Pledge of Allegiance In Arabic Polarizes New York High School

Some stupid principal in Pine Bush, New York, decide that it would be a cool thing to have students recite the Pledge of Allegiance in Arabic, of all things, for national Foreign Language Week. Not sure what possessed Aaron Hopmayer to think it was okay to do that, but naturally the event has become a point of contention dividing people between those that think it was flat out wrong, and those that believe one shouldn't discriminate. I'm sure we know where on the political spectrum each of those individuals stands.

The morning's regularly scheduled announcements included the Arabic reading of the pledge. According to students, the announcement was greeted by catcalls and angry denunciations in classrooms throughout the school by students who felt the reading was inappropriate.

The reading became the subject of angry talk throughout the school and a cascade of tweets both from students who criticized the reading and those who supported it.

The controversy has "divided the school in half," according to school Superintendent Joan Carbone. She described the reading as "something that was supposed to be good but turned out not to be."

Early Wednesday afternoon, high school Principal Aaron Hopmayer made a building-wide announcement explaining the reading's context and apologizing to students who took offense.

The apology appears to have done little to quell the situation; it may, in fact, have fueled resentment from students who feel the reading was appropriate.

Carbone said she had received complaints from district residents who had lost family members in Afghanistan and from Jewish parents who were equally outraged by the reading.

Even a Muslim leader has said that the Pledge should always be read in English.

Atif Hasan, the treasurer at the Middletown Islamic Center, says yes, schools should be doing more to teach students about different cultures and to promote diversity.

But he said they should not use the Pledge of Allegiance to do so, as Pine Bush High School did on Wednesday.

The Pledge of Allegiance should always be recited in English, he said.

“To me, that’s ludicrous,” Hasan said of the decision to read the pledge in Arabic, even if the intention was to promote diversity. The pledge, he said, “belongs to the land. It should be in English. The language it was created in is the only language in which it should be said. It’s a beautiful pledge.”

Apparently, this isn't the first time Pine Bush has been in the spotlight.

In 2013, Jewish parents sued the district and administrators in federal court, accusing them of being indifferent to chronic anti-Semitic behavior.

Now don't get me wrong, I encourage people to learn other languages, I speak several, but surely they could have read some other announcement.  And the Pledge in a foreign language, come on, how stupid can you get.

Arabic Mandatory At NYC Public Elementary School

Students at PS 368- a New York public elementary school in Hamilton Heights (upper Manhattan)- are learning a new foreign language. Not French, not Spanish, not even Russian or Chinese. No, the 200 kids attending 2nd through 5th grade are being taught Arabic, and come September they will have absolutely no choice in the matter because then it will be mandatory. Right now the kids are taking afternoon classes during their free periods, but next semester it will be for 45 minutes, twice a week.

Why Arabic? Because the school principal, Nicky Kram Rosen, has her eyes set on receiving 'a prestigious International Baccalaureate standing.'

And no-one seems to mind.

“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.”

Even the kids don't seem to mind.

“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.’’

Nayanti said her mother was skeptical at first.

“When I gave my mom the [permission slip] to sign, she was shocked. [Now] she’s happy I’m in the class,” she said.

Bella Moon Castro, 34, of Harlem, signed her son up and is glad he’ll have a chance to learn Arabic.

“This makes the world smaller for the kids. It develops their confidence,” Castro said

Apparently it's a public "choice" school, meaning no-one is forced to attend, so this is how they are getting away with making Arabic compulsory. And what about those who might not want to learn Arabic?

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 is PS 368's teacher. He, of course, is delighted.

“Soon, Arabic will be a global language like French and Spanish. These kids are like sponges. It’s amazing to see their progress.’’

Mamdouh yesterday played a version of duck, duck, goose with the kids using the Arabic words for mother and father — mama and baba — for ducks and geese.

He also played a version of Simon Says where he would say a word or phrase in Arabic like, “ma drasti” — my school — and make a gesture like opening a book.

And soon those kids will be able to read and memorize the Quran.

Look, there's nothing wrong with giving kids the opportunity to learn a foreign language, even Arabic, but when it becomes mandatory then that's problematic.