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Witch Hunt
I refrained on blogging on it for awhile, but the hounding of Debbie Almontaser out of her job as principal of a new Arabic-immersion school in NYC is bogus and unbelievably ignorant. Oh, and it makes America less safe. A trifecta of things that really annoy me.
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32 Responses to “Witch Hunt”
I’ve seen articles on both sides of this that seem to make sense.
Maybe a joint Hebrew/Arabic school would be better in both NYC and FL.
Stupid is as stupid does.
I suppose it goes to the heart of the schizophrenic left.
Damn them State Sponsored Christians Schools, but lets be sure and bend over backwards to let the Muslims have their own school.
This goes to the heart of the matter for most who would be opposed to this.
This is America. They learn in AMERICAN schools learning American studies, in American ways with American values and attitudes.
We already are being forced to teach In Mexican. When will it end? When will enough be enough and this country once again reclaim the identity that is its heritage.
American first and foremost and all the other stuff is just baggage to be checked at the Statue of Liberty.
Yes, because these muslims need help learning arabic and about muslim culture.
Are our Somebody learning?
By the way, I hear Dubya speaks “Mexican”.
The hell?
One, this is an Arabic school, not a Muslim school, so the proper analogy would be to plain old American schools, not Christian schools (and we have the former a-plenty). You do understand there is a difference right?
Two, cultural immersion programs are a good (and popular!) thing, not a bad thing–they produce technically skilled students, and in this program in particular graduates who have skills crucial to America’s national interest. Nothing makes me more amused that watching conservatives willingly sabotage our national security (or it used to amuse me, now it just pisses me off).
Three, how does one teach “in Mexican”? I’ve heard of teaching in Spanish, but Mexican? It reminds me of people asking me whether I’m learning how to “speak Jewish” at College (no, but I’m taking Hebrew classes).
And four, the tradition of Americans having the right to learn about other languages and cultures dates back to at least 1926 (Meyer v. Nebraska). You want culturally homogeneous self-aggrandizing nationalism, move to Russia. But you’re xenophobic “know-nothing” baggage, as you say, can be checked at the Statue of Liberty, because it’s wildly outside the American tradition.
Yeah put me in the column who is totally opposed to this.
Learn English. If you want to study up on your heritage then do it at home with mommy and daddy.
Lets teach them Americans heritage.
Lets teach them the ways of the host country that graciously “Let them in to our fair country.”
If that makes me a homophobe or whatever name you want to tag me with then Ill start printing the t-shirts now.
I do NOT want State Sponsored Christian, Jew, Arab, Muslim, Polish, Mexican or any other divisive learning scenarios.
I want my children to study American culture and heritage and if you just gotta learn about them Muslims in INTENSIVE sessions then get mommy and daddy busy teaching their own children about their own heritage.
I am Irish. I do not depend on my School district to teach my Children and grandchildren about the Irish traditions and heritage other then in general ways.
So let the Homophobe name calling begin but my friends this is precisely the BS that is seperating this country and splintering us into US against THEM.
We learned that lesson with BLACKS vs. WHITES. This is absolutely no different in principal. WE ARE ALL ONE in America. That is what we should be teaching.
Well said, Somebody. This is not a witch hunt, this woman defended t-shirts advocating violence which said “intifada NYC”. Also Arabic-language instruction is inevitably laden with pan-Arabist and Islamist baggage.
Liberals need to stop this knee-jerk reaction accusing people of bigotry who simply don’t believe certain groups should get preferential treatment and that they should assimilate into American society.
Don’t be naive David. Do you seriously believe that islamic “values” won’t be emphasized in this school? And that it won’t be riddled with anti-American diatribe?
LL: Read the linked post, and then try your comment again. Ignorance is only reflexively blissful–to those of us around you, it’s just annoying.
We have all sorts of immersion programs for all sorts of reasons at both the high school level and university level. There are schools that focus on the arts, schools that focus on math, schools that focus on sciences, schools for all sorts of things. This school under attack was a school that was attempting to focus on a language and the cultures that go with that language. We’ve done this sort of focus on a language before.
