Can't our public schools do the job?

Submitted by Pat (United States), Sep 6, 2007 at 14:48

Must we have special schools to teach Arabic? We have Spanish, French and German language classes in public schools. They use apolitical and areligious texts. Can't the same be done with Arabic without the use of charter schools?

What if the teachers are Muslim? Doesn't the Board of Education still have authority to oversee what is being taught and to approve the materials being used?

Not all Muslims are Arabic and not all Arabs are Muslims. Surely it is possible to teach Arabic without Islam being woven into the curriculum. Perhaps Christian Arabs should be sought out and asked to lend their expertise in this area. There is definitely a valid argument for learning Arabic. Non-Arab Muslims who learn what they have been reading all their lives might be appalled at what they have been taught.

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