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February 8th, 2011
06:48 PM ET
Mandatory Arabic?
We'd love to get your opinion on the controversy about teaching Arabic in some Texas schools. When the plan was originally announced, it would've made Arabic mandatory - meaning students would have had to take it - at some schools. Officials are now reconsidering the plan entirely, but we'd like you to consider where you stand on all this.
Carl Azuz, Anchor
I don't think that school in Texas should take Arabic. Where are you going to use Arabic. Normally in school you learn Spanish or French because you are more likely to run into someone who speaks Spanish or French then you are going to run into someone who speaks Arabic.
i think we should not teach arabic in some texas schools because this is America and we speark english.
I think they should still get too pick what they want to learn but have arabic as a choice, forcing people to learn something they dont want to is rude
I do not think that Arabic should be a manditory language because there is not much use for it. I think that schools should stay with just having manditory Spanish/French because this could be useful considering all of the Spanish speaking people that live in the U.S.
I am outraged!
If they teach the students Arabic, then it's just another language to learn.
I think that it would give some people a chance to learn more a bout the world around them.
If somehow we knew that Spanish was going to be the language of the future, would we make it mandatory at schools? Probably not, so why Arabic?
i dont like the idea because kids dont like learning spanish in the first place what makes you think they will like learning Arabic.
i think teaching arabic would only help to open up new doors and help students learn about other cultures.
I completely understand that Arabic is a language of the future. But obtaining a federal grant and making it mandatory on the basis of preventing a stereotype is ludicrous. The federal debt is already out of control, and it is not the government's OR the school district's responsibility to worry about stereotypes.
Kids dont even know how to speak English yet and they think we are going to learn Arabic!
I believe that the Arabic language is the most important language and will be the most spoken language in the upcoming years. For the parents to say that it isn't right for their kids to study that aren't thinking about the big picture. Arabic will become the national language of the United States in the upcoming years. We might as well get started as soon as possible.
Some kids would rather have english or spanish. I think That kids should have a chose weather they want to lean Aribic. Kids should be able to pick the language they want to learn just like kids in high school can. Not every one should hace to take the Arbic. But they still have to take a language.
I think the arabic language would be an interesting subject to study, but it should be left optional for the students just like any other foreign language. I'm sure it would be hard enough to fund the schools for another foriegn language department, better yet to find the teachers to fill the positions...
I do not agree that learning Arabic should be mandatory. It is okay that the school has the option open for students but having that language forced upon the students is a big no no. No one ever wanted to force french or spanish. Why should this be any different?
Learning Arabic would be an excellent idea, although the district should have notified parents way in advance.
Maybe they should think about mandatory English classes before making us learn something that someone in the government thinks might be an important language possibly in the future.
I think its a good idea because what if one of these day one of those kids wants to go to a country that specks the arabic language.
I think that it a good idea to start that lanauge for more children to learn new thing and a different lanuage.
I feel that Arabic shouldn't be mandatory, the fact that spanish is more essential since living in the United States. I feel that the students should also have a say in what they want to learn after all it's there future not the parents.
i think that it's a good idea but at the same time i don't because we all had the choice to learn the foreign languaget that we wanted.....and for some people that might not be the language they want to learn. But on the other hand it could be a unique experience to learn a language that nobody would of thought of instead of learning spanish or french. so either way it could go both ways in my opinion. 🙂
personally I think that teaching studenrts the Arabic language is not such a good idea. Most teens or kids now have struggles learning french, spanish, etc. It may be even more difficult to teach this language, because its not what most american kids are used to or maybe interested in. Now for some it may be good, because they like learning new languages, and then there are some with an Arabic Culture.
Instead of Arabic they should learn Spainsh because the langugage is more useful in most states and jobs.
I think it would be kinda cool. But I understand the parents too. But who knows? We might need to use the language someday.
Learning the language could not hurt them, only inform them. I look at it as just another language.
I see this as a good idea because it will teach students more about other cultures, Open doors to understanding others and give them a good job skill too.
Mandatory is a strong word. It should be an elective for our kids to choose from, not mandatory. What is taking place with our freedom now days? I'm sorry but I'm not forcing this on any of my kids. This is something officials in the White House should consider mandatory for them to learn and not push it on our kids. Elective is the way to go.
That there should be arabic schools. 1. If they were to go to an arabic country then they need to learn how to speak the language!
The Arabic language is the language of the future. It could not harm them at all to learn it. They could only benifet from it. They could have a great oppertunity to go to the Middle East and communicate with the people who speak Arabic.
i think they should be able to learn any language. It's very educational and plus if the parents don't like it they should just move. Because the school gots a right to want to teach the kids what they want
What happened to free and equal opportunities for all people? Why Arabic only? What about equal opportunities to learn Spanish, German, or another languages? This is wrong.
I think the students should be able to choose what language because they don't just want to learn something pointless everyone should probably learn Chinese or Spanish not Arabic because those languages are dominating a lot more than arabic.
I don't think it is a good idea. Majority of the kids will probably never use it in their lives. If they were to make it a class at schools it should't be mandatory. It could also be too much pressure on the students. Arabic would be a hard language to learn.
People might be overreacting to students learning arabic, saying that they are learning to be muslim. First, just because you speak arabic, doesn't mean your are muslim. Also, some schools teach chinese, but they are not teaching Buddhism. The problem people have with arabic and Islam is terrorism. Most muslims are not terrorist. Bin Laden is not a good example.
Mandatory? Really? This is the United States of America. Our primary language is supposed to be English and yet the schools (in general) have not yet mastered the art of teaching it to proficiency. Neither have they reduced the literacy rate or dropout rate (overall). Make it a language elective – in districts where parents request it – maybe. But a grant that requires teaching a foreign language representing only a small segment of our society? My question is who offered the grant? And for what purpose? And shame on the districts who went for the money, regardless of the price to be paid.
I don't think arabic should be a mandatory language to take but it should still be and option for kids to take if they want to. You shouldn't force kids to do something that they don't want to do, without their consideration first.
No, mandatory Spanish would be more helpful for Texas students. However, I have nothing against having a High School elective course(s) on Arabic and Arabic culture.
Our kids don't even learn the English language suffeciently.
Arabic is the least likely to be a 'manditory' language for the United States.
Lets spend our monies on something good for our kids like the three "R"s.
Where are we going to get teachers that can teach Arabic when we can't even afford a basic staff. -Like English/Math/Reading-
Someone in the educational staff in Washington must be getting a kick back!
I think that they should make it a choice for students not mandatory
I believe that they should have included the community in their decision to even get a government funded program started. I think otherwise it is a very good idea to have an arabic class so that students can learn something new and a different culture.
Hi, i think that it should be because in love Arabic. I think that it should be mandatory because our government is having more bussiness in the Middle East and it would be great if eaveryone could talk to the Aribic people. It will help our economy to grow.
"Knowledge is power" – Sir Francis Bacon
Everybody knows that, so expanding the curriculum on different languages should be a strength not a weakness. On your news cast the parent being interviewed said if they don't teach Christianity, they shouldn't teach Islam. I don't think religion and language are that intertwined. Plus more foreign languages open more fields of work.
i think the parents are overreacting and that they are stariotyping the arabic language
i think its ok to teach this but i dont think you should have to take the class.
I think that the parents are over reacting because its just a language.
I think it's ok to teach Arabic. It's fine to me
i think that the parents are crazy because if we learn that language and we over here some ones converstation then we could turn them in if they are talking about a bomb or something
I think that teaching Arabic should not be mandatory, and if not taken out then at least have it as an elective.
i think that the parents have a good reason to be worried. because the musslums who are arabic were the terroist. and the parents may not ehat their kids learning about them and getting ideas.
I think the parents of these students are over reactting,its not like their children are going to go be muslem just because they can speak their langague.
I think that the idea of allowing students to take Arabic is fine,but I don't think that anyone should be forced to learn any language.
I think that the parents have a reason to be mad about not knowing. but learning a new language could be helpful.
I think its stupid. They should not make students learn a language they dont want too. I think they should be able to pick if they learn it cause some students may want to some may not. But they should not make all the students take it
I think that it is ignorant that the parents arent allowing the students to learn arabic over some stereotype. They arabic language is just like any other language, french or german. teaching our students arabic would not only show the arabic culture, but open doors iin education that may help you in the future. Associating arabic with terrorism is wrong.
I think that the parents should have been informed that they were starting to teach aribic.
i think the parents have a reason to not want their kids to learn Arabic. i dont think the students should have to learn it. i think it would be better if it was a choise for the students if they want to learn it or not.
i think that the parents should be concerned about the students having to learn the arabic language
I think that the parents are going a little over board. I think to learn the back on the Arabic language would be good for most kids. Myabe so that they could have the pwn opion on thaat race.
i think that learning this language should be an option not manditory.
It's complertly stareotipic for people to denie the knowledge of the Arabic language if they have no reason on why they're doing so. Some people say things like "I don't want the schools teaching christianity so why would i want then to teach islam" when they reality is that Arabic is not a form of religion, it's just a language. I don't nessesarly agree with requiring the language to by taught, but I definatly do think the schools shold start making it a forth language that students have the ability to learn. Plus chanses are, it would probably cut down on the stareotipic rasinsm thats been coming up quite frequently latley!
I think that they shouldent teach the students the new language because it is a language that you only need to speek if you go out of the country and go to a country that only speaks arabic so i think if you do want to learn it then you should be able to have the option of learning it but if you dont then you shouldent have to learn something that you dont want to and if it's go to just waste time in if you want to take another class or get a better education.
I dont think this is a good idea to be teacheing students Arabic because if the students learn how to speak this language they could turn there backs on us. And i also think that some of the parents thatdont want some of there childeren learing this laguage are right.
I think their is nothing bad learning a new languge like arabic other people like learning other languges.
I think that it should be a choice to learn Arabic because it's always been a choice to learn other languages, so it should be a choice, too.
We don't think Arabic should be mandatory. It should be an elective. Let the students vote on the languages they want to learn. They should have a wide variety of choices. None of them should be mandatory. Immigrants should be prepared to learn the language of the country they are coming to; not the other way around.
Speaking a second language is cool but I don't think arabic is mandatory or needed. Students should chose which second language they want to speak not what their teachers want.
i dont think it should be mandatory but it would maybe be fun to learn
I dont think that students should learn Arabic. It isn't really necessary, and there are more important languages to learn, such as spanish. And if students want learn it, then maybe schools can provide the supplies that you need, or just make it optional.
Students should be educated in as many languages as possible because the future will be filled with them. On the other hand, learning a new language and culture should be a fun experience and making it mandatory would change the student's drive to learn the language.
I think if parents allowed there schools to learn the arabic language then well I say they shouldn't because I think it is a waste of time for the schools and got to much to do.
One man made a comment about his kids learning Arabic. He said he doesn't want his kids to learn about the Muslim religion. That is SO ignorant for they are only learning the language!
It's not a good idea. It will irritate both teachers, parents, and students. Students should be allowed to pick a language course to learn so that they're interested in the language. If the are forced to learn a language they will be bored and not learn it anyway.
It's not a good idea. It will irritate teachers, parents, and students. Students should be allowed to pick a language course to learn so that they're interested in the language. If the are forced to learn a language they will be bored and not learn it anyway.
I believe to be your best in the world you need to be able to connect with others besides English speaking people. A lot of people are of the Arabic culture that live in the United States so yes i think it is a good idea. And also because people of different cultures have plenty of jobs around here so we should not just make it their right to speak English, they have just as much right to be here as we do so we should meet half way.
Also i had a comment about the guy that said schools don't teach Christianity then he doesn't want his kid being taught Islam, just because you learn a different language doesn't me you are being taught a religion.
