I am very pleased that your daughter is at the American School of Doha, Minoush. I have heard some very good things about this school and the facilities are excellent. The teachers seem to be a happy and well-motivated goup of professional international educators. Therefore I am quite prepared to believe that the Arabic and Islamic teachers at ASD do a good job. Unfortunately, Minoush, not every child is at the American School and not every parents can afford the ASD's high school fees. The children in my class, both Muslim and non-Muslim, find their Arabic lessons rather boring and their Islamic Studies lessons equally insipid. I have heard similar comments from other students at other schools in Doha.
You have suggested that I should "open up my mind a little bit". Are you actually suggesting that Islamic Studies lessons actually encourage the children to open up their minds? Is discussion and the answering of questions actually encouraged within Islam? Don't you know that the punishment for apostasy from Islam is death? (Check it out on Wikipedia, if you don't believe me.) How does this fit in with American values, such as democracy, life, liberty and the pursuit of happpiness?
If your daughter is making excellent progress in her Arabic lessons, then I am very pleased for you and for your daughter. However, some children find even the English language rather difficult. Obviously your daughter is not dyslexic, but English lessons can be very hard for children who are. Expecting children who are already struggling with the English language to learn another language, and one that is so very different to English, is not just "hard", Minoush. It is tantamount to child abuse. When Arabic is taught in a way that is dull, inspiring and tedious, then children are not being given a stimulating intellectual challenge but a monumental waste of their time and their parents' money. The Supreme Education Council are pressing for more Arabic lessons, not less, although no doubt the American School will find ways round the SEC's ruling. My school will probably have to fall into line with the SEC's decision and my students will suffer as a result.
I am very pleased that your daughter is at the American School of Doha, Minoush. I have heard some very good things about this school and the facilities are excellent. The teachers seem to be a happy and well-motivated goup of professional international educators. Therefore I am quite prepared to believe that the Arabic and Islamic teachers at ASD do a good job. Unfortunately, Minoush, not every child is at the American School and not every parents can afford the ASD's high school fees. The children in my class, both Muslim and non-Muslim, find their Arabic lessons rather boring and their Islamic Studies lessons equally insipid. I have heard similar comments from other students at other schools in Doha.
You have suggested that I should "open up my mind a little bit". Are you actually suggesting that Islamic Studies lessons actually encourage the children to open up their minds? Is discussion and the answering of questions actually encouraged within Islam? Don't you know that the punishment for apostasy from Islam is death? (Check it out on Wikipedia, if you don't believe me.) How does this fit in with American values, such as democracy, life, liberty and the pursuit of happpiness?
If your daughter is making excellent progress in her Arabic lessons, then I am very pleased for you and for your daughter. However, some children find even the English language rather difficult. Obviously your daughter is not dyslexic, but English lessons can be very hard for children who are. Expecting children who are already struggling with the English language to learn another language, and one that is so very different to English, is not just "hard", Minoush. It is tantamount to child abuse. When Arabic is taught in a way that is dull, inspiring and tedious, then children are not being given a stimulating intellectual challenge but a monumental waste of their time and their parents' money. The Supreme Education Council are pressing for more Arabic lessons, not less, although no doubt the American School will find ways round the SEC's ruling. My school will probably have to fall into line with the SEC's decision and my students will suffer as a result.