I think this might be the first time I ever regret starting a thread… 
No, not sarcasm, garland. Your comment is nasty, insulting, and completely out of line. I have a different opinion than you so I am a conspiracy theorist? Wow.
No, I don’t think anyone is trying convert students. They’re obviously working politics into the lesson plans under the guise of public education.
I call It drawing because the kids can’t even decompose the text into letters and words. But it doesn’t matter to me whether you call it calligraphy, writing or drawing. Having the kids copy the Arabic is not great pedagogy, but writing/drawing/calligraphing something you don’t understand is not the same as asserting you believe it.
If I copy a prayer in Hebrew that doesn’t make me a Jew.
http://thinkprogress.org/education/2015/12/17/3733679/arabic-calligraphy-school-closure/
To add context: this worksheet was taken from [a 1995 textbook, “World Religions”](https://books.google.com/books?id=yvWOeHRBt50C&pg=PA122&lpg=PA122&dq=“here+is+the+shahada,+the+islamic+statement+of+faith,+written+in+Arabic.+in+the+space+below”&source=bl&ots=oVQNbbqzPs&sig=MKBDzRgRavR7AeTJOekvFkyqo0A&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiz0cHIxOTJAhWIMSYKHfzDCTQQ6AEIHTAA#v=onepage&q=“here%20is%20the%20shahada%2C%20the%20islamic%20statement%20of%20faith%2C%20written%20in%20Arabic.%20in%20the%20space%20below”&f=falsehttps://books.google.com/books?id=yvWOeHRBt50C&pg=PA122&lpg=PA122&dq=“here+is+the+shahada,+the+islamic+statement+of+faith,+written+in+Arabic.+in+the+space+below”&source=bl&ots=oVQNbbqzPs&sig=MKBDzRgRavR7AeTJOekvFkyqo0A&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiz0cHIxOTJAhWIMSYKHfzDCTQQ6AEIHTAA#v=onepage&q=“here%20is%20the%20shahada%2C%20the%20islamic%20statement%20of%20faith%2C%20written%20in%20Arabic.%20in%20the%20space%20below”&f=false). Would it have been better for a non-religious sample to be used? Yes. But I find it beyond laughable to think this is some sort of religious or “politically correct” indoctrination. Frankly, more shocking than an assignment having students copy calligraphy is the over-blown response from protesting parents that were apparently so incensed that law enforcement recommended an entire school system close.
If learning the Five Pillars of Islam is a secret ploy to make people Muslims, is learning what a gill is a secret ploy to make us all into fish?
@baseballmom I’m a rightwinger, but I would actually love for my son to have that experience.
I’m sure there will be no problem with throwing in a Nicene Creed, seven sacred mysteries, and enough of your fish to feed 5000 while we’re at it, eh?
Why would a school system need to, or want to, disguise teaching about Islam? No disguise is needed. Students should learn about world religions. If someone can’t name at least a couple of the five pillars of Islam, they’re a little ignorant about other religions and should broaden their knowledge.
“If someone can’t name at least a couple of the five pillars of Islam, they’re a little ignorant about other religions and should broaden their knowledge.”
Really? I don’t know squat about the five pillars of Islam, I know little about Judaism, and anything I know about Christianity pretty much came from watching some movies. I don’t really care to learn about religion, because I think they’re all basically pretty wacky (no offense to the religious, I do not look down upon religious people, I just am not interested). So I’m ignorant about religion. There are many things I’m ignorant about, but I choose to spend my time learning about things I’m actually interested in. Not really interested in me or my kids being indoctrinated in any religion, and if they’re interested, they can do it on their own time. Thought there was a separation between church and state.
And why would a geography class be covering religions? That’s just weird.
My kids learned works religions in middle school social studies. ’ that included the five pillars of Islam, I think.
Whether you have a high opinion of Islam,religion in general, or if any other major world religion, I think there is value in knowing a bit about them. Because the major religions of the world have had an impact on history.