During the Cold War, programs that focused upon Russian and Russian history were around and useful. At the college level, state universities have always had programs that immersed students in other languages and cultures, even those of our enemies, such as Chinese and Russian. Where would we be in our attempts to either fight or engage in diplomacy and business with other nations if our state-sponsored universities had no training on such languages?
So they question now becomes, why is something that is fundamentally important to American security at the university level evidence for anti-Americanism and the bankruptcy of our culture at the high school level?
Oh, and while I’m on the subject of ignorance: this isn’t a dual-language instruction program, it’s an immersion program. There’s a massive difference. It’s not designed to teach immigrant children in their native tongue, it’s designed to teach American children to be literate in another language and culture (aside from their own). The only person I know in an Arabic immersion program right now is a White kid from suburban Minnesota–and I’m sure he’d tell you he’d much rather have learned it in primary school than having it crammed in during a two month summer extreme program (he’s thinking of joining State or the CIA, fyi–neither of which I think would turn down the opportunity to have more talented graduates fluent in Arabic language and culture). So I’m not sure who the “them” is, Somebody, other than American children who are interested in learning a valuable life skill that our nation is in desperately short supply of. So, yeah, I’ll support teaching “them” the skills that help American interests, in support of American values, as part of the American way. You can take the Russian stance if you want, but I’ll be damned if you can call the position you’re advocating “American”. It’s the farthest thing from.
Thanks, Pac–sorry for the overlap
There is nothing wrong with immersing all students in cultures and languages and philosophies and religions.
Nothing at all. In fact I encourage it.
However there is something inheritantly wrong with seperating these students into their own schools.
We did this in the South. It was called segregation. Blacks learned all about their culture but at what expense?
They learned nothing about the White predominant culture and the Whites learned nothing of the Black Culture that was every bit as rich.
Segregation set back race relations decades. This is exactly the same thing. I don’t give a flying flip if they are teaching Islam, Hindu or Looney Toons. When you segregate you end up with segregated views.
This is a bad idea for PUBLIC EDUCATION. We are to teach our children diversity……not exclusivity.
Wow, I see an opening for agreement with Somebody. Cool.
Immersion programs are not the same as segregation. There is long, long evidence – both common sense and based on research – that immersion is critical to any true success with a second language. Pretty much everyone learns more French, Spanish, Chinese, or Arabic after 6 months in France, Spain, China, or Jordan than they do in 4 years of language classes in a school at home. In an immersion program, you are forced to continually use your language throughout the day to speak with others in a way that you just cannot get when the language and culture is only studied for an hour or two hours a day, and then the rest of the day has nothing to do with the topic. In regular classrooms, you learn patterns and vocabulary. In immersion programs, you learn how to actually use the language.
In other words, immersion programs have a documented language-learning purpose that is essentially impossible to get in any other way. This is certainly true of language learning (I’m an editor of a language learning journal by the way, so I’m not completely making this up), and it seems to be helpful to all sorts of other education as well, such as math schools and theatre schools. It just helps when all of your friends know calculus or Shakespeare, too.
I haven’t seen much work yet on Looney Tunes schools, but I’ll report back if I do.
Oh. My. God. Who are “these” students? They are not all Arabs. I doubt they are even primarily Arabic. They are White and Black and Indian and Latino and Asian and probably some Arabic and even, I suspect, some Jews. What unites these as a “these” other than “American”?
I have no idea why I’m flipping out–normally my tolerance for inane statements is much higher than this.
I guess that is not surprising the the person who supports racial quotas, separate and unequal government programs, and reparations would be the poster supporting the islamic public school in NYC.
The arab immersion argument would have some credibility is the people running the school had credentials as arab scholars instead of credentials and anti-jewish, anti-American, pro-muslim activist. If the person in charge of the school is wearing such provacative t-shirts, I doubt there will be many blond haired, blue-eyes white kids learning about the Arab world.
