We have received many calls from the district quite concerned over the ongoing situation at Mansfield ISD. We have learned that as part of the five-year $1.3 Million grant, Arabic classes would be mandatory at Cross Timbers Intermediate School and Kenneth Davis Elementary School. The program would also be optional for students at T. A. Howard Middle School and Summit High School.
This has caused consternation within our district as many concerned parents do not want this type of situation to occur in their children’s classrooms and quite frankly, I agree with them whole heartedly. The Superintendent has publicly stated the program has been placed on hold but that is really not the point.
Parents at Cross Timbers say they were caught off-guard by the program, and were surprised the district only told them about it in a meeting Monday night between parents and Mansfield ISD Superintendent Bob Morrison. This type of ‘surprise’ is not something that parents need or want and I agree with my constituents that the parents should have been involved from the point any grant was applied for or received. You have to wonder why are we just now finding out about it.
Apparently, the background on this grant is that the Department of Education has identified Arabic as a ‘language of the future.’ I have to wonder what the reason for this selection was and who was responsible for this selection.
More importantly, why does the Federal Government think they need to spend our tax dollars on this program when the government is running trillions of dollars in debt? Many have contended that this an attempt by the federal government to ‘sensitize’ our children to this culture, without information to the contrary I may have to agree with them.
I also have to wonder that at a time when our children do not spend any time in school learning about our own US Constitution how can this be a priority? Is it because the Federal Department of Education thinks it knows best what our children need to learn? Is it part of the culture where others think they know more about what our kids should learn rather than to respect the parent’s wishes? This is simply an attitude that cannot be allowed to flourish.
Mansfield ISD says in addition to language, the grant provides culture, government, art, traditions and history as part of the curriculum which is really is the only ‘mandatory’ part. This seems to make no sense at all and may be a deflection from the truth. However, one point is clear and is worth repeating: the ‘culture’ of the Arab world is inseparable from the religious component because it does not respect secular government and never has.
Their own history books and statements make that perfectly clear. So, if schools want to teach Islam as a ‘culture’ then I want my constituents to be able to teach Christianity as a culture since the United States is founded on Judeo-Christian principles. At least that would be fair, but since that may not happen it seems clear that we need to stay away from being politically correct and start being morally correct and concentrate on the religious, historic and moral principles the founding fathers of our country fought so hard to establish.