Why make Arabic language mandatory to some schools? I would understand if the language would have been Spanish or French but Arabic, no i don't think that is right! Try and learn a language that your more likely to use in life and not one that you wont use at all! Carl, having Arabic language taught to Americans is like waiting to see a squirrel with wings, useless and disappointing!!! ; )
I feel that teaching the Arabic language and making it a requirement is most definitely something that other schools should follow. Most, perhaps all, states and colleges require a language as something you need to graduate or get accepted into a college and earn a degree. I do feel however, on this episode, the man that talked about how he didn't want his child to be taught Muslim religion especially if Christianity wasn't taught is merely ignorance. This man doesn't know the difference between a language and religion? I guess I don't understand why this is put on the show but I'm glad that it was to show the ignorance of the people in the United States and world. Ignorance makes a fool of yourself and I think that this certain man did that and my class in watching this and learning about religions and different cultures took offense to that comment even though we are mostly Christians. I wish this gentleman would think about what he would say and who he is affecting when saying that comment. If this affects me, I can't imagine how it affects the Muslims and Arabs.
I think teaching aribic is a good idea because it would reduce stereotype
I think teaching Arabic is good, useful thing.
I think that teaching Arabic language in Texas isn't right. I think we should be more consered about learning Chinese. China is a huge country and we should learn that not Arabic.
i think that teaching arabic could be useful but they shouldnt make it manditory. And they also should have informed the parents first.
Learning the Arabic language shouldn't be mandatory. Sure, learning about it in a history class isn't a bad thing. It would be fine to get an understanding of what the Arabic Nation's people is like, but not take it so far as to learn the Dialect and the Alphabet.
i think that arabic should be taught but not mandatory.
I believe that the schools should inform their students about how important Arabic may be later in life, but make it a elective that students may choose to take.
Arabic shouldnt be a mandatory thing it should be optional.
i think that it should be a choice if the students take it or not because some students may not want to learn that language.:)
i think teaching Arabic is an ok ideah because it will teach kids obout the people and tell thet they arnt all teriststs but i dont think that it should be mandatory.
I think that teaching arabic is a bad...Well not nessisarily bad just i think we should have the choice.If we want to learn Arabic then we will choose to! They should have have the right to learn what language we want!
I think that teaching Arabic is good for people, and a lot of people think that the people who speak Arabic are wierd. It would give them a chance to learn about their country
i think making arabic manditory in schools in Texasis a really bad idea. the reaon i think it is a bad idea is it should be optional if some one wants to take they should be able to have the option.
I think that teaching arabic would be a great opportunity to learn about the arabic culture.If you ever run into somebody that speaks only arabic it would be useful to be able to talk to them. Overall i think it is a great learning experiance for everybody involved with the arabic classes.
i think that the school in texas should not make the students learn Arabic because that would confuse people and we dont want that, and plus it is a hard launage to speek so that is my opinon
I think leaning the Arabic language is a good idea because it would come in handy. I think that there are many kids that would enjoy learning this language. I myself would really enjoy learning this language because it could eventually become useful.
I think it would get rid of alot of the steriotype that is sent towards them because a majority of our country is very judgemental twoards hisanics, arabic, other races due to the fact of our fear of terrorism and in some cases uncomformity. In my opinion this needs to be stopped.
This seems a bit strange. While I'm not against the change, I don't understand why Arabic was chosen. Texans may have more use for a language like Spanish, being so close to Mexico and having a largely Latino population.
However, students should have to learn another language other than English early on in school, or at least the basics of that particular language. This headstart could make learning the language easier when taking the class later on in their education.
Students need to be a lot more worldly, and with this new implication (or any variation thereof), that goal can be achieved.
To have the ability to learn Arabic in your school is great-being forced to take the class is another story. It should be used as an option, rather than a mandatory class. Honestly, some students have enough trouble in English and can't handle another language in middle school. Keep the class as an elective, and everything will work out OK.
I think that teaching students arabic would be a great way to teach students about a different culture. Making it mandatory on the other hand is taking it to far. It should be made an elective so that the student(s) have a say so in the language they are chosing to learn.
In my personal opinion, learning arabic should be optional just lke any other forgein language class. People should have the right to choose what they take. If they already have the right to choose their forgein language class, arabic should be optional too. There should not be mandatory arabic classes.
I think it would be a good idea because everybody should be able learn and you would be able to read books that you could not read in english.
I think that the idea of making arabic mandatory is not a great idea.
Having family members that speak Arabic, I know that it is a hard language to learn and I think that the schools that would like to teach it shouldent make it mandatory. For family members that want there kids to learn Aribic they can just have there kid enroll into that elective class.
Thank you
I think they should have a choice on what they should be able to learn. They may have a different religion from the Arabic Religion and may be offended. again it should be their choice. they may want to learn french or Spanish instead.
I think they should have a choice on what they should be able to learn. They may have a different religion from the Arabic Religion and may be offended. again it should be their choice. they may want to learn french or Spanish instead.
I think that the idea of making arabic mandatory is not a great idea. some families don't speak arabic so it is not neccasary. some students want to try speaking a different language, but the school shouldnt make them if they dont want to learn about it. that class should be a elective.
I that students should NOT half to learn this language. I believe that this language should be optional for students to attend, but shall not be forced to take it.
I do not think it should be mandatory to take any language; students should have the choice of what they want to take and for how long they will take it. If you are able to learn other languages, you would also learn of their culture and perhaps develop more of an understanding of each other's differences. It could be the beginning of a worldwide understanding of the human family.
I think it should be optional. I mean some of us might have to use the language someday but not all of us. And if they want us to learn about the Aribic culture they should teahch it in Social Studies.
Just because they are going to teach Arabic does not mean that a religion is affiliated with it. Though the school should have told the parents sooner, I feel that some of them are mad fo the wrong reason.
They should teach it, but only make it mandatory up to a certain point. Arabic is a very important.
I don't think students should be forced to learn Arabic. I think the concept of learning a language is good; I think they should require students to learn a language, but not require them to learn a specific one. Arabic is not a language that is common in the U.S., and it is very difficult to learn. Students would probably have a lot of difficulty with this and it is a waste of time and money. I know from personal experience people like to have choices; offering Arabic as an option is a great idea, but it should not be forced.
Its a lie and a distortion. Taking a FOREIGN LANGUAGE is mandatory at the schools, and the proposal was to ADD ARABIC as an NEW OPTION on the list of languages. This isn't mandator arabic but the american idiots who fear everything won't let a fact like that stop the rumor swirling. God help this nation of reactionary idiots.
I think they should give it a shot. I'm half Algerian and I have been learning Arabic for eleven years. It's a very interesting and beautiful language. I can understand that a lot of parents approach the idea with scepticism. Still, I believe that it would help the students to be more open-minded about the Arab world.
it realy doesnt bither me weather they put it in school or not. becasue it reall doesnt bother me because if they teach spanish in schools, and then in highschool give you choises then they shold a least add one more language to teach if more arabics are going o move here ( to the us) and they dont know english we should ta leas learn their languag to communicate with them 🙂
In my opinion i don't think they should make us learn a new language because me as a junior high student, have enough classes and enough homework to worry about.
I agree with some of the others who think that they should have been noticed before then like a few months.
Why would kids need to learn arabic we are not even close to iran. it would make more sense for them to learn spanish it is closer than iran.
I do not think that arabic should be mandatory to learn. It should be an option for students to choose if they want to learn it. If a language should be manditory it should be spanish because that would benefit everyone greatly.
I don't think Arabic should be mandatory. It should be optional but not mandatory.
I think that it is good to learn Arabic but it is just not right to make people learn it and if a student wants to learn it then the parents would feel more comfortable with it.
i dont think americans should learn mandatory arabic because we have our own language and arabic is not a language or class you need to graduate
I dont care that much but if u have a job or something with someone who only speaks that or not good english it would be good. i dont see why its a big deal to some people.
I think that schools shouldn't make people learn Arabic because its America and we have freedom of speech. We should be aloud to chose what language we want to speak. i wouldn't do it because i dont want to learn any other language.
i think that it should not be a mandatory language to be taught in high school. it is just a language that should be the students choice and or the parents choice.i think that it should be up to the students choice because maybe they do not want to learn a new language.
I think they should make it manditory because it would give the kids some advantages when they need jobs in the future!
I think it is a good idea for schools to teach students how to speak Arabic but, I do not think it should be mandatory. Students should be able to decide what language they want to learn wether it be Spanish, Arabic, French, Italian or any other language they offer.
I believe that Arabic sould NOT be mandatory, I think it should be optional, because I personally would NOT want to be forced to learn a language I don't want to learn...
I think teaching Arabic is a good idea but it shouldnt be mandatory cause im taking spanish and it would be hard to learn two languages at once.
I think teaching Arabic is a bad idea. I think teaching arabic is a bad idea because more people in the U.S speak Spanish more than Arabic.
I think it is ok because in 20 years we might have to speak it, there is a bunch of possibilities that may happen in that time. So it is best that you are ready for anything.
I think arabic should be optional not manditory. This would get rid of all the controversy. Students could choose weather or not they wanted to take it.
I don't think Arabic should be the mandatory language taught in school. I think Chinese should be taught in the schools. Our country does a lot of business with the Chinese people and it would be helpful to our economy to be able to communicate more effectivly.
Arabic is a good Idea, but it should be an elective option. If kids want to try Arabic, let them.
I think this is a good idea becuase i beleive you should learn more than just to languages. And, you should have to choice to learn the Arabic tradition.
i think learning arabic would be cool. kids should learn all they can from other cultures. if you plane on going to place that speaks arabic then it would be a good idea. if not bad idea.
I think teaching Arabic is a good idea for kids because some of the kids might want to learn how to speak Arabic if they travel to the middle east. Also if you are in a business that travels you might need to learn how to speek Arabic.
I think teaching Arabic is a good idea. it will give students a good chance to learn about other cultures. Altho it may be hard for students to participate in this activity because parents feel so srongly against it.
I think teaching Aribic is a bad idea.First the language is useless to them because when are we going to need it. Next all we need to know is American and mabye Spanish. I think that is a very bad idea to teach a whole new language that is going to take a long time to learn it is pointless. Also it shouldnt be mandatory for the students they should have a choice to learn it or not.
I think speaking Arabic is a ok idea. I think it will become popular in the next few years. To me as long as they long they try to not teach us there religion i think its ok because soon when other children grow up they will need to use because we will trade with them. And thats why i think teaching Arabic is an ok idea.....
*My opinion is that maybe teaching Arabic is okay but it should be up to the students whether or not they would like to take the class. I don't think it should be a mandatory class but an elective!
I think that students shouldnt have to speak arabic language if they dont want to. Even though i do think that learning a new language at school is cool, because its something different from english.
I believe that they should not speak arabic. I think, if they want to speak arabic language , they do not have to but I think that if they do speak arabic and "why, they can't let american people in the U.S.A speak that language.
To me i think it is good to learn about another culture and their language. It doesn't mean that you have to believe in the cultur, so I don't see the big deal on the issue.
I think if We want them to teach us the Language of the Future it would have to be Chinese. China is not only the factory of the world, producing many of our daily goods, it’s also an fast growing market with more than a billion consumers. I don't see the point of learning Arabic.
I think that it would be a good idea to learn Arabic. We learn Spanish and they have to learn English yea I think that it is pretty fair for us to learn a millon languague. I had to learn sign languague in order to speak to both my parents so yea I think it is fair.
I think that the students should choose which language they want to speak. Also, if they want to, they could teach that religion too if appropriate.
I don't think the students should be forced to learn Arabic. It is a waste of time. This time could be devoted to other core skills like Math and Reading.