This type of school fits into the same category as the afro-centric schools that exclude whites. I guess that explains why certain people are supporting it because they use the logic that if it is bad for middle class American it must be good.
a) She wasn’t wearing the shirt, a student was
b) She’s very highly respected in the Jewish community–most of whom (me included) has risen to her defense against this baseless attack, as well as the American community (of which Jews and Muslims are a part of, remember?), and I don’t really care if she is pro-Muslim, so long as she’s pro-Muslim in a progressive and peaceful way (which she is, and is something we should encourage).
c) She was replaced with an Orthodox Jew as the new principal–is that enough to assuage your objections?
Superdestroyer…. wow.
First up, the person in charge of the school wasn’t wearing the t-shirt. Her great flaw apparenty was not to reflexively condemn her student’s t-shirt enough.
Next up, have you actually looked at the demographics of the school to see who is attending?
Third, you basically just stated that the school is okay if white kids go, and it’s bad if they don’t. Whoa. What if American kids go or do only white kids count towards justifying the school’s existence?
Fourth, which afro-centric schools are you referring to that exclude whites? I don’t know of any public secondary schools that do, and, if you are referring to historically black universities, some private and some public, most of them I know all have programs in place specifically to recruit white students.
Finally, you conclude that this is supported because it is bad for the middle class. Learning Arabic. I’m not sure how, but since the primary bad thing you did argue for was that no white kids would be going, I have to assume you identify the middle class with being white.
Speaking more broadly, I support the creation of such a school, for the simple reason that America needs more people who are deeply familiar with Arab culture and language.
Quoting from your article at your own blog.
Lets forget for a moment that this woman was surely a good person and a good educator. I have seen many a good educator end up selling cigarettes at the local 711 for political reasons.
Explain to me WHY we need a SCHOOL for this? Why is a program at many public education schools not sufficient to accomplish the goals you push.
National security for example.
Why must we isolate these students into their own school when in fact we can immerse many thousands more into the culture and language of the Muslim world then one single school could ever hope to accomplish.
If the goal is truly national security then we need more then one school with a few hundred students.
So you support expanding the program? Great, I’m all for setting up schools like this in major metropolises across the nation. I’m sure the DC area could support one, for example.
The reason it needs its own school is that immersion programs do their job better than just taking a single class at a regular high school (I speak as a confirmed failed high school Spanish student). If we want the best results, a school dedicated to the purpose will do its job better than one that is not so dedicated (we see the same thing in Spanish immersion programs in the DC suburbs, which are wildly popular with parents of all backgrounds because they do a great job teaching students a really important life skill that I–even at one of the top public high schools in the country–proved unable to master).
Fine. Just one question though.
Which language are we gonna teach because there are dozens if not a 100 different groups, subgroups and dialects of the arabic language.
Somebody, you’re being paranoid. Its a school for learning things which is not something to be scared of. Like most of the conservatives you’re freaked out by the ingress of anything not “American” even though by definition we are comprised of everyone who lives here and almost all of it is imported from other countries.
Perhaps we should close down the Center for Irish Cultural Studies in Connecticut? They’ve even got an exchange student program to send them to Ireland! OMG, bet they learn from the IRA how to make bombs and stuff. Or maybe I’m behaving like a jerk and giving into stereotypes.
For the record I think an Intifada NYC tshirt is out of line and the person wearing it deserves to be yelled at. Expecting non-arabic speakers to know about the traditional meaning and wanting them to respond accordingly is asking a bit much. Especially in New York. Cultural sensitivity is a two way street.
I’m assuming they will focus on standard arabic which is shared to various degrees from Morocco to Iraq. No it is not the first language of all Arabic speakers, and there are varying degrees of intelligibility, but most educated people in the various related countries have to study it, so it will be useful for diplomatic and cultural work. If schools have the facilities and expertise to focus on certain dialects, Cairen Arabic (Egyptian) is the most widely spoken and would be a natural choice for political reasons as well. Of course, other forms will be useful, but Standard Arabic is a great start and will get the students on the way. If a student is able to conduct themselves in standard Arabic, it will allow them to study other forms in home countries later, should they desire.
