NYC Public Arabic-Language School

(Brooklyn, New York) The focus will be on Arab language and culture at the Khalil Gibran International Academy, a New York City Public School on Dean Street in Brooklyn. In September, 60 students will start sixth-grade. The goal is to teach half of the classes in Arabic.

School official Debbie Almontaser said the school was planned with a multicultural group and the intent is to promote tolerance and bridge-building. So, American taxpayer dollars will fund the teaching of Arab culture in the Arabic language in New York City.

What am I missing here? Are diplomas going to be written in Arabic?

American taxpayer dollars should be used to teach public school students American culture in the English language in New York City, not Arab culture in Arabic. For that matter, we shouldn't be teaching Dutch culture in Flemish nor Philippine culture in Tagalog nor Persian culture in Farsi nor Brazilian culture in Portuguese.

And there's a multitude of other cultures and languages that shouldn't be draining public funds when U.S. schools, in many cases, and New York City schools, in particular, are doing an odious job of teaching students even the basics in reading, writing and arithmetic. In some school systems, only half of entering students complete the requirements for graduation and, of the ones who graduate, it's dicey as to whether they will be able to read their diplomas.

In my estimation, the public funding of an Arabic school is a dangerous precedent. What's the Department of Education's argument when a different immigrant community wants a public school teaching students in the Albanian language? Or the Somali language? Or Lao? Or Hmong? Or Hindi?

In the latest development from last night, parents of students at the New York City Public School on Dean Street in Brooklyn gathered at an "emergency" meeting to voice their objection to using their facility for an Arabic language school.

For 90 minutes, NYC Education Department officials and Khalil Gibran Principal Debbie Almontaser (right) said it was a done deal and made the parents feel they were being railroaded by the system.

Said parent Cherry Carter, "[T]hey're throwing it down our throats."

Now we know the practical definition of multiculturalism. It's the process of someone entering your neighborhood and shoving something unwanted and unpleasant down your throat.

Previous (05/10) post.

Companion post at The Jawa Report.