I think that the students who choose to speak Arabic should speak it. It doesn't mean they have to be a Muslim to speak Arabic.
I think Arabic would be good to learn. If someone is from Arabic then we should be able to learn about their culture just like how if we were spanish. If we were spanish we could learn about our culture. So I think it is totally fair.
What's the big deal? A lot of people know Spanish and are not Spanish. It is a free country! Adults or kids should do what they want, when, and where they want.
I think that teaching Arabic in school is a good idea, but they should not make it mandatory, just another option as a language. They also should have notified the parents earlier. I know my parents like to know things in advance, especially with something big like this.
I believe that learning a different language such as Arabic is a good idea because it makes the bonds between different cultures stronger.
I think that all students should have a choice to take this class. They should not be forced to take it if they don't want to. This topic is something you can agree on in both point of views. This is good to learn but may not be up to it.
I think its wronge for parents not to want the schools to teach arabic because of the islamic culture. schools will be teaching the language not the islamic cultures.
i think it should be optional not manditory because i speak arabic and i think that its pretty hard to speak and read and right. so having to learn ENGLISH AND ARABIC is way too hard.
i think itsa cool idea because many countries in the middle east speak arabic. and some parents dont want their kids to learn the language because of the culture and thats wronge. speaking the language isnt learning the culture.
Student should have a choice by high school of what language they want to learn.
i think it would be a great idea for schools to teach a new language to other kids in school
Arabic should be available to be learned in schools across the country, but not mandatory. This way, students can choose to learn Arabic if desired, but not be forced to learn the language.
we as students should not have to learn a new language that we will most likely never use. even though it might inhanse the learning of a few students its not best for everyone.
I don't have a problem with them offering Arabic. The problem is forcing them to take it. What about the kids who want to learn Spanish, French, Russian? If you force them to take Arabic there will be little room for them to learn a language they truly want to learn.
It does not make any sense why a school would make a foreign language mandatory for students. Especially Arabic in a state that is so close to the U.S./ Mexican border and that has a very high consentration of Hispanic people. It would make alot more sense if they were going to reguire a foreign language, to make that language spanish.
i think that arabic should be a choice in school and not mandatory so that the parents would be happy but the school should of sent home a letter about it so the parents were at least informed about it but if i was a parent and they said it was mandatory i would be mad too i can see why the parents are so upset about the whole thing. sincerely, Daniel
we as students should not have to learn a new language that we will most likely never use. even though it might inhanse the learning of a few students its not the best for everyone.
I believe that it should be a choice for the student whether it can be taken. This gives the individual student freedom, and if some parents and/or students don't agree with the class then they don't have to take it. I believe that the freedom of religion and freedom of cultures should be practiced but should be a choice if the student wants to learn more about that culture or not.
I think that teaching arabic in schools is dumb because we can just use a translator
I do no beleive that Arabric should be taught to a school I don't see that not allowing kids what to take is fair to them.
i think that it shouldn't be up to the district to regulate what language have to take and that there should have been a vote in the school district and if it passes well whatever we cant have this kind of stuff happening because its just like the federal government telling us we HAVE to do something
learning different languages is good and its will be important when kids grow up. they might have a costomer or something that speaks a different language than english
i think teaching arabic is a dumb idea! cause i do not want to learn another stupid language
I think that you should be able to learn it but it shouldn't be manditory. I think that you it is a waste of time to force students to learn a language that you may never use.
I think that Arabic shouldn't be mandatory but that it could be a choice if you wanted to take it or not.
I think that teaching Arabic is a good idea. Kids could learn their
culture and compare it to ours.
I think it would be a great idea to teach Arabic as a class just like most spanish classes and also it would help us know more about the culture and language.
I think learnig Arabic is a good idea... People don't see that learning a new language can't hurt you, it can only help you. And if learning Arabic is going to get our generation ahead in the world, then so be it. We need to realize that it's a kind of privilege to be able to get the education we're getting and to be given the opportunity for future success should leave us forever thankful to the people who proposed this offer.
I think the idea of teaching arabic as a mondatory class isnt a very good idea. They should make it optional so if kids want to take it, then they can. those that dont want to dont have to
I dont think that making students learn Arabic is a good idea, because nore people speak English, Spanish, or Chinese rather than Arabic. I think they should be able to choose what language they learn.
arabic is awesome! i love the language its a great
I think that this Arabic language is bad, i think that kids would do better if they had motivation to learn a language thet they really want to learn.
i love there food!
Arabic isn't a bad idea for a class, but making it mandatory? That's just stupid. Is this because we think the Arabs will take over the world soon? Get a grip. We, of all people, taking away the right of choice? Please reconsider this stupid plan.
This is going to be good for the district because it is important for the children to learn new languages and new cultures bcause we are one of the few countries which most people only know one language.
I think that making students learn Arabic language is a bad idea. The muslims are not going to take over the world. Spanish is a better language to learn because we are closer to them then muslim contries.
I think teaching in arabic is a good way to open doors. In the future it could be a great tool for travel or buisness. In the near future it will become a highly spoken language.
I think that teaching the Arabic language in our schools is a very good idea. Not only are us Americans made up of different cultures, but some of us are certified citizens that live in a different country. With students learning the Arabic language, it will open more opitions for the future, such as living in the middle east, and being in business with people from those countrys. All in all, it may be mandatory but it should be the students choice either way.
I think that it would be fair to learn another language. Because you might have to talk to someone who speaks that language but they might not speak english. So I think that its fair to learn another language because you might need to speak that language some day.
I think it would be a great idea to have Arabic as a language to have at schools, but I don't think it should be mandatory.
I think teaching Aribic is a bad idea. First, the language is useless because when are we going to need it? Next, all we need to know is American and mabye Spanish. I think that is a very bad idea to teach a whole new language that is going to take a long time to learn it is pointless, in my opinion.
I think they should. If they travel all around the world they need to know some foreign language. How else should you interpret their language?
I think its a good idea to learn arabic. Also if you are in a business that travels you might need to learn how to speek Arabic.
I don't believe that any foreign speech should be made mandatory on American soil. Optional classes giving individuals the opportunity to pursue other languages are perfectly acceptable on the other hand.
I think we should ask the students what they want to do and take that into consdieration, or not make Arbic manditory ,but let parents know that the religon will be part of the corriculm.
No student shouldn't have to learn Arabic. Kids take Spanish, German, Italian and so on because most people would got to Europe for vacation, but How many Children are going to go to the middle east? kids shouldn't have to learn about there culture, plus most parent's don't approve of there kids learn about they culture any ways.
I Think making Learning Arabic is way to harsh i think the student should have the right to pick what language class to take
If a school is going to incorporate a foreign language into its curriculum, why not make it a language that is sufficient around the world? Arabic is not a good idea for a second language because, unlike Mandarin, it is not spoken around the globe.
I think students are a lot more likely to get more out of class if they had a say in what classes they take. Arabic would be a good option for a language class, but I don't think it should be mandatory.
I think that students in the Texas schools should have a choice of whether or not to learn Arabic. When they give these classes, and that way the parents that don't want to have their students take Arabic, won't have their students take it.
I think that it is a good idea for schools to require students to learn a language. I think that arabic is definitely an interesting option to have but it should not be required.
I think that students should choose if they want to learn Arabic, that way everyone is happy.
I think this new proposed plan is wonderful! It just shows how far our country has come in advancing the amount of culture in our own life. However instead of it being mandatory the school should have it be optional. So those who want to have the opportunity and those who don't are still at ease and have more languages to explore in.
People should agree to learn anything new they can. Who knows it may come in handy one day.
I would like to learn it but I don't think it should be mandatory.
I personally believe that having the kids take Arabic, is a great idea. It will open them up to a new and unique culture. They'll learn something new. And it might open up doors that they never would have had if Arabic hadn't been mandatory.
Arabic is cool, but it won't help us in the future! Spanish or Chinese would be more efficient. The Chinese are the producers of the products we use in the United States, but Spanish is supposed to be the official language in the U.S. in 2020.
I think they could offer Arabic, but it should be the students and parents choices on whether they want to take it or not.
I think they shouldn't make Arabic mandatory. 1) Its not commonly spoken here like Spanish or other languages are. 2) There are other languages that are more important for business than Arabic. 3) I think even if Arabic is put in schools it should be an elective like the other languages are.
I think that they should not force kids to learn arabic I think it should be up to the kids to diside because if some kids dont want to learn about it they shouldnt have to.
Arabic is a unique language and culture that most people may not be able to experience. Students should certainly be given the opportunity to learn it, but if they don't want to, they shouldn't have to.
We learn Spanish, German, and even French. I don't see anything wrong with learning Arabic by choice. But not mandatory, thats not fair.
Let Arabic become an option along with any other languages the school provides. It won't hurt anyone to learn one or more other languages.
There is nothing wrong with learning a second language, it helps make us more worldly and aware of what is going on in the world! I understand ware the opposing side is coming from but learning Arabic does not make us less American. Learning Arabic makes us more American by embracing who we are as Americans. A melting pot of different languages, cultures, believes, and lastly people.
There is nothing wrong with letting Arabic to be another language available at school, but forcing a student to learn it is something the parent should inforce, not the school.
Why is it that foreigners don't have to learn English but Americans have to learn foreign languages? Why is it that Americans are ashamed of being American? Most kids in America don't even know how to speak proper English and now they have to learn arabic because some terrorists flew planes into the WTC? That's where this all comes from!
I think that people shouldn't be mandated to learn Arabic, but it is a GREAT course to use as an elective. If parents want their children to learn about their heritage, this makes it so they have the opportunity to do so, without making the other students have to learn the language. It's also good as an elective so that if people go into the military, they can learn a language of some of the places they may be assigned to go to. So, while it is a good class to offer, it should not be mandated.
I think it would be good to learn Arabic. We are learning Spanish, Chinese, and Mandrin, So why not Arabic.
I come from an Arabic speaking family. Honestly, I think Arabic should not be a language required to learn in school because not many young people would find it useful. If you would like to learn Arabic for any reason, there are many books or websites you could visit.
I Think that it would be a good idea to learn Arabic, because it is like learning a new language from a new culture. Also, there are many words like hazard, algebra come from Arabic, So It would be a good idea to learn Arabic. Also, Iit is not related to religious practices such a s Christianity and Islam.
I think it is good idea because thier is a kid in my gym class that speaks Arabic so he would be very good at it and help me and my classmates. We also might need it in the future.
I think schools should learn arabic because it can teach kids a good skill and they could use it in the future and parents should agree that kids should learn arabic!!
Arabic should be an elective not mandatory because some people are offended by having to learn it others like myself dont think it should be taught but at the same it should
I don't think that Arabic should be required, but it is a good idea to offer it as an optional course. After all, Arabic is a widely used language in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, the top two oil exporting countries in the world. Knowing Arabic could help you get a job in the oil industry.
I think it's a good idea to teach Arabic if kids want to take it, but it shouldn't be mandatory.
I think that schools should be able to pick what the students learn. Because think of what would happen if parents picked which religion to learn. Also I think that it is good to learn different things in school that is why they make it a law to go to school.
I positively think that you should choose which language you want to work and learn on. Learning the language can help you with the people you are around. For example, if you are around friends who speak Spanish, you want to know how to speak Spanish. Choosing the language you want to choose is up to you.
I think teaching Arabic is a great idea. At my school it's mandatory to take Spanish or French so what's the difference. I think knowing more than one language looks great on a reseme and knowing Arabic would give them a good advanted in the world.
I think that teaching arabics in texas is a good idea because since we learn spanish, german, french, and more..we should be able to learn a less popular laugage. It will teach people about the culture and possibly presure them into learning the launage more...
