Posted on 03/29/2003 5:49:16 AM PST by paul in cape
MADISON — Some students at Madison Area Memorial High School are objecting to studying the Arab and Muslim culture and religion while the United States is at war with Iraq.
About three dozen students have signed a petition that calls for seniors to be given the option to take alternative assignments in the senior English class project, according to 18-year-old senior Richard Poulin, who circulated the petition.
"There are students who don't feel comfortable with this right now with the events that are taking place in Iraq," Poulin said. "I and others have family and friends over there right now fighting."
Poulin says his cousin, Ryan Holt, is in the 3rd Marine Brigade headed toward Baghdad and a friend, Craig Ladd, is in the army in Iraq.
"I'm angry right now that, with everything going on, they are going to force students to learn about this if they don't agree with it at this time. I know they are not all bad people, but I'm upset with things like Muslims throwing candy in the street on Sept. 11, 2001, celebrating because 3,000 Americans had just died."
Poulin said religion issues also factored into his decision to circulate the petition.
"I'm a Christian," Poulin said. "How come we can't sit down and study why we worship what we do, but we can sit down and study what another country does?"
Poulin and anyone else who refuses to take the class will get a zero and forfeit points toward graduation this spring, he said. Most are not willing to take that chance, Poulin said.
Carrie J. Foss, a 17-year-old senior, said she signed the petition because she has a cousin who is fighting in the war.
"I'm mad, angry and sad," Foss said. "I don't want to study about them now. Maybe later when it's all cooled down, but not right now."
School Administrative District 59 Superintendent Anthony Krapf said the school board and teachers must follow educational guidelines.
"It's up to us to follow the adopted curriculum," Krapf said. "As a public school we must prepare students to go out into different types of culture — because our job is to help the students, these young adults, to fit in and understand other cultures."
Krapf said he does not know all the details of the petition yet, but said there are some situations, such as in health class when teachers talk about human sexuality, in which students are allowed to opt out.
"I guess we would need to talk about this," Krapf said.
(Excerpt) Read more at centralmaine.com ...
Superintendent Anthony Krapf:" We must prepare students to go out into different types of culture — because our job is to help the students, these young adults, to fit in and understand other cultures." ......like how to become a homicide bomber and hate America!
At least Superintendent KRAP has an appropriate name.
This is all over talk radio this morning, by the same patriots who exposed the Maine teachers cursing the children of National Guardsmen!
Another happy graduate of Muslim indoctrination.
The world has gone mad.
Isn't that a hate crime in the People's Republic of Wisconsin?
Vicious Educrats Taunt Children of National Guard
Here's one reason why America's government school monopolies are such failures: Taxpayer-supported leftist "teachers" are too busy harassing children of military personnel to teach.
Children of National Guard members are "coming home upset, depressed, crying," said Maj. Peter Rogers, a spokesman for the Maine National Guard. "This was based on some incidents that were happening in school, both in the classroom and on the playground." National Guard officials said they had "over 30 complaints that name schools and individual principals, teachers and guidance counselors."
Vicious "teachers" involved in the Marxist-led appeasement movement are bullying children as young as 7 years old.
"What we're hearing is that some of the educators are talking about the possible war in Iraq being unethical and that those who would fight it are unethical," Rogers says in today's Washington Times. "About a week ago, we started doing our family-assistance-center briefings," he said. "In these briefings, a number of families came forward and talked about their children coming home upset, depressed, crying."
J. Duke Albanese, state commissioner of education. has urged educrats to be more "sensitive" to military children. "Recently it has been brought to our attention that some school personnel ... may have been less than sensitive to children of military families regarding our continued strained relations with Iraq," he wrote in a letter sent Tuesday to all superintendents and principals in Maine's government schools. "In some cases, parents — who are about to be deployed — have observed added stress and anxiety among their children who perceive a staff member or their peers as being insensitive to their beliefs and the potential danger to loved ones."
And the Democrat teachers unions just can't understand why parents want school choice.
Any e-mail/phone numbers available for this cesspool?
Poulin, who has a high grade-point average, a steady job outside school, and has been accepted at Beal College to study criminal justice, said he is willing to "take on an equal work load and reading material" to study another culture.
Krapf said the study of the Arab and Muslim culture and religion has been a class at the high school since the new curriculum was adopted several years ago.
"It is rotated from class to class," Krapf said. "This class has not had it, other senior classes had."
Poulin said one teacher tore up his first petition because he typed it in a computer laboratory at school. He said he does not know who to give the new, completed petition to because he fears no one will accept it.
"I wouldn't say I'm taking a chance, it's more like a moral stand," Poulin said.
Krapf, meanwhile, worries that students do not see the bottom line.
"I know (students) are trying to express themselves, but they are not looking to the future," Krapf said. "We have to be careful they make decisions that don't close doors for them. During high school, it's important to keep as many doors open as possible."
Darla L. Pickett — 474-9534, Ext. 343
No, Mr. Krapf, your job is to educate, not to help students "fit in" and "understand other cultures." And just how is learning the Arab and Muslim culture going to help American kids "fit in" in the US?
I also agree with Iconoclast2... this is an ENGLISH class, fer cryin' out loud!!
That, in a nut shell, explains why the public schools are a lost cause. These people don't have a clue. But you can bet they'll be back next year asking for more of our money to further destroy young minds.
This story makes another good case for home schooling. It seems to me like it's Krap and his kind who are doing the imposing, not the other way around.
I, for one would choose to take zero and forfeit the points towards graduation than put up with this B.S.and C.F.,p> It seems like we're forcing christians and conservatives to choose between their principles or their future.Clearly something is very wrong with this picture.
This sucks big time.
Regards.
I'm so proud of these students, and praying that more will gain the courage to fight the disease of division in the form of 'multiculturalism'. There is always the court system. Seperation of Church and State? Completely OFFENSIVE?? Another example of special privilidge for the Somalis who are inundating Maine, taking up all the affordable housing, living on Welfare and pushing the natives out?
District 59 information:
Anthony Krapf, Superintendent
55 Weston Avenue
Madison, Maine 04950
(207) 696-3323
(207) 696-5631 (fax)
E-mail address for district: debwhite@madison-alt.sad59.k12.me.us
AGREED. Kudos to these kids...
He thinks this is the function of government run schools. No wonder they fail at reading, writing and arithmetic.
Perhaps you should, Mr. Krap (sic). Or else look for another job. You work for the American taxpayers, not for Saudi Arabia.
These unionized Democrat Party monsters have no business within a hundred miles of an innocent child.
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