Mansfield TX School District Superintendent Bob Morrison Backs Away from Introducing Arabic Program After Public Outcry

Bob Morrison, Mansfield TX school district superintendent backs away from introduction of Arabic studies program after public outcry.

Superintendent of Mansfield, TX, school district, Bob Morrison, is backing off plans for an Arabic studies program after nearly 200 parents showed up with questions at a meeting at Cross Timbers Intermediate School on Monday night, according to the Star-Telegram. He apologized for not communicating with parents and invited them to be part of developing the curriculum.

The Arabic studies program, funded by a five-year, $1.3 million Foreign Language Assistance Program federal grant, was to begin this semester at Cross Timbers, then spread to Davis Elementary and Howard Middle schools in the fall and to Summit High School by fall 2012.

Arabic culture was to be integrated into the curriculum in elementary and intermediate schools, then offered as a language credit in middle and high schools. Davis, Cross Timbers and Howard are feeder schools to Summit.

"Part of the grant language brings in targeted instruction that will be embedded in the classes," Escovedo explained. "Algebra comes from the Arabic world. You talk about things while you're doing your lessons. Instead of a Valentine's cake, you might make a Moroccan dessert." Source: Star-Telegram

People just don't want to even entertain the thought of an Arabic program because of the fear of Islam creeping into the equation, which is patently unfounded. I think the issue isn't so much the introduction of this new curriculum but the way in which it was handled. No-one wants things rammed down their throats. It should be noted that the school district also offers Chinese and Russian, among other languages. I don't recall hearing any rumblings where that's concerned.