Blogmocracy in Action!
Guest post by: Bumr50!
On Saturday August, 13 2011 The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review published a story in the lead slot of their City & Region Section entitled ‘Study about Islam enters curriculums.’
What followed was an explanation of how the curriculum came about, and a laundry-list of characters that are involved in the public school system here in Western Pennsylvania and across the state that represent what I can only assume to be exemplary of the culture of Muslim apologism running rampant among administration and faculty.
Study about Islam enters curriculums
In the 10 years since 9/11, teachers have taken instruction on Islam’s history and impact from brief references in some Western Pennsylvania classrooms to extensive overviews.
“If we want our students to solve future problems, they must have a strong understanding of world religions,” said Doug Kirchner, social studies curriculum leader at Upper St. Clair High School.
With the school year set to start in a few weeks, several schools are adding classes or revamping curriculum to give students a more in-depth look at world religions, including Islam.
For the first time next spring, Upper St. Clair will offer a class called Asian and Middle Eastern studies that will provide a detailed analysis of Islam. Students at the high school first study Islam as freshmen in world geography.
“The course is run almost like a current events class,” Kirchner said. “Students begin to see how politics, economics and culture can be intertwined.”
And so, in the ninth grade (ages 13-14), these students will be provided a foundation of the Islamic culture in the context of ‘World Geography.’ The subject of ‘World Geography’ has been part of PA public school curriculum at least since I was in the 9th grade in 1992. The class is useless on so many levels, the most obvious being that it’s so broad that the curriculum is almost entirely up to the instructor what to actually cover in nine months.
To introduce Islam and make it a mandatory part of the curriculum almost guarantees that these kids will be presented with the standard leftist academic talking points, and be tested on them.
More follows:
The 9/11 hijackers were Islamic terrorists, but educators said they are taking care not to stereotype the faith.
Teachers at Sewickley Academy attempt to “depoliticize” the subject of Islam by focusing on its history in classes like world religion at the senior school and East Asian Studies at the middle school, said Claudia Gallant, assistant head of school for academic affairs.
“We give kids an accurate portrayal of the many different belief systems around the world,” Gallant said.
The school conducts assemblies acknowledging certain holidays including Ramadan, the Islamic month of fasting when Muslims avoid eating and drinking during daylight hours. This year, Ramadan began Aug. 1 and will run through Aug. 29.
So, how does one present the facts objectively, and yet “not stereotype.”
Who determines what an “accurate portrayal” consists of? Why is a “portrayal” even necessary?
And even at the expensive and highly regarded PRIVATE institution, Sewickley Academy, an effort is being made to “DEPOLITICIZE” Islam.
Islam by it’s very nature cannot be “depoliticized,” as it is not simply a religion, it is a way of life. In fact, I’d be hard pressed to find a more evil word than “depoliticize” when it comes to the agenda of these apologists. It is simply code for ” dhimmitude.”
We continue:
Students at Greensburg Salem High School first learn about Islam in grade six when they start to study the Crusades as part of an international studies unit.
“It’s brand new to them,” said Bob Lehman, social studies teacher at Greensburg Salem. “They have a foundation with Christianity and Judaism, but we don’t really have a Muslim population here to the extent that they would know.”
They revisit the topic in 11th grade world history in a unit focusing on the world’s five largest religions: Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism and Hinduism. This year, Greensburg Salem is starting an international studies class.
There is no state requirement that determines when students should start studying about 9/11.
And so, Islam today is to be taught in relation to the Crusades centuries ago at ages 10-11. Gotcha.
“Curriculum decisions are made at the local level. However, with the impact that Sept. 11 had on our nation, school districts across Pennsylvania have incorporated it into their lessons,” said Tim Eller, spokesman for the state Department of Education.
Lehman said before 9/11, the topic of Islam had never been mentioned in Greensburg Salem’s U.S. history classes. The event forced educators to increase teaching of current events.
“Before that, we were struggling to get to the 1980s,” Lehman said.
Upper St. Clair eighth-graders study the roots of the war on terror in social studies classes, “so most students come into the high school with an ability to separate fact from fiction,” Kirchner said.
And so, in classrooms where you struggled to bring the students current within 30 years, you are now going to inject a socio-political movement.
Separating “fact” from “fiction”?
What “fiction” are these administrators and instructors attempting to avoid? Why the concern?
In Pittsburgh Public Schools, 9/11 did not make its way into curriculum until this coming school year, said Michael Dreger, social studies curriculum coordinator.
Officials are developing lesson plans pertaining to the attacks that will be taught in some upper-level elective classes and will focus on the events leading up to the attacks and the effects. Dreger said the lessons will not focus on the terrorists.
“There are radical groups within Islam, there are radical groups within Christianity,” he said. “We don’t want to focus on the negative aspects of one religion.”
“Not focus on terrorists”?!
I thought 9/11 was the reason for introducing the curriculum in the first place!
How will they portray Islam without portraying the “radical groups” in the context of 9/11?
Courtesy of this moron, the mask slips a bit here as he brings up the fact that there are “radical groups” within Christianity as well, and that their intention is NOT to place Islam in a realistic context in relation to current events including 9/11. It is to equate Islam with Christianity and to emphasize that “they are no different from us.
Moein Khawaja, executive director of the Philadelphia branch of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said when teaching religion, schools should cover basic beliefs and history.
Talking about the small percentage of Muslims who are extremists is best saved for advanced politics and history classes, he said. He points to the terrorist attacks in Norway executed by Anders Behring Breivik, who identifies himself as a Christian.
“An in-depth discussion of him during a basic lesson on Christianity would be inappropriate,” he said. “They should learn about it in the proper context.”
Read it all here: Study about Islam enters curriculums
Kudos to the writer for wrapping up the article with the string that binds it all together – CAIR.
Anders Behring Breivik vs. Millions of unnamed, shrouded militants all over the world.
See? They’re not so different.
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I would encourage anyone reading this to take a more active role in their public school curriculum. Ask your smart-mouth teenager to show you their lesson plans – not just their books.
-Bumr50
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