We should have a choice of what language we learn. Teaching Arabic would be interesting, but there are not as many Arabic people in the United States as there are Spanish talking people. There is a town where some of my family lives that almost everyone that is there speaks Spanish. My sister can speak Spanish because that's the class that she took, and I always thought it would be cool to speak in a different language with her.
I think it is okay for the schools to teach Arabic because it seems to be the language of the future, as well as Spanish. Learning Arabic also decreases stereotypes. It should not be forced on the student, however. It should be a choice.
I think its a good idea. They should learn arabic instead of just spanish,and it will be pretty cool to do something new. After all some kids might travel somewhere they speak that language they will no what to say.
If schools are requiring a language such as Arabic then i am confused on why they wouldn't require languages such as latin. 50% of the words in our english language are derived from latin so why would we learn a totally different language that has nothing to do with our culture. On the other hand though requiring this language could help us as a country being able to communicate with other enemy countries. This would enable us to make peace treaties causing the world to be a better place. Over all i think that many different languages should be required then we would be able to have easier communication among the world.
I think learining arabic in is a good idea! i could teach the students the culture and the language of arabians. But it should be a recomended subject not a recquired one.
If yo are going to make a language mandatory, why arabic? I didn't even know that was a language until it was on CNN Student News
I think learning Arabic could be an interesting language to learn. It would help introduce kids to a whole new language than just learning the three basic languages, French, Spanish, and German.
I think that we should just have a choice to pick a language that we want to speak or if they want to teach us a language of the future then it should be chinese cause it is the oldest population in the world.
well i personally think it would be a great opportunity to learn something more then just the languages provided by schools... if i could i would most likely take that class. there for i would not be upset or unhappy i would be thankful that i could learn more then Spanish, German, and those languages...
Teaching Arabic is a wonderful way to learn a new language, but we do have freedom of speech. The students should be able to choose if they want to learn a new language. Trade nowadays is hard due to the fact that other countries have more than one language, so why make it harder?
I think that it is a good idea to give the kids the oppertunity to learn another language like Arabic but I do not think that the language should be mandatory. Some kids may want to learn it but others may want to learn other languages like French or Spanish or any other languages that their school may offer to the students.
Arbic is a good idea but we should let the students pick what langue they want so every body is happy.............!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I believe that while learning a foreign language should be mandatory, the choice of what specifically to learn should belong to the student. No individual foreign language should be imposed upon anyone.
I think its good they are learning a new language which is pretty cool, but don't the kids have a say in this? Maybe they should have a class for it and people can sign up for it and it could count for a grade.
The kids should have a vote about rather they want to take another language or not because their the ones that would have to take it.
In the news clip, a man was interviewed who expressed his discontent with the school's proposal because of his personal idea that teaching the Arabic language correlates with teaching the Muslim faith. This obviously ignorant comment is even more reason why the school should teach Arabic. Learning a foreign language exposes students to a new way of thinking and viewing the world. Ludwig Wittgenstein once wrote, "The limits of my language are the limits of my mind. All I know is what I have words for". Why would anyone not want the opportunity for their child's mind to be opened? In addition, Arabic is considered by the US Department of State to be a critical language. Although Chinese, Turkish, Russian, Hindi, Japanese, and several other languages also are included in this list, the fact that students at this school are given the opportunity to study a critical language is very unique. When a school corporation develops a curriculum, it is at the digression of the school as to what is included. The situation in this school is no different than school corporations where Spanish language instruction may be required.
I think that the parents should have been notified that way they could decide whether or not as a school and parents put together should make the Arabic class mandatory or not mandatory.
I think that the people who think that the Arabic language is the language of the future are crazy! Spanish is the language of the future because more Mexican immigrants are coming into and living in America. I think you should only learn Arabic if you are planning on going to the Middle East.
I personally believe Mandatory Arabic is an amazing idea. 9/11, so many Americans have the wrong idea about Islam. This will help open the mind of students and parents alike. So many people are segregated and bullied at school because of the Islamic roots. This will show students that all muslims are only alike by religon not beliefs/ideas.
I think they should because teach Arabic because , the students will learn
a new language . You know what they say "Seek for knowledge even if it takes you to China .
i live in Texas but my school isn't like that and i'm glad. i don't think it should be mandatory. that's just wrong. it could be an option but not mandatory. that's like taking away one of the kids electives and that's unfair.
i'm in junior high and i live in Texas and i honestly think its totally unfair for those schools to make learning Arabic mandatory. it's a language just like Spanish or German. why should it be any different? they have no right to make it mandatory. it should be up to the kids
I think that it should be an option to take it or not, it isn't promoting a religion, it is simply spoken some in the U.S. so some people should be able to have a choice in what language they speak, and if you don't want to take it, then don't take it.
I believe that students should have a choice learning this language because it would be very hard to uphold some government jobs without learning Arabic, but, just as in learning Spanish in our school, it is not absolutely necessary. If the Arabic society becomes a larger part of the world, then it might be more necessary to take Arabic, but right now, there are more important issues in a child's education than learning Arabic.
It should be a class but not mandatory
i think chinese would be the best language to learn because it produces alot of our products and goods and I think that the future language will probably be chinese. So whats the point of arabic?
i think we should learn this because some people would like to learn these thiings like me. and we need to learn different languages
I think it would be good for the students, but I think we should have the choice to take a foreign language. It also not a common language/culture in the United States, so when would you use it?
Learning Arabic is not a good idea sure I mean the numerals we use came from Arabic but what is the use of teaching the language. If we are going to learn any languages even spanish we should learn it on our own. I am not just speaking about Arabic but all the others. The only time learning Arabic will benefit is us visiting Arabia which most probably won't be likely. Anyway we are American children we don't NEED that language. And if we want to learn we can learn it on our own time.
The option to learn Arabic in school is a great idea (though I don't know about making it mandatory). As for the parents who oppose it... I think that they are associating Arabic with Islam too much, and by extension, associating Islam with terrorism. It's like saying that English is the language of the Ku Klux Klan.
I dont think that students should be forced to learn Arabic but instead learn a language of their choice because that is what i want to do when i get to high school.
I think that they should not teach Arabic because it really is not important to learn Arabic in Texas. We only really need English and/or Spanish because where are we gonna use Arabic. That will just add more struggle to students.
Arabic is not importent we should learn more spanish, but it could be useful sometime in live.
I think it shoud not be manditory but I think it should be up to student. I belive it is a great idea if they give it as an option in schools
I think that Arabic should be offered as a class to take but it should not be mandatory. They should focus on more widely spoken languages like Spanish since it is a language spoken globally.
I think that schools should not make a specific language mandatory but should let students learn the language of their choice. Arabic is a language much like French and Spanish and can be as useful for many professions.
It would be good to learn a different language. If you ever go on a feild trip to france,you would want to know their language. You know, if your lucky enough to go on a field trip to france.
it would be awesome to learn another language.that would be so kool!
I believe that teaching Arabic is a good way of learning not only a language, but about a culture that is half way around the world. But schools should not make it mandatory, but instead a choice for children to choose on their own.
No. Why should it be. This is America. The students at each school should decide if they want to do it. The students deseve a say on this. If the parents and teachers decide then it is unfair.
I think the student's should choose. It's not fair to make a student do something he,or she does not want to do.If you were the student would you want to choose?That's a question you need to ask you'r self.Personally i would want to make my own decision.
I think the students should be able to choose if they want to learn to speak, write and read Arabic
I think it would be a great idea to learn Arabic. For if they didn't the world in my opinion would not be good. I think it is great for us all to learn new languagues that is the usuall ones to learn as in French, Spanish, and German. But if we don't learn the other culters and languagues or the racist talking will increase in the streets and such other places
I think that giving the option of learning Aribic is great, but to make it mandatory is not such a good idea.
I agree. I don't see why they can't learn Arabic. I think the parents are stero type.
i think it is crazy because of all the stuff going on in the middle east and all the fighting. It is just silly and no purpose to learn the arabic language.
I believe that students should chose if they want to learn Arabic. Or they could just learn Arabic because it teaches them about the culture. Parents should respect other cultures and they should not believe what they see on TV about different cultures. If parents let their kids learn spanish, french, and etc, why cant they let them learn Arabic. I think it would be so cool to learn Arabic. And who cares if you dont like them learning about Islam and Arabic.
I think that some Texas schools should learned Arabic because we can learn some other languague's.
peaple shoud have a choice to laern a different lanuage this america and we should have a right and not be forced to laern a lanuage
I think they should make it a class but not make it mandatory its a win win
obiviously parents are very upset about it and feel very strong about what their children learn. The kids and their parents should have a choice of what they learn like all the other languages. so why treat Arabic any different? Expially because everyone is so upset about it.
Have the Arabic teacher send home a permission slip. It's should be the parents final decision. The school has no right to go against what the parents want for their kids. Either they want them to learn the language, or they don't. Can't argue with that.
some people have a hard time trying to read english and if they have to learn and master english and Arabic then they might be in big trouble
I think that we shouldn't learn arabic because i dont want a muslim terrorist teaching me a b.s. language
Learning Arabic is a great idea. It demolishes a lot of stereotypes and racism. If this continues, the Arabic American citizens should not have to face criticism. Although, schools should not force the students to learn a culture or language. It should be an optional class you can take. Learning another language the school provides is mandatory, so we should just broaden the choices up and let students choose their own.
I think we should be able to learn how to speak Arabic because it's another skill that we can learn and studies show that people that can speak more than one language understand grammar, mathematics and logic better.
I think that learning arabic is an excellent idea! Not only does learning a foriegn language increase grey matter in the brain, particularly arabic because the alphabet is more difficult, but it will also broaden the minds of the students and possibly even lower all the hatred, racism, and stereotyping of islamic and muslim cultures. Only the extremists are terrorists. Most don't want to be involved, and are facing stereotyping from Americans because of what a hsndful of their large population did.
I think learning arabic is just as important as learning any other language, it should be the kids choice what language he or she takes not the school boards responsibility.
I think arabic is a language that students should learn if they want to. If a student is forced into a subject he or she may not like it and not work as hard as if they got the choice of taking the language that they wanted
I think that if it is mandatory to take arabic, many students will focus less on other subjects or languages they already take before, like i take spanish and if it is mandatory to take arabic suddenly, i will basically leave my spanish work half completed
I think that speaking/learning Arabic is a bit too hard for students. I think we should stick to speaking Spanish instead. Most of us probably won't be even going to Saudi Arabia.
i don't think Arabic should be mandatory, its a cool language and all but its not like Spanish, Hispanics are a huge part of our population. i think that they should have Arabic as a choice to learn it just like they have a chose to take French, Italian, or Spanish, they could just throw Arabic into that group.
I think it should be up to the parents whether to teach children Arabic themselves or to have the school teach it
i think that its always good for any to learn new lanuges but the school should have let the parents know first.
if you want to learn good for you
but
if u dont just think twice about it
Math will always be math; there's no choice for students, but in language there are so many choices to choose from that it should be up to the students to choose.
I think it would be good to learn arabic but i don't believe it should be mandatory, its not like most of are going to use it in the future, i think they should just make that optional, the language we should stick to be learning to should be spanish, most of us would use that in our future. And what if most kids don't want to learn it, I believe kids should have a choice in what foreign language they'd like to learn.
I think its dumb that it is mandatory to learn Arabic. If you want to learn Arabic, students should teach themselves, but it is also important to learn about other cultures.
I think it could be a good advantage for kids to learn a foreign language....but students should also have an option on weather they would want to learn the Arabic language...also it could also be a good reason because some kids could learn more about the the Arabic culture!!!!
Arabic could help the students later in life, however, if parents really don't want their child to learn it than it should not be mandatory.
