Set Our Teachers FREE!

Muslim Homestudy student studies the Koran

Yesterday I posted about the furor over homeschooling currently taking place in California. You may remember that the California courts, at the urging of the California Teacher’s Association (CTA), ruled that a parent must have a teaching credential in order to homeschool.

The homeschooling parents who were initially interviewed were Christian conservatives who took their children out of public school after the passage of SB-777, a law which forbids any discrimination against gays and the gay lifestyle. But the New York Times released a story about another group that homeschools in large measure across the entire United States - Muslims.

In the article, Many Muslims Turn to Homeschooling, several reasons are listed, but they basically boil down to similar concerns that Christian conservative parents have.

“Across the United States, Muslims who find that a public school education clashes with their religious or cultural traditions have turned to home schooling. That choice is intended partly as a way to build a solid Muslim identity away from the prejudices that their children, boys and girls alike, can face in schoolyards. But in some cases. . . the intent is also to isolate their adolescent and teenage daughters from the corrupting influences that they see in much of American life.”

Many young Muslim girls attend public school until they reach the age of puberty and are homeschooled from that point. The article quotes a Muslim mother as saying,

“I don’t want the behavior,” said Aya Ismael, a Muslim mother home-schooling four children near San Jose. “Little girls are walking around dressing like hoochies, cursing and swearing and showing disrespect toward their elders. In Islam we believe in respect and dignity and honor.”

Some Muslim parents take their children out of public school after they become dissatisfied with the learning standards.

“Fawzia Mai Tung. . . , a Chinese Muslim immigrant who home-schools three daughters in Phoenix. . . spent many sleepless nights worried that her children would not excel on standardized tests, until she discovered how low the scores at the local schools were. Her oldest son, also home-schooled, is now applying to medical school.”

And finally, many Muslim parents do not believe that their culture or standards will be honored in the public school system. Whether it is a child taking abuse for different clothing, or diets, or whatever, Muslim families want their children to retain their Muslim heritage and NOT become Americanized. This is possibly related to the fact that once their schooling is complete, many Muslim girls will be married to someone pre-selected by their families.

So we know that Christian conservatives are unhappy with the standards being taught in California public schools and many Muslim families are unhappy with the standards being taught nationwide. Unless things change drastically in our society and our schools, many more families will choose the homeschooling option whenever possible - No matter what California courts say.

Brennan

Save Our Schools

The Kingsland Plan

Filed under: Education News