Chicago Public Schools to Expand the Number of Students Learning Arabic

I don’t have a comment to make on this story, but being about the use of technology to extend Arabic instruction to more schools in the Chicago system, it clearly touches on some of my key interests.

More Chicago public school students will have the opportunity to learn Arabic, thanks to a federal grant.

Two thousand students in ten schools are currently learning the ancient language.

A three-year, 888-thousand dollar US Department of Education grant will allow Chicago to expand the program to three more schools….
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…The grant money will go to professional development and expanding the SAFARI-Blackboard program, which uses computer technology to link students and teachers in different schools with web cams.

Read the full story, CPS Students to Learn Arabic.

Some Parents Oppose Obama Speech to Students – NYTimes.com

President Obama is planning to deliver a controversial speech next week and I don’t approve.  Like the Republican Party chairman in Florida, Jim Greer, I am “appalled that taxpayer dollars are being used to spread President Obama’s socialist ideology.”  How dare he tell students to “work hard and stay in school.”  The administration tells us there is no need to worry.

“This isn’t a policy speech,” said Sandra Abrevaya, a spokeswoman for the Department of Education. “It’s designed to encourage kids to stay in school. The choice on whether to show the speech to students is entirely in the hands of each school. This is absolutely voluntary.”

Likely story.  I’m not fooled.  This Canadian guy I heard on the radio gave me the real scoop.

Mark Steyn, a Canadian author and political commentator, speaking on the Rush Limbaugh show on Wednesday, accused Mr. Obama of trying to create a cult of personality, comparing him to Saddam Hussein and Kim Jong-il, the North Korean leader.

Letting Obama speak to my kids via one way video feed is just like leaving them along with a creepy neighbor.  I heard that on the radio, too.  From Chris Stigall, a Kansas City talk show host who says, “I wouldn’t let my next-door neighbor talk to my kid alone; I’m sure as hell not letting Barack Obama talk to him alone.”

(via Some Parents Oppose Obama Speech to Students – NYTimes.com)

All kidding aside, I am saddened by the response of the school districts of my hometown and its environs.

The controversy over President Barack Obama’s plan to address the nation’s schoolchildren Tuesday — during a noon broadcast from an Arlington County high school — picked up steam yesterday.

Chesterfield County school officials joined those in neighboring Powhatan County in deciding not to broadcast the speech. A School Board member in Dinwiddie County also voiced opposition to showing the speech.
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“Though Chesterfield County Public Schools embraces the president’s message on challenging students and is grateful for the support he has extended in the form of federal stimulus funding for public education, we do not wish to interfere with our staff’s ability to repeat past opening-day successes,” district officials said in a statement released yesterday.

In Powhatan, Superintendent Margaret S. Meara said the school system is “not fearful of the content” and will make the speech available later to give parents a chance to decide whether they want their children to watch it.

“We mean no disrespect to anyone but rather wish to extend our respect to parents, who we feel have the right to make choices for their children,” Meara said.

The debate has reached across the country. Schools in Columbia, Mo., and Rochester, Mich., won’t air the speech — in the former because they can’t afford the technology, officials say. Officials nationwide are grappling with how to appease parents who don’t want their children to watch Obama or have access to the post-speech study materials provided by the federal government. In the speech, Obama will talk about succeeding in school.

via Controversy spreads before Obama’s school speech – Richmond Times Dispatch

It makes me sad!  So very sad!