I think that a school should be able to offer Arabic, but not require it. We don't require any other language classes, so why this one? I think if any language were to be required, Spanish should be because of the high amount of the United States speaks Spanish. But, I think Arabic should be a choice, but it's a good idea for our upcoming future.
It's good to be bilingual because it can help you get into a good job, but nobody should be forced to know another language. And if a kid wanted to learn another language at this school, they wouldn't have a choice. In my opinion, they should focus on a more helpful language, like Spanish or Chinese.
One of the parents on the show said 'they are not teaching christianity in school so why islam'. But i think that parent had a mis-understanding. Both christianity and islam is not a language. Just because the holy book of the islamic faith is written in arabic does not mean that arabic is Islam and also I think no language should be mandetory to learn in school. Students should have have the freedom of choosing what language they want to learn, but it is also in there benifit to learn many languages.
i don't need to learn arabic if i don't want, that's not compulsive matter what i consider.
I don't think it's right that schools are forcing kids to learn any language. If we have freedom of speech, then can't we have the freedom to speak languages we WANT to?
I think Arabic should be optional. Many schools offer multiple languages; why couldn't the school in Texas just demand that the students take 1 language, but let the students choose which one? Plus, it was wrong of the school not to tell the parents. I think that the parents are worried that the school will teach their children things that the parents don't know about, and that scares the parents.
why not learn it its not going to hurt you , its only going to fill you brain with knoledege , and maybe arabic will be t he next world wide language, if they provided arabic language in my school i would be the first to sign up.
Some people maybe want to learn Arabic and what if some others they want to learn a different language. They might want to learn french or spanish they shouldnt just be forced to learn arabic. Spanish and other languages were required by the state and Arabic is.
While I think teaching Arabic in schools is a great idea, as learning any other language promotes a greater understanding of that language's culture and people (which it looks like Texas might need after one parent's confusion over whether teaching Arabic was teaching "the Islam") I don't feel Arabic should be required. I think it would be much harder to create an argument for mandatory Arabic than it would, for say, mandatory Spanish when you live in Texas. Arabic speaking countries are becoming more powerful on the world stage, but if you live in Texas, you should be pushing a language that 6.3 million of your state's citizens speak.
I think that if they dont give the students a choice then they should not teach arabic .
i say if we don't want to lean it we shouldn't have to. when will we need to speak Arabic?
I don't think that students should learn Arabic. It's a good thing to learn for the cuture, but I really don't see the point of it. I think it would be a good idea to make learning Arabic optional, and for the students who want to learn it, schools could provide the classes or supplies they need to learn it.
it would be dispicable to force them to take it maybe someone doesn't want to take it and they force them to it would be against there rights. :{
Speaking Arabic is a choose, not to force people into learning.
I love this idea, why is their so much people mad because we are learning about other countries? I think it's good we are considering this we need to be prepared for the future as today we hears tons of things on the news worldwide.
I believe students shouldnt have to learn arabic but arabic people should learn english
I think that is good that they can learn more than one language because they might need it to speak to the people that speak it or if they need to translate some papers or to help translate.
Arabic is a language that is necessary for thier country but we are in America they should use Arabic language in there country and we use English in America. That is just my opinion.
I think it is a good idea for schools to teach students how to speak Arabic but, I do not think it should be mandatory. Students should be able to decide what language they want to learn wether it be Spanish, Arabic, French, Italian or any other language they offer.
I think that it's a good idea to introduce a new language to kids in the US. But it should be an optional class. So it would be Spanish, French, German and Arabic.
I think that Arabic should not be mandatory but it would be cool to have that become a class. Its way cooler than spanish class.
I think that if the student wants to learn Arabic then they can, but if they are being forced to learn it and don't enjoy learning it then they don't have to. A child shouldn't be forced to do something if they don't enjoy it!!
I think it is a good idea to learn a diffrent culture but they should of informed the parents of what they were doing. Also they should let the kids see what they wanted to do.
Kids should choose if they want to learn Arabic or not.
I think that if you want to learn Arabic then you can but you shouldn't be forced to learn it.
I think it would be a good idea to learn Arabic because it will help you talk to more people.
I think that learning Arabic should be offered at schools, but not required. It goes against the U.S. constitution and everything America was founded on.
Anytime that you add the word "mandatory" to anything, you automatically raise the eyebrows of the general public. Offering the class as an alternative to the other foreign languages would have been a better option. The class would help some people gain a better understanding of another group of people that have become major players in the global economy. I don't think it is something to fear, but many people will and do.
We no need Arabic language. We in the United States like ENGLISH!!!! So please no Arabic....... 9-11
Here in Georgia we have a lot of racist, which is wrong. i think teaching another language would give us a quick background on Arabic history and show what those poor people have been through.
I think it would be cool to teach Arabic because you know I would probably take that class if it came to my school cause i'm always ready to speak a new language but like someone already said I think it should be up to the students whether they want to take it or not.
It is not that big of a deal mabey it is a good thing, it is just another languague.
I don't see a problem with it
i dont think kids need to learn arabic in school because what are the chances of having a conversation with someone from there.
if people want to learn arabic that is great. you should not force it apon people. that would affect our first amendment freedom of speech.
I thinks it's a great idea to learn a new language but only if the student wanted too.
i think that arbic shouldnt be mandatory because its just one more language like spanish french or german and neither one of those laguages are mandatory so arbic shouldnt be
I think it is a good idea for the schools to teach us a new language. It will help us learn about the culture. I don't really see the problem in this.
I think making the kids learn Arabic is an absolutely terrible idea. We live in America and we should not have to learn any language because the U.S. is an English speaking country. I also think that teaching Arabic is promoting the Muslim religion. If they are not going to promote other religions they shouldn't promote the Muslim religion.
i think it would be good to learn arabic but i think alot of parents wouldnt want there kids learning it.
I think that the school should learn Arabic because its important to learn about other cultures and this could really help out to understand whats been going on and if their was an emergency you would no what they are talking about.
I think it should be you're choice weather you want to do it or not. I think in some ways it could be good for students to have the opportunity but it could be bad insome ways to.
I believe that all kids should learn Arabic, because learning Spanish, or French is not the only language people would have to know before they explore different countries when they retire. Or the kids wanted to become a doctor. They would have to understand the people to help them.
I'm not really against it... But not for it either. It's a good idea but being able to take the class should be optional
there should be because people need to learn all the subjects
I might think that learning Arabic will be good, but to make it mandatory is outrageous. I’m sure you can tell what side I am taking on this blog!! Like all language classes, you should be able to choose whether or not to take the class. I however, do not like the idea.
I personally think that we should not have to learn that if we are not learning about Christianity,Judaism,ext then why should we have to learn Arabic its a waste of time. Speaking English is important because almost 100% of America speak English and its more important to learn that than anything else
I dont think that Arabic should be mandatory. If arabic is mandatory, spanish and chinese should be. Spanish is the second language of our country, and a lot of people cant speak it. China is the fastest growing economy in the world and they are already almost at the top. If anything make Chinese or Spanish mandatory.
i think that if they want to learn it then let them but it shouldnt be manditory.
I think our free right of speech involves this. Should we learn Arabic? Not necessarily, it does help with you academics by helping your brain flow but do we really have to learn this language? I don't think its necessary to make kids learn a language they probably wont ever use.
I think it is a good idea in some cases but I think that they shouldn't make them do it I think it should be the students choice.
i dont think it is are choice and not the school district
i think it's sort of o.k. why don't we all just let the students who want to, if it's o.k with their parents, take arabic classes. that way you have a choice instead of a win lose thing it can be a win win thing.
I think people should have the choice of learning it or no, like with every other language theres. Its a good idea because some people want to know how to speak aribic.
i think it would be just fine if schools taught Arabic. We would be learning about a whole new culture if they did. We already learn about Spanish, French, and German cultures, might as well add one more.
It would be a great idea to learn Arabic it is just opening up more options for you. We can learn spanish but not get into any religion. Its the same with German, and French. I think that they could teach it just like these other languages with no ties to religion
i think if the kids live in the united states then they shouldn't have to learn anything but English if they want to i think the kids shou;d also have the right to learn im not saying learning sumtin new is bad but it still should be there right
i dont think it should be mandotory that kids need to take arabic. i think it should be a choice of theres to make. becasue personaly i would not wanna take it i would rather take chinese.
I think that just like Spanish, German and French, Aerobic should be something kids and their parents choose to learn and be educated about. I don't think it would be a good idea to make it manditory becaue just like christianity some people don't want to learn about it.
I dont think it is a good idea to teach Arbic because how many people that were arguing and fighting because it was defending some peoples religion.
Arabic is a very fun language and I think it should be okay to learn another language. It may, however, interfere with highschool electives.
I think that it would be a bad idea to make students learn Arabic in school because it is a new language to most of them and some people have difficulty learning certain things.
It so sooooo Be mandortry. Like another girl\him said on the comment it would look good in a college resumea.And in High School, college is 3 years away. It would be very good.
I think it is a great idea to learn Arabic, however I do not think it should be required for students to learn it. Learning Arabic well benefit the students in so many ways, most colleges prefer students to have at least two years of a foreign language. In my opinion teachers teaching the students Arabic will also help the war on terrorism because it shows that America is accepting of different cultures.
I think that Arabic should be an elective class and not be mandatory. Just like Spanish or any other foreign language, Arabic could be useful for your future career but it's not necessary.
I must be missing something, because I have no clue why that would be necessary at all. I'm aware of all that "globalization" hooey, but why not learn Chinese or Japanese instead? Why not learn more directly useful languages like Spanish? Perhaps German? There are maybe ten thousand people in the United States who will ever set foot in Africa or the Middle East. Most Americans would be reluctant to even CONSIDER going there, so it sounds like a waste of time to me.
Students shouldn't have to take Arabic if they don't want to. Just like how in other states you have a choice of what language they want to take. Kids in Texas should have that same choice.
Students should not be forced to learn a language if they don't want to. It's a good idea to learn a language, but it's optional, and you should be able to pick the language. For example, one school I went to forced me to learn French for six months. I learned five words. With one hour of internet surfing, I learned 12 Italian words. Different languages are easier for different people. They should have a choice of language, if any.
Teaching Arabic in some schools in Texas is good because you never know when you'll need it. Your co-worker could be Arabic and you need to tell s/he something.
I think that people should pick if they want to learn Arabic. Just like in middle school, you get to pick if you want to learn a language like Spanish, French, Italian,ect. So if they told me I had to learn Arabic I would have a fight with them. People have rights , so I say LET US VOTE !
I think that it wouldn't be a good idea for students to have to learn Arabic because some students might not think it's fair and not pay attention to it.
I think that we should learn Arabic. Because u would know more then one languague. I think that you should leran all languague
i believe that they shouldnt do this we are americans and there is hardly no Arabic students in the usa, but it is a good skill to take on later in life. to be able to speak many differnt types of languages.
I think they should teach Arabic in school because if someone only speak's Arabic you can translate for them.
I think that Arabic should not be taught mandatoraly at school because some people might not want to learn it. Or they might use it for saying bad words to other people.
I don't like the idea of learning Arabic being mandatory. We get a choice to learn Spanish and French at our school. If we want to learn Arabic we will; if we don't want to, we won't.
First of all students don't have to if they don't want to take it. It's hard to speak out your language. Some of the kids are bilingual, but, that's up to the kids.No ! The decision should be made by ALL parents because if they don't want their kids to speak out their language then. OK ! There goes your answer.What if the kids and there parents refuse what will happen ?
I think that they should have a choice to do Arabic or a different language.
I would let the kids choose if they want to learn a different language because they may be better at a different language.
To me I think it is good to learn about another culture and their language. It doesn't mean that that you have to believe in the culture, so I don't see the big deal on then issue.
