MANSFIELD -- The Mansfield school district has backed off plans for an Arabic studies program after almost 200 parents showed up with questions at a meeting at Cross Timbers Intermediate School on Monday night.
Superintendent Bob Morrison apologized for not communicating with parents and invited them to be part of developing the curriculum.
"Nothing will be taught in the classroom until the curriculum is rolled out," district spokesman Richie Escovedo said.
The Arabic studies program, funded by a five-year, $1.3 million Foreign Language Assistance Program federal grant, was to begin this semester at Cross Timbers, then spread to Davis Elementary and Howard Middle schools in the fall and to Summit High School by fall 2012.
Arabic culture was to be integrated into the curriculum in elementary and intermediate schools, then offered as a language credit in middle and high schools. Davis, Cross Timbers and Howard are feeder schools to Summit.
"Part of the grant language brings in targeted instruction that will be embedded in the classes," Escovedo explained. "Algebra comes from the Arabic world. You talk about things while you're doing your lessons. Instead of a Valentine's cake, you might make a Moroccan dessert."
Parents at Monday's meeting ranged from supportive to upset, said Willie Wimbrey, assistant principal at Cross Timbers.
"We had people who were animatedly fearful of anything to do with Islam," he said. "Others want their children exposed to everything. Others who say, We teach about Christmas, why not other religions? All cultures and major religions are taught throughout the state."
Cindy Henderson, whose son Kolton is a fifth-grader at Cross Timbers, said she isn't as upset about the content of the program as the way it was handled.
"The parents weren't notified," Henderson said. "We should have been told and excited about the grant. The school knew about it, but it wasn't publicized. Unless you were digging on the website, you wouldn't know about it."
Her son is excited about learning about the Middle East, but Henderson doesn't think Arabic studies should be mandatory.
"I don't think we should spend all our time on one culture," she said. "I think we should spread it around and be fair. I don't like it being stuffed down our throats."
Henderson acknowledged that some parents were upset that their children were learning about the Middle East.
"We don't want to discriminate against the entire Middle East," she said, "but [9-11] is hard to forget. They said they aren't going to teach religion, but I don't see how you can teach that culture without going into their beliefs."
Escovedo pointed out that the sixth-grade Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills standards also cover the Middle East. He said that instruction will continue.
The University of Texas, working with the district, identified Cross Timbers for the program because 10 percent of the district's Arabic-speaking population attends the south Arlington school.
"The federal government sees Arabic, Chinese and Russian as critical," Escovedo said. "Our country has a deficit in Arabic speakers and people who understand the Arabic culture."
The district also offers Chinese and Russian, among other languages. Students may begin taking language classes in middle school to fulfill their high school requirement of two years of foreign language.
Under the program, Howard students could choose Arabic or another language, Escovedo said.
The district is forming a committee to evaluate the Arabic curriculum, and parents are invited to join or can receive information, he said.
"It really is cool," Escovedo said. "It's unfortunate that it has turned into something ugly."
6 comments:
I definitely believe that the response to this program was wide and varied. I, for one, agree with the people who see this as a positive step forward and am supportive of programs like this and hope that they become more widespread. I also agree, though, that the school should have made the news of the grant and the program more readily available. I wish that LISD were more like this school district in the varied languages and cultural programs offered. This is a step in the right direction for our school systems.
This is an interesting article because of the problem of languages we seem to have in the country currently. Right now, my only options as a student are only French, Spanish, Latin, and German. This seems woefully inadequate in a world where countries like China and India are becoming the next super powers, and surprising considering how long Russia has been a super power. In this case it seems less that people were upset about Arabic being taught and more that they were frustrated the school didn't communicate with them much earlier. In terms of culture, I believe very strongly that the school ought to have several options as to what kind of culture students want to learn about as opposed to forcing them to learn this one type of culture. In general I do believe that America could stand to benefit from a bit more world knowledge, and I do think classes devoted to specific cultures seem like a good idea. There is a clear need for reform in the US concerning these issues.
I love the idea of cultural studies available in school. In most situations, students don't have a very broad understanding of other cultures and have narrow minds when it comes to forming their own opinions. Having the option to study different customs, lifestyles, and traditions will give our generation a stronger basis to build their opinions and views. In contrast, though, i see why some people had the reactions they did. Without knowledge of what the course is, it is understandable that the parents would be concerned about what their children would be learning. I agree that it was more frustration with the lack of communication than with the course itself, but I hope that they will keep an open mind about cultural courses in the future.
I love the idea of cultural studies available in school. In most situations, students don't have a very broad understanding of other cultures and have narrow minds when it comes to forming their own opinions. Having the option to study different customs, lifestyles, and traditions will give our generation a stronger basis to build their opinions and views. In contrast, though, i see why some people had the reactions they did. Without knowledge of what the course is, it is understandable that the parents would be concerned about what their children would be learning. I agree that it was more frustration with the lack of communication than with the course itself, but I hope that they will keep an open mind about cultural courses in the future.
Coming from a school as diversified as Lubbock High, and being surrounded by different cultures everyday, I agree that this program has positive aspects. Allowing kids to expirence and understand different opinions and ways of thinking is always a step forward. However I also feel that the kids should have a choice in whether to participate and have more options, such as different cultures to choose from.
The article is quite interesting because no one is necessarily right or wrong. I understand both the parents and the school about the issues they are arguing about. The school should have told the parents about the Arabic curriculum simply because there are still people out there that think all "Indian" people are bad because of the events of 9/11 like Cindy Henderson had mentioned. However, the parents also need to understand that the school is only trying to expand their curriculum and that they have also received a grant for it as well. I think that taking Arabic is an awesome thing, especially at an intermediate level, because you normally learn Arabic at Universities...even then only some.
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