Somebody’s question does bring up the point that it isn’t just Arabic that is important to our national interest or the world culture. Farsi (Iran) should also be studied more heavily, as well as Pashtun and Urdu (Afghanistan and Pakistan). Of course, each of those countries has many different first languages inside them, but you have to start somewhere.
The facility of such a facility needs to have same standards applied that it takes to work at a nuclear power plant or work with Ebola. They should heavily vetted and any activity is Islamic activist groups, palestian support groups, or radical muslim clery must be grounds for exclusion. In addition, such a school to not have the children of arab immigrant or immigrants themselves.
It would be too easy for such a school to become a training ground for islamic activist to learn and network instead of being for Americans to learn useful schools. The first principal’s backgrond of islamic activitism should have been a huge red flag for everyone to take a much closer look.
Also, the same rules that apply to every other school should apply to it. The Koran should be used for reading assignments and religion should be discussed in a historic context.
Arabic language <> Islamic studies
Language immersion schools aren’t uncommon. There is nothing inherently wrong with them and they are quite effective. In Kansas City there is a French immersion school, a Spanish immersion school, a school that does Spanish immersion K-8 and offers French immersion grades 6-8 and a French immersion charter school.
The amount of utterly ignorant balderdash being posted on this subject is staggering.
Witch hunt, indeed!!
This reminds me of the frenzy with which children who had contracted AIDS through blood transfusions were hounded out of scholl. Fellow citizens lined up to shout ‘killer’ at these poor children.
Ignorance breeds fear and hatred, and we never learn.,
I here the school will teach “flour art”. Image all the paranoid fear when the “Wingnuts” see Aribic and white crescents in parking lots. Hazmat suit for flour and candy bars in pools.
I think there is way to much non-info on both sides of the debate. When you try and find out some hard facts all you run into is the same recycled sound bytes without real information.
Now about the t-shirt my understanding is that it was not on a “student”, how could it be when the school wasn’t even open. Debbie Almontaser belongs to a Yemeni group who shares space with a organization that sells these t-shirts. Does that make it better or worse than if it was a student, I’m not sure, but it’s hard to have the discussion when both sides have bad info.
As to her qualifications, she has little to none as an administator and does not have the backing of the United Federation of Teachers (NY teachers union) who have been critical of her. The idea that just the anti-Arabic bigots were what got her replaced is nuts. Ny politics are much more complex than that. Having the teachers union against you is a bad thing in NY. Of course with even a little experience in or as administration Debbie might have known to keep her mouth shut and refer press to the school board like any experienced person would have done.
As to enrollment, there are only 44 students enrolled. Only 6 have any previous arabic skills. It leads me to wonder what 6th grader will have any interest in this? This is not meant to be a school for Arabic students so who would be that interested? Lets face it Arabic will not be the language of business or arts so what, we have 6th graders that want to be future interrorgators? Is it really about the tiny little school or politics on both sides.
Future interrogators, future diplomats, future translators…you can’t seriously be telling me that there’s no market for Arabic speakers in the future? Carleton just started it’s Arabic program (we’ve already got a Hebrew program–we’re expanding and trying to create a broad “Mediterranean Studies” department), and let me tell you, it is RED HOT. Before we had it, folks were taking Hebrew just because it was the closest thing to Arabic. Carleton’s a pretty well reputed college, and even in an overall buyers market for professors, it is next-to-impossible to find Arabic Professors–they are in rare supply and they know it (I think our eventual hire was imported from Hungary). And already, the classes are so oversubscribed that the school has had to limit enrollment to underclassmen (frosh and soph) so they have time to complete the whole sequence. Most of those enrolled aren’t Arabic (I’d be stunned if Carleton had more than a dozen Arab students).
And you think there will be a line of 6th grade students? Really?
Sure–or perhaps more accurately, ambitious suburban parents. Of which there are even more than there are Carleton Arabic students.
Well I’m not one for parents putting their children on a career track at 12 but I guess you are right about 44 of them. None of which effects the real point of it being a huge steaming pile of politics on both sides because this “school” is to small to matter to anyone.