“writing/drawing/calligraphing something you don’t understand is not the same as asserting you believe it”
Of course not, but copying a phrase that you don’t understand is not asserting, it is stupid. Just like wearing a tee with a Chinese symbol when you have no idea what it means.
“Of course not, but copying a phrase that you don’t understand is not asserting, it is stupid. Just like wearing a tee with a Chinese symbol when you have no idea what it means”
Hey, that reminds me of Gwyneth Paltrow wearing that Che Guevera t-shirt. No idea what it meant, he was just a cool looking guy on the shirt!
Makes you wonder if she tried to put her label on that shirt and sell it for $900…
I don’t know what’s more insipid, thinking assigning students a calligraphy homework thinking it will teach the students anything remotely meaningful about Islam or geography the hysterical reaction by parents, or people thinking it’s some conspiracy to introduce politics into the school system. Closing down an entire school system shows an ignorant, reactionary and ill-informed general public. The response to the calligraphy homework illustrates why geography and an introduction to world religions are needed.
I was brought up without any religion so I don’t see the threat in having to copy religious text, especially without understanding the language. I think it’s a stupid and meaningless assignment. The kids could be writing “I want to eat popcorn everyday” in Arabic calligraphy and no one (except those who know Arabic) would be the wiser. It’s a throwback to fifth grade when the teacher told me to go to the chalkboard and write in Chinese so the students could see it. That experience was horrible; it simply pointed out that I was different and I could have written “Teacher is a toad” without anyone knowing.
I have never been a big fan of the artsy/crafty projects for academic subjects. But it sounds like an overreaction to me.
@baseballmom --when you use words like “agenda” “scary” and “disguised” to describe an organization’s real goals, you are asking for the “conspiracy theory” retort.
Meanwhile, I am going with this being drawing not writing, because the students are, in their comprehension, copying shapes, not recognizable letters. The comparison to Chinese writing is apt, but also not, because there’s no intention to recognize meaning here. Tattoos presumably are meant to convey meaning; but copying the shapes for the sole purpose of looking closely at how they are formed is not about meaning; it’s visual–hence, drawing.
Also, studying geography is not just about memorizing mountains and rivers and cities; it also includes study of cultural features.
And lastly, this was a fairly dumb assignment pedagogically, but I am old-fashioned in general and don’t like a lot of that make-work kind of lesson. It would be good for honing visual attention and perception in an art class, though.
But I don’t think lazy pedagogy is a reason for threats that cause a school system to close.
This is about a 30 minute drive from me. When we moved here, students were given the option of being excused from class to go outside the school building and onto a school bus where they participated in “Weekday Religious Education”. Optional, but there was candy and coloring. I was the meanest parent in the world because I did not allow my children to attend and I insisted they be provided with instruction at school when other children attended. That has thankfully ended.
The Post has an article today that provides a bit more coverage. From what I have read from a variety of sources, it appears the assignment came from a 20 year old text/workbook (which should give you an indication about how well funded this district is). Students had the option of trying on a hijab as well (oh, the horror).
They had to CLOSE THE SCHOOL?!
Good grief, people need to get a grip.
I can see the value of writing arabic calligraphy in a Geography class studying Muslim countries… And yes, it is writing, not drawing…
I agree that maybe another, less religious text should have been chosen to copy, but…
As an atheist, I would NOT have a problem with my kid copying out a Muslim religious text, if it was for the sake of a geography/cultural lesson. Goodness knows, she’s sang/played enough Christmas carols in school… Which I also don’t care about.
I think context is key here.
I can see the value of writing it, but a religious passage seems inappropriate.
Wow… back in 1977-78 when I was in an all girls Catholic high school, we were taught world religions. In fact, we took a field trip to a Buddhist temple to learn some Buddhist principles and practices; I still remember some of that stuff today. And this was in the South!!! I don’t remember any parents threatening to shut down our school in protest. Geez!