard Poulin, who circulated the petition. [...]
"I'm a Christian," Poulin said. "How come we can't sit down and study why we worship what we do, but we can sit down and study what another country does?" [...]
School Administrative District 59 Superintendent Anthony Krapf said the school board and teachers must follow educational guidelines.
"It's up to us to follow the adopted curriculum," Krapf said. "As a public school we must prepare students to go out into different types of culture - because our job is to help the students, these young adults, to fit in and understand other cultures."
You'd be hard pressed to find a situation that better sums up the problem with public education in America: Western civilization is at war with at least a radical interpretation of Islam, yet the schools won't teach our kids about their own civilization and want to sensitize them to that of the enemy. Posted by Orrin Judd at March 29, 2003 9:15 AM
Let me teach that course.
Posted by: Harry Eagar at March 29, 2003 2:21 PMThat would be...interesting.
Posted by: M Ali Choudhury at March 29, 2003 2:41 PMMaybe you two could team teach it...
Posted by: oj at March 29, 2003 3:00 PMJohn Lindh got a lot from his Muslim Studies classes in his Marin County High School. It was a gift that keeps on giving.
Posted by: Genecis at March 29, 2003 4:28 PMDuring the Cold War several of my friends studied Russian, Marxism, and Russian history in college: their goal was to work for the State Dept. or other agencies, and learning about your enemy so as to understand him better was deemed, ah, rather important.
These young students should thank their lucky stars: they'll get the same understanding while still in high school! "Sensitize" them? Heh, we'll sensitize them. Make sure the curriculum includes a few lectures on Arab kleptocracy, suicide bombing, religious extremism, and the misery of the common Arab man and woman. That'll be a good start.
On my desk at work, I have a little pamphlet
that some Muslim group arranged to have
USA Today print. It's one-sided.
Mr. Choudhury, if I taught the class, the
students would learn a lot, some favorable
to Islam, much unfavorable. Every single
statement would be keyed to historical events
that are unquestionable. No reference to
scriptures would be used.
Just as you, if you were teaching about
Christianity, would not find it necessary to
assign the Sermon on the Mount for class
reading.
Superintendent Krapf has one too many letters in his last name.
Posted by: Regards, Jeff Guinn at March 30, 2003 10:08 PM