Posted on 05/24/2012 6:33:43 AM PDT by iowamark
An upper Manhattan public elementary school will be the first in the city to require that students study Arabic, officials said yesterday.
Beginning next semester, all 200 second- through fifth-graders at PS 368 in Hamilton Heights will be taught the language twice a week for 45 minutes — putting it on equal footing with science and music courses.
One reason Principal Nicky Kram Rosen selected Arabic — as opposed to more common offerings, such as Spanish or French — is because it will help the school obtain a prestigious International Baccalaureate standing.
“She proposed this to the parent association. They were very supportive,” said Angela Jackson, CEO of the Global Language Project, which is backing the initiative.
“Arabic has been identified as a critical-need language,” she said, citing students’ future “career trajectories.’’
“It means they can spin the globe and decide where they want to work and live.”
Students now taking the class in a pilot program during their free afternoon periods said it’s been a challenge — but a rewarding one.
“I like Arabic class. I like the words we learn. I thought they sounded funny at first, now I think they sound cool,” said Nayanti Brown, a 7-year-old second-grader. “I teach my little sister the words I learn.’’...
The Arabic requirement becomes mandatory in September. But PS 368 is a so-called “choice’’ school and no kids, even those living nearby, are forced to attend it. If the school ever enrolls a student who objects to learning Arabic, administrators will deal with that on a case-by-case basis, Jackson said.
Mohamed Mamdouh, who teaches the pilot program, said, “Soon, Arabic will be a global language like French and Spanish. These kids are like sponges. It’s amazing to see their progress.’’
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
What liberals won’t do to hate America.
Americans should learn the language of their enemy.
I’d just keep a close eye on Mamdouh to make sure no religion of peace crap creeps in.
Career trajectories? What? Does he mean like the trajectories various bits and pieces of the body that go blasting every which way when the 'student' blows himself up? That kind of trajectory?
No child or grand child of mine is going to learn Arabic. My wish is that language go the way of Latin, and all that extinction implies.
I can’t really object to this, we are always gonna need people to translate during waterboarding sessions.
Will they also teach them, especially the girls, about Sharia law?
“MANDATORY” my sweet ass
How much do you want to bet that the lessons will consist of reading, memorizing and chanting passages from the koran?
Then next the seperation of kids by sex and the headcover thing
and then course they will study how muslims invented everything good about the world... like algebra
Will this be the first taxpayer funded public madrassa?
Stay tuned
The “public school”, including the “charter school”, is BY FAR, the largest, most expensive, most subversive, and most destructive entitlement program in the country.
The “public school”, including the “charter school”, is better understood as the “government school collective”.
It is silly to imagine that you can fix the public schools, because the very concept itself is communist.
Any child that comes out of the government school collective with their moral compass and common sense intact does so in spite of the government school indoctrination, not because of it.
If you want to win the culture war, have lots of children (see my tagline) and homeschool them or form your own school cooperative with your church or synagogue and like-minded friends and relatives.
Nobody loves your children more than you do.
Nobody can teach your children like you can.
Your children would love nothing better than to be taught by you, if you start doing so before they are corrupted by the government school collective.
It is hypocritical for you to submit your children to an authority with whom you fundamentally disagree. And your children will know it.
If you have children, make whatever sacrifices you must to get them out of the public schools.
DO NOT FEED THE BEAST!
Especially not with your own children.
And DO NOT TAKE GOVERNMENT “EDUCATION” MONEY!
He that pays the piper calls the tune, and that’s especially true for any government “education” program.
“Dirka Dirka Muhammad Jihad.”
This should be a very easy language to learn.
All you need to know to be fluent is the translation for:
Off with their head
Wipe you a$$ with your left hand.
Personally, I’m happy to see ANY foreign language taught seriously in the elementary grades. My own children are being exposed to French and Latin, and I found my own study of Latin made me understand English better.
For those who must find a direct practical application for all classroom instruction should note that we are short in native-born American Arabic speakers for our intelligence needs. I’d rather get them from here than from the actual Arabic-speaking countries themselves.
My kid goes to private school....
.............and is learning Spanish.
Yes, then they can find out what the Koran really says, instead of what they read in the sanitized English versions.
It’s a valuable skill for many careers. Military, intelligence services, contractors, etc.
During the height of the cold war, US citizens fluent in Russian were super valuable. Especially when combined with other skills.
To this day, one of the top technical high schools in NYC teaches ONLY Russian as their foreign language. It is a holdover from the cold war (which never really ended and seems to be heating up now).
one must study arabic to really read the koran, arab is the only “true” language for a muslim
trust me, this mandatory arabic language instruction for American children is more than symbolic, it is part of an islamization strategy
cannot wait to see who is recruited to be the teachers, and what are their political ties
the rich muslims who want to prosper in a global political system and economy send their kids to schools in US, England, and France to learn English and French
And you thought Latin was difficult to learn as a language in high school!
“Personally, I’m happy to see ANY foreign language taught seriously in the elementary grades.”
Yeah,,,, but,,,,, 45 minutes, twice a week is not teaching language “seriously.” In the 6th grade, at a public school, I had German class everyday. In Prep School, same with Latin, then French. Latin was required of all 9th graders. I hated it!
"Know your enemy and know yourself and you will always be victorious"
"Every battle is won or lost before it is fought."
- - Sun Tzu - The Art of War
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