I think it would be good to learn Arabic because if a person makes an
Arabic friend they should at least know how to speak Arabic in case there around there friend's family.
I think that it would be good to learn Arabic. When we was in second and first grade we learned to speak in Spanish. Some of my friends know how to speak in Arabic.If people went to Egypt then they will not know what the Egypt people are saying.
I think if want schools to teach a mandatory language of the future it should be Chinese because it's also a fast growing market with more then a billion consumers. I don't see the point of learning Arabic.Because Arabic people can help people that don't no how to speak Arabic.
I think people should not be taught Arabic because it causes to much distress and they are wasting school time. It would make somebody go crazy. Plus sometimes its almost impossible to learn Arabic.
I think that we could speak what language we want because I want to speak other languages like Italian. Why do schools want us to speak Arabic any way?????I wish people would stop telling us what to do...
Only take Arabic if you want to!
i dont think that you should have to learn arabic because it is not a major language in the usa we should learn spanish i think
I think that the students at the schools that are making them take the coarse should have a chance on deciding wether or not they want to take it.
I think that it is a good idea to teach different languges, but I do not think that it is something that should be force upon people.
i think that it should not be manditory because it is up to you what you decide to learn and not the people that teach you.
I don't think that having Arabic in schools is good idea because I don't think that there will be enough intrest in learning it and I think that it would be hard to find a teacher that speaks Arabic. I think that teaching other languages is good but I just think that they will have problems with this new language.
In all honesty I don't think that would be a very good idea. I don't think it's a good idea because forcing someone to do something they might not want to do is wrong. I think it would be a good idea to make it an ellective kids can choose from if they want to take that class but they shouldn't be forced to learn the language.
no because whats the use? it makes terrerist seem welcome.
I think that kids should choose if they want to participate in Arabic. They should'n make it mandatory, they should make optional. Most kids already take a language, Spanish, French etc. Also most of our supply is with China, so why should kids learn Arabic?
I think it should be available to the students in schools because the United States has been interacting with Arabia and so it would be good to know the language of the people.But I don't think it should be mandatory because we don't have very many Arabian people in the United States and so it would be very unlikely to use it here.
I don't live in an Arabic speaking country and i don't plan to I'd rather learn another langue like German Russian etc....
This is America, where you can have freedom of speech, so making a language MANDATORY is kind of violating that statement. Plus, I think that it is weird to make ONLY Arabic mandatory, opposed to French, German, or Spanish. French, German, and Spanish are some of the most common languages, and Arabic isn't as common, or useful. But also, why Arabic of all languages?
Government agencies need Arabic translators, so really by making Arabic mandatory you're only helping students by giving them a useful skill in the workforce.
why should people have to Aabic. Weshould just speak our way.
no! it should be the students' decision, like an elective, abd not be manditory.
I think it would be a bad chioce because you should have a choice in what laungage to learn.Its a free country to learn the laungage you want to learn. I personly wouldn't.
I don't think that stutents should have to learn the Arabic laguage. Our country is coming down to Spanish, which now is almost as equal as the English language. I think schools are just fine taking Spanish and/or French
I think that we should not have to learn arabic. It is good to know multiple languages, but we should be able to choose what we want to learn as a language. Language is a part of our culture, and it is not necasary for schools to change our culture more than they have to.
I don't believe any foreign language should be made mandatory to learn on American soil. Oppotional classes providing us the opportunity to learn a different language are completely acceptable on the other hand.
I think that if parens wanted there children to learn arabic they would have taught them temselves. also it shouldnt be manditory for studens to learn somthing thats not part of there culture or haritige.
I think that it's wrong to teach stinks even if it doesn't have anything to do with religion burn kids should be able to chose what language they want to learn if their already learning another language such as Spanish they mite get overwhelmed and won't get a good grade.
It is wrong to teach kids mandatory aribic because If their already learning another language such as spanish kids might get overwhelmed and their grades might drop
Kids should have their choice at the language they want to take, not be forced into it. If kids decide to take Arabic, thats their own decision. I also don't think that people who already know Arabic should be forced to sit through a class that they know everything in.
If the schools want to teach the students a new language that is important, then they should be teaching Mandarin Chinese because at least in the future, Chinese will be the key language in business
I think that mandatory Arabic is a good thing because what if you are in an area which speaks Arabic you would have no idea what they were saying and it could be bad stuff about you
I think teaching students Arabic is a great thing to learn for jobs,vacations,and it is a very interesting Language to learn. But the schools should give the rights to the student on witch they want to take Arabic or another foreign language class.It should be up to the students and not to force it upon them.
Schools shouldnt make kids learn arabic. Kids should have the right to choose what langue they want to learn at the begining of the school year, if they pick they might be able to get a better grade.
I think they should teach Arabic because it teaches students a new language so when they get older people talk Arabic the will understand it
I think school's shouldn't make it mandatory for students to learn arabic because students should be able to have a choice on what languages they want to learn.
They should only have kids who want to learn it take the class cause if you don't want to take a class it just feels like a waste of time.
I think that Arabic shouldn't be mandatory but if they offer it for an elective then the people who want to take it can and the people who don't won't have to suffer.
I think that Arabic would be just like spanish class. The Arabic classroom would not be Islam class, it just tells about the culture and language of Arabs, not their religion.
If a school is going to teach Abrabic they shouldn't make it mandatory but a choice, learning something like Abrabic can be a good thing, but it can be a bad thing too.
I don't think Arabic should be learned. It is a sacred language to Jews and Muslims. Schools should not teach sacred languages unless teaching a religion that requires Arabic.
I would say yes because in some schools they teach languges like spanish and french so they mite as well just teach them arabic
I don't think that kids should learn Arabic in school. It takes time off of other important subjects such as Math and English. Arabic isn't really a necessary subject to learn in school.
The issue here is the expectation that the course be "mandatory".
School itself is mandatory, and THAT is part of the problem in public education. If you dont want the opportunity, I say, GO! A free and appropriate education is mandatory in our country and it is scoffed at, dishonored and disrespected by the very ones to whom the gift is offered.
Other countries do not have such a blessing, and students and adults walk for miles and pay big money for even the CHANCE to taste the opportunities we take for granted.
Wake up, America. Or Arabic and Chinese will be mandatory for reasons other than that it is mandated by a local school board!!
I think it's wrong to make Arabic mandatory because students should be able to learn what they want
I understand why many people would want to learn Arabic, but that should be an option, not mandatory.
I think that if at all, it should be optional. Students should have the option to say if they want to learn Arabic or not.
I don't quite understand where Arabic can help you in anyway in the future. Spanish and Chinese are a common language in america, besides English and can help you to be successful and wealthy in future, why not teach a more useful language.
I think it would be good to learn Arabic because if some one goes there for a business trip and they don't know how to speak that language or they mite find a script it Arabic and they would be in trouble because they don't know how to read that language!!!!
i think Arabic should be learned in schools its different from the normal everyday spanish,or french. I know lots of people would agree with me because change is good:)
Although learning Arabic would be beneficial for future job opportunities in an international economy and I think it should be offered as an option to students, the first amendment guarantee of freedom of speech means that the school cannot constitutionally require students to take the course
I think that you shouldn't have to, but you would be able to if you wanted. Since in America more people speak spanish of French than Arabic, It shouldn't be as important. Not to mention the fact it takes time out of your school day.
The kids in the Texas school have the right to choose the language they want to take. I do not think they should be required to take Arabic. Although I do believe that every student should be required to take a language of some sort.
I think the parents should choose whether or not their child should learn Arabic. It should not be up to the school to choose. If the parents do not want their child to learn it then they shouldn't have to
People should be forced to take Arabic because think about all the people in those countries from america? Do they know arabic? no. So in the future when this future generation has to go over there we will know how to speak their language.
i think its nice that they are learning a different language because you need to learn something new instead of spanish and french
It should 100% not be mandatory for children in Texas to learn Arabic. There is no reason for it! People can learn the language that they want to learn and it should not be decided by school officials.
I think that the Arabic language should be an option out of multiple different languages. This way the students that have an interest in learning this language can with our being forced to by the goverment.
I don't see what the problem is with teaching Arabic it's a language and can get your child far in there career, college, etc. But, if the parents don't want to there child to learn arabic then the school should send out a form asking the parents what they want language they want there child to learn so there is no misunderstanding.
I think its a great idea because people learning spanish and french, maybe we should start a new change and learn other cultures that can help us in the long run.
I believe that Arabic should be apart of the school, just let the students have it be THEIR choice of whether or not to learn it! Last time I heard it was a free country, and we got to choose what languages we get to learn.
I think it would be a great idea but only if you embrace the religion. At my school the only thing we learn is how to speak spanish. I've never seen books in my library of religion or even the language, but the opportunity is great because my mom speaks a different language and gets paid a lot more for it.
I think students learning Arabic is a fantastic idea. These students will be learning about the religion of these so called "terrorist". They will also be learning that it's the extreme extremest who are bombing these places. They can see both points of views. As for the parents they need to learn that the religion is not terrorism. My generation needs to learn to be more open-minded and accepting to people.
its good to teach kids about other languages and cultures.Some parents that are from there might become happy they are learning there cultures.Students could get more money b just learning another language
It oesn't matter what you learn it's just a lannguage.
I think that by learning Arabic the kids will have an ability to speak English and Arabic. But the parents also might disagree for some reason
I think that learning Arabic would be a great skill but i think that schools should not make it mandatory.
I dont think Arabic should be taught in schools beacause especially for younger students they wont really understand why they need to learn it. Also teahcer should using this time when they are youung to be learning more valuable lessons how to type. This would help them with the growing use of computers in the classroom
I can see the good that is intended with this. Too many Americans see the Middle East as nations full of evil terrorists who would like to see the world burn. If only they would understand that this is just another language. The problem I have with this is that its mandatory, meaning a student would have less time, or no time at all, to learn a more useful language for their career needs. For example, an aspiring engineer hoping to open more doors might learn French to work for Airbus instead of Boeing; or a future doctor might learn Spanish (the second most spoken language in the US) to better understand patients who don't speak English. The list just goes on from there!
Learning Arabic isbot a bad idea. Even if you are not a Muslim you could speak the language if you want to.
I believe that teacher's should give the option to the students to learn Arabic. It shouldn't be mandatory. There are alot of important things to teach in school, and Arabic writing shouldn't be foreced to learn. Who knows, you may not need it in your future.
Why not take Arabic it isnt hurting any body plus it could be hepful sometime
I think it should be an option to the parents if their kids to take the class. If they don't want their kid to take the class, theycan go to another classroom or the library
I think kids should have a choice to learn whatever language they want to not be forced to do one
I think it would be a good idea...but they should have told the parents earlier so that way they could discuss it with their child and ask if the child wanted to take the class or not. The only thing I wrong I don't think it should be mandatory because maybe the family is very strict about religion...I think it should be up to the family about if they want their children to be introduced to the language and the religion if they decide to learn about religion too.
I think students should be given the option to choose what language they want to take.
I do not think Arabic should be mandatory because most people are never going to have any use for it in their lives
I think that Arabic should not be mandatory but taking at least one foreign language that you don’t already know should be mandatory because only knowing English is a disadvantage because in most countries around the world people know at least two languages.
I don’t think this is a good idea, I mean is Arabic more important than Spanish? I think Spanish would be better and more useful in this environment where half of use do already speak Spanish.
I personally believe that teaching Arabic is very imperative to the students, but shouldn’t be mandatory but optional because learning a language should come from the inside of you. Also because Arabic is a very large language that is spoken in all parts of the world.
I don’t understand what is bad about learning Arabic in school. It’s the same as learning Spanish in school. The only difference is that the language comes from a country we have bad relations with. Why does it matter if kids learn Arabic? Knowing multiple languages is a good skill in life and you have to learn at least one anyway.
I don’t think that schools should make it mandatory for the students to learn Arabic because students should have the choice to pick whatever language they want to speak. I think that all languages in schools should be mandatory.
Everyone speaks a different language and most know their own language well. Like learning Arabic, people should decide soon or else chaos will happen. In my opinion, I think that schools should use an idea called democracy. The parents should each take a vote on what they like their child to do. That way, everyone is happy and it is fair.
I think that it should not be mandatory because arabic is not used as much as something like spanish. also it is just taking more time off other classes that are more important like math or english.
I don’t think that it is a good idea to make kids learn Arabic in schools. Students should have a choice in which language to take. The kids will most likely not like being forced to take a certain language. It should not be mandatory to take Arabic. If anything, Arabic should be an option as a language for students to sign up for but they shouldn’t have to take the coarse.
I don’t think students should be forced to learn a language. The students would care for it and as a result they would fail the class or just not try. And for those who do manage to get a good grade if they don’t like it they won’t remember it! So it would be pointless to teach. Student should pick their own language not school.
My personal opinion on learning Arabic in school is that the students shouldn't have to learn the language if there parents and them decide that they don't want there child to learn the language then they shouldn't be forced to learn it. It's against/descriminating to the other languages and to people that are a different race to learn a language that they aren't even enherited from.
I feel that students should not be forced to take this language. We should be allowed to choose the language we take because we show an interest in it not because it is a rule. Right now I am taking French and really liking it. The reason I took French is because I wanted to learn it so someday I can be Fluent. Arabic could always be an option but not mandatory. Also if I was forced to take Arabic and really didn’t like it then I would probably not continue it after I finish school and eventually forget all of it and then it would have just been a waste of time for the teachers.
I don’t think Arabic should be mandatory in schools, since kids should get their rights on what language they want to learn for their future career. Not all the kids will need Arabic for their profession, so why waste time on something you don’t need. Even though Arabic is a beautiful language it is very hard to learn and that would add stress on kids’ life. I can understand why kids would need to learn math, history, science and English but I think making Arabic mandatory is not such a great idea.
Well, I think that they should teach Arabic. Did you know that many countries speak the language? Most of the time we are focused on learning French or Spanish. It would be nice for a change. Besides, they should keep it for a while and see if people like it. Perhaps the students should decide. I mean, they are the ones that are taking it... I think they should give it a chance for a while.
There’s a difference between wanting to learn a language and needing to learn it. If you lived in a country that the majority of the population spoke Arabic and you didn’t, I could understand that. Its only logical: you wouldn’t understand anything people were saying! But making children learn an advanced language like that against their own will is completely unfair.
I think it would be cool to learn Arabic but it should not be mandatory. I wonder what the thinking was behind the whole idea. It does not seem like there are as many possibilities and uses unlike Spanish.
Why would we learn islamic if we don't learn Christianity?
i think that if they have it as a class they can take if they want to then they will be better off because they have a choice to take or not!
If we make any language mandatory we really need to take the other ones into consideration. Making any one language mandatory would close doors to learn other things. It would take away time from our Math,English, Science, etc. classes that are required to get into college. I do think that it should be offered as an elective, like all of the other languages are,but not as a mandatory class.
It wouldn't help any students get jobs in the future because more people speak Spanish in the U.S than Arabic! If anything we should be requiring that because it will help students excell in their futures.
If somehow we found out that Spanish was the New language around the world would we make it mandatory to learn. Probably not. So why Arabic?
Arabic should not be learned in school, it just uses up valuable time for other things such as reading, doing math problems, or studying the map. Arabic really shouldn't be learned because 95% won't even go to Arabia!!!
I think we should learn Arabic because learning a new language means unlocking new teaching to the Fellow americans
I think that kids should learn Arabic because if you decide to go to a country tha speaks only Arabic you would already know what they are saying and you would already know how to speak it and it will be fun to kids to learn.
I think that learning Arabic is great. We need to be more cultured. Children from other places in the world often learn three, even four, languages before high school! If we don't start educating ourselves now on things outside our country, we are going to fall behind.
I don’t think it should be mandatory. Why should anyone have to take that class? If they want to bring it into the school if anything make it an option but don’t make them take it. I’m sure most of the kids would dread school even more if they were forced to take it.
We think that you shouldn't have to take it unless you want to. If they are forcing Arabic, then why not Chinese? Then, again. This is America, we speak ENGLISH!
I think that students should learn Arabic. Whe youn learn a new language, you also learn a new culture. It would also help if you had a job as a translator.
They teach it because my school does.
I really think that teaching Arabic in Texas Public schools is a good idea. But, having it mandatory is the wrong way to do it. Arabic is a language just like Spanish, French, and Chinese. It should be a language that could be picked by a student. If it was able to be picked like Spanish, Arabic would be a big language taught in Texas schools.
Tyler
Well, Arabic is one of those languages that English speakers have a really hard time with because alphabet is completely different and the way it is written. Studies have shown most people drop it within 6 months.
I Think Arabic Should Be A Optional Course, Because Even If You Don't Use It Everyday It Still May Be Fun To Learn.
Arabic may be a language of the future, but it shouldn't be manditory. I think it would be great idea if it was offered as long as it followed the same curriculum as the other foreign languages offered bt the school district.
I think that learning Arabic is a great oppurtunity were parents have to be mature enough to know that is not because the religion there teaching it but for the eductation and future of thier kids.
they should take spanish because there are more hispanics than arabic
i think that spanish should be taken than arabic because there are more hispanic people than arabic
I think students should learn Arabic in school. Students need to learn this language because middle east could be a big part of our global issues and could be have more power in the future. Also, since Arabic is now the 6th most spoken language after Hini and English, students should learn to be more prepared for the future that no one know what could happen.
I think some of us are right, I think we have a freedom of speech and we can speak whatever language we want to. Unless you live like halfway across the world, but still, this is America.
I do believe that it is a very complex ideal. The current modern day student wouldn't quite fully comprehend what your telling them. I cant quite speak for all of us but most of us wont be able to fit that language in or head.
My opinion is that this is a country that uses English not Arabic. I do not see me being in a business that would use the language. I really think i would ever travel to a country that uses the language either. So no, i would not want to learn the language.
I didn't tune in to listen about this, but I think it might be usefull when you got a job and had to travel to different countries. But, I also think that you should have a choice to if you want to take it or not.
Some schools in effect have mandatory Spanish classes because it's the only foreign language offered. I also think there's a misconception regarding language and religion. Speaking Arabic does not make you Muslim, just as speaking English does not make you Christian.
I think it is good thing because people need to start learning foreign languages, for the future and how we will develop as a country. I am a muslim myself and I am very fluent in Arabic and it is an amazing language that we can all learn and be greatly influenced from.
Stundents should have an choice to take arrabic or not. Im taking spanish at my school, that was my choice. students shouldn't beforced to take an language they do not seem intresting in any way, The students have an right to take a class if they want to, not forced.
I think that teachers should decide.Students who want to learn the language have to have a teacher who is willing to teach and keep the class fun.
I think that cerntly that curently it is not a good idea to teach Arabic in school due to the war.
I think that students shouldn't be forced to learn Arabic. They should have the choice of what language they want to take.
I think you should have a choice between Arabic and Spanish. Arabic would be helpful if you want to travel to the Middle East, but Spanish is fine too.
Not teaching certain languages in schools is just outrageous.
I don't understand why the parents in Texas think that by teaching Arabic, they are teaching Islam. Arabic is just a language, like French or Spanish. I'm sure they wouldn't say anything if they started teaching Greek. I'm not a Muslim, but this sounds really racist towards Muslims. If they really cared about schools not teaching religion, they would've said something when schools offered Spanish and/or French among others. People need to realize that they're just teaching the language and culture, not the Islam religion.
I think there are more important things we could be learning in school. Arabic is not spoken enough in our country for it to be mandatory. More time needs to be spent in classes that teach skills that will be useful in the real world.
Arabic certainly shouldn't be mandatory. In school, students should have the opportunity to chose what language they want to, and not be forced to do something that they might not excel in
I don't think everyone should have to learn Arabic becuase they should choose in college whether or not what their future job should be and if they need it then it should be mandatory.
I believe that the choice should be yours, one reason being that some kids already have enough on their mind without hurting their eyes by looking at all those seemingly meaningless lines. Also, it might be a good idea to learn it because it may benefit you somehow, I hope though it won't be forced on students.
Why do people need to learn Arabic? Chinnese is the language that we would need to know because of the rising importance. Arabic shouldn't be taught in schools. When would we need to speak Arabic?
I would say that if you have to learn a language it should be French or Spanish , the reason I say that is because Arabic, is not used often in America, English, Spanish, and French are the most common language, and if they learn Arabic that will not help them get jobs when they are older.
I think they shouldn't make it mandatory,the students should have a choice. No other school are doing it,they should have a choice its not fair for the students that have to take it
'It should be okay because arabic is growing and they arent teaching about the religion islam."
We should remeber this is America and we are growing so we should learn new languges. It is not like they are telling us we have to learn about their realigon and culture and live with that realiglion.
It's America. Our number one language is English. People should learn English before they come into our country! We shouldn't have to learn their language.
I do not think that kids should learn Arabic because there is not that many people here that know how to speak Arabic so what is the point and it will take up to much time and you will not get to do that much of important subjects like math, reading, and language.
I think kids in Texas in should learn Arabic because some schools teach Spanish. It's ok to be bilengual just another language to learn no big deal.
I don't think kids should learn arabric cause it takes thime off important subjects that kids need to graduate.
Those kids have a right to choose if they want to learn Aribic or not. Freedom of speech and freedom of what speech you want to speek. Aribic or not though, you should learn a language. It could help you on job offers.
I think that they should make it optional to teach Arabic, I think it was great idea that needed a little tweaking. I think that they should strongly encourage students to take the class. They could just make it part of social studies class, to just teach basic symbols and markings. The idea of teaching arabic will strengthen communication to the Middle East and would be one of the most important languages for the future.
i think that Arabic shouldn't be mandatory to all student just to pepole who are recomennded for it!!!!!!
Arabic is a good skill to learn, but making it mandatory is ridiculous. Kids should have the power to choose.
it should not be mandatory only the kids that want to learn Arabic should have to take the class
Instead of making it automatically mandatory for everyone, they should just have one mandatory language of many up-and-coming languages for the students to choose from. Spanish, Chinese, Arabic, and whatever else they want to add. It's better than causing all of these ignorant parents to complain just because they think teaching Arabic means teaching Islam. Really? How uneducated are you that you don't know the difference between a language and a religion? We teach English in schools across the country, but that doesn't mean we teach Christianity. Personally, I'm for teaching Arabic because it's an interesting language and I can see how it would be helpful. The school should have talked to the parents beforehand, but that doesn't mean the parents need to get all uppity towards the school. It's a language. Calm down.
And to all those people talking about "America is a country of free speech!" "Learning a language shouldn't be mandatory!", think about this: Math is mandatory. English is mandatory. Certain sciences are mandatory. How is Arabic any different? You don't complain about those. In Europe, the kids have to take their language and another throughout their entire school career, some even opting to take up another. Stop complaining about something that isn't all that bad, really.
The first langauge I saw was Spanish, and the second was French. While I did not find out about the language of Arabic until I was in sixth grade. Learning Arabic will take up more time to learn more common langauges that you see every single day.
I think that people are just still scarred from 9/11. Andrew Smith once said "People fear what they don't understand and hate what they can't conquer." I believe that this summarizes ignorant Americans these days unfortunately. Anyway, my opinion is that Arabic is a good language to learn for things like business and international affairs. If you wanna offer it, then thats fine. But to make it absolutely mandatory is a little too far. And as far as the Islamic religion goes, how many people have actually talked to a Muslim about it and gotten their perspective?
Teaching Arabic to students should not be mandatory. Foreign language classes are electives and is your choice if you want to learn it or not. Also, Arabic is not a major foriegn language that the U.S. speaks a lot. If it was Spanish it would be different because many people in the U.S. speak it and you would need it.
It is not right to teach sudents Arabic unless they want to learn Arabic. If they want to teach Arabic so bad, then why not teach them every other language they don't know.
At my school we dont learn arabic but i think its a good idea to learn the subject. but it will also take time of from other subjects.
No, I think that we as students should not have to learn any language by being forced. It's not fair because maybe they want to learn another florin language.
Learning Arabic as a class should not be mandatory anywhere. Arabic class is an elective which means students have a choice whether to take the class or not. Also, in the U.S. Arabic is not a major foreign language spoke by many people unlike Spanish or Italian. With this in mind, Arabic is good language to learn but should optional to all students.
It doesn't seem right, there's not alot of arab people around the united states, and some parents won't be comfortable with the kids learning some foreign langauge we don't know.
if a school will teach this it should be a choice not a mandatory class, i mean we already have to learn spanish!
I don't think that it should be manditory, but let the students choose what langauges they are going to take not the school
I think it is wrong to make Arabic mandatory. People like me have the right to choose what we wish to take. Forcing someone to take a language they may not like or be against their religious reasons sounds cruel and non-intelligent to me.
I don't see what the big deal is. Arabic is just like learning Spanish or French. It's not like they are going to teach them the religion or anything. It's just the language.
I don't think it should be mandatory, because if you don't want to do it, it kind of feels like a waste of time. And I know I wouldn't want to learn a new language. At least not until I get older.
I dont think students should have to learn Arabic because its really not a main language like spanish or german. it also will take away time for more important subjects like math or science.
Well i think that students sould have a choice to choose what they wanna learn but its really a teaches job to choose
making it madatory is talking away the rights this country was based upon such as freedom of speech. i am not saying don't teach the language, i just think it should be the kids choice.
I don't believe in it being mandatory- But for it to be an optional open door to anyone.
I think that learning Aaribic should not be required , but shold be offered for students who want to learn it.
Arabic is just another 'change' that will distract students.
NAEP shows the students can't even read English at a proficient level.
Teach them a language that's a basis to our mother tongue -Latin – so they can learn 2 languages at once. Latin is the skeleton for 7 languages. Kids were able to read before the classical languages were removed from the classroom.
Latin allows my students to understand the jokes in Henry V, the roots of biology terms, and the construction of Arabic sentences since Arabic also conjugates and declines.
I think Arabic should be an optinal class, because some parents do NOT want there kids to take Arabic.
Whats the point in learning Arabic it could be a class that could be chosen as a language
Do kids really need to learn this in school. I could see why students would need math, and reading. Why do kids have to learn a language that they might not even need
I think that learning arabic is a great idea because there are so many arab people that are moving to the United States and because of the confilct between the US and Middle Eastern countries. It will make it easier to communicate with people. However I do think that learning arabic should be optional
Hey Carl,
I really don't see what all the hype is. Learning a second language is very valuable (Arabic particularity) and is sought after by many companies when hiring and looks good on college applications. It really can't hurt anything to learn it, so why not?
people deserve to learn whatever they want learning new things is a part of the learning experience.
I think that kids should have a choice for whether to learn Arabic or not. Most kids would rather take Spanish or a language that is more useful or not take a language at all. I don't think that the school should force the kids to take but rather have it as an option.
I can perfectly understand where the state is coming from when they believe we need people to learn Arabic. But is it really necessary to make it a mandatory class? I would be perfectly willing to take it as an elective class, and I'm sure others would too. Making it mandatory for schools to offer the class is understandable, but making every student take it is simply not logical.
I don't think that kids should have to learn arabic in school. Some students have trouble learning spanish. Most students probably wont have a job that is international. It shouldn't affect their chances of graduating highschool if they dont understand it.
I dont Think Its right. If we dont learn about basic languages and religions like Christianity, Then why learn about Aribac First? The Texas Schools Should have Told the parents about that or at least considered it before Acctually going through with the plan. It just doesnt seem right.
I think it is great to learn a new language and kids should always have that opportunity, but to make Arabic mandatory I think is silly. People should get to choose what kind of stuff they'd like to focus their time on.
Well, if a kid gets overwhelmed with two languages at once, their grades might drop. Maybe Arabic should only be in high schools and not be mandatory, so the kids, who are older, can learn two languages and have a better future or something.
I believe students should have the choice to learn Arabic as an elective rather than being forced to. Most schools already require another language so we shouldn't force students another or at least give them options.
Languages have never been mandatory in most schools. I know I was forced a semester of Spanish in sixth grade. It seems Spanish be a fitting mandatory language, but that is only my opinion. Why Arabic? Why now? If it does become a course, it should be treated the same as any other language.
I don't think it should be mandatory for students to take Arabic as a language but it should be a class for people who really would enjoy learning the culture and language.
I believe that it is up to the student to determine his/her rights to learn a language. Even if Arabic is going to be a useful language of the future, THEY need to be the ones to decide whether to utilize that privelage or not.
I Think It Should If Other People Really Speak It.
I don't see a problem at all. It shouldn't be mandetory but I think it would be good to learn another cultures language. We should get outside the box and go adventure out from our American Dream life and explore. We take Spanish and/or French, so why can't we bring something new to the table like Arabic?
I think kids should be able to choose if they want to take it or not it shouldn't be mandatory and why does it have to be Arabic out of all the languages in the world?
Well, I have to say maybe because maybe some kids don't like to learn other languages but most of them do. Otherwise you have more important things to learn besides a new language, and something WAY different.
I think it should be allowed becuse it can teach kids to speak in other language when they go to differt countries.
I think it shouldn't be mandatory to learn Arabic but it could be a calss for those who enjoy to learn about the culture and language of arabic.
OK, I must say, I really don't see the problem with teaching Arabic. I mean, it's just another language... It's like teaching Italian or French or something. I mean, FO SERIOUS! Like, why do people have something against it? PLEASE TELL ME. Plus, some kids might WANNA learn Arabic. Like, really...
OK I'm out.
Bye.
I think that we should be able to learn this language through different languages. It should be a choice though. That's like forcing a horse to drink water even if it's not thirsty.
I hope they don't force me to learn a different language in High School.
I think that it is a good idea to give the kids the oppertunity to learn another language like Arabic but I do not think that the language should be mandatory. Some kids may want to learn it but others may want to learn other languages like French or Spanish or any other languages that their school may offer to the students.
I think students should not have to learn Arabic unless they want to it should not be required.
Why Arabic? Why not dolphinian( the language of dolphins)? So what if Arabic is going to be the new buisness language of the next century? Many things will be heavily influential in the future, but you can prepare for them all. I don't want to learn Arabic. Yeah, it might benefit in a great way, but I'm not basing my future off of it. It would be cool to learn, but why make it mandatory? Where can it be commonly pracited?
i think it would be a great opportunity for kids and instead of learning the same language over and over again they learn a different language.
:]
It depends on what the child wants to do when he or she grows up. I would say yes. What other state can you go to school and learn Arabic?
No, I don't think this is right. If you can't teach things about Christianity or Jew, then you shouldn't make it mandatory for students to learn Arabic. I mean, what is it going to do for them when they grow older?
I think that if your are teaching Arabic in schools than why not teach Christianity in schools. It would only be fair. Also I think it would be a good idea to inform parents of what the school is doing.
I don't really think that kids should learn Arabic, because it would probably take 20 years to learn it. I only take English and Spanish at a South Carolina school. I get Spanish more than Arabic.
I personally think that is a little out of the question. Majority of the people I know would rather take Spanish or French, and if I was forced to take Arabic I would not be thrilled.
I think they should not make it mandatory for students to learn, but just have the option to take it.
I don't think students should be required to take arabic,because some kids might have come from different countries when they were younger and want to be able to take classes to learn more about where they came from.
I dont think kids should have to learn it because if they dont like it maybe they wont try hard to learn it an dthat will effect their grade for the year
I think that it is a good idea to have learning a language in school mandatory because it can help students be more successful later in their lives, but I think it should be a very common language like Spanish that we would be able to use many places in our country!
I think that the schools shouldn't make it mandatory to take Arabic as a language, but if the students choose to take it, then that's fine. It's good that they want to explore new languages and learn about the different countries. It should be their own decision to make, not the institution.
I think it shouldn't be mandatory, but should remain available at the collegiate level for students who would like to learn it. to be able to learn it.
Arabic should not be a language to learn.. People in the U.S. do not speak it. Learning Arabic would be a waste of time. Parents would not want to have thier child learning a language that they'll never put to good use.
Why do we have to learn any other language unless we have too.
I think we should only speak the main languages of
CHINESE
SPANISH
FRENCH
JAPENESE
Learning Arabic should be optional like Spanish cause if a student doesnt like the language they're suppost to be learning they wont pay any attention to and distract kids who are actually interested in it unlike an optional class where you only sign up if your interested.
Well I think that it shouldn't be forced upon students to learn Arabic It's hard enough that students have to learn subjects there unfamiliar with already. So I say NO!
I think that they should get to have a choice if they take it or not. It is not for the teachers to choose what they want to learn about its about them. It should get to be optional.
arabic?? i am having a hard enough time with spanish!:)
i tihnk that many schools should broden there langauge skills, but, i also fell that learning arabic should not be required. instead it should be an option.
I believe people shouldnt be forced to speak another language if thats not what they would like to do. They should speak the language they want and when they want to learn it, not when they are told they have to learn it.
I think it shouldn't become mendatory since people have rights to choose what they want to learn and Arabic is not wide-spread language so even though you learn it you wouldn't have chance to use the language until they visit the arabic countries.
I think it shouldn't become mendatory since people have rights to choose what they want to learn and Arabic is not wide-spread language so even though you learn it you wouldn't have chance to use the language until they visit the arabic countries.
I don’t think that schools should make learning Arabic a mandatory class. The students should have choices of different foreign languages they can learn, for example Spanish, French, German or Arabic. It should be the choice of the student.
I think they should make it manditory because it would give the kids some advantages when they need jobs in the future!
No because it we are not from Arabia. We should not have to learn a language from a different country.
I think that schools shouldn't make people learn Arabic because its America and we have freedom of speech. We should be aloud to chose what language we want to speak. i wouldn't do it because i dont want to learn any other language.
we shouldn't teach arab in the schools because ther is really no point of learning. but they should have a choice to learn if they want to or not it should be up to the parents .
that is a terrible idea why the heck would we need to learn arab langauge we arent going to need to use it theres no point in it at all we should be more focused on teaching like chinese or something
I thinkthis could be good for the people that WANT TO take Arabic but forign languages should always be a choice. 🙂
I dont think Arabic used be mandatory. It would be cool to learn but it should be like all the other classes like Spanish, German, or French. Where you get to pick which class you want
Not something that should happen. It is religion in a private school. Why?
Most people in america are christian not islam.. SO the christians are mad. I agree that it should not be taught.
I think teaching new languages should be a choice because its just not fair shoving a new language into a persons face. Its not human!Foreign languages should not be taught if they don't want to learn it, in my school all you basicly HAVE to do is math, science, social studies, and english, the other classes like choir, art, and, like woodshop is your choice. If students would HAVE to learn Arabic then most likely those students wouldn't go there in the first place.
I think that teaching kids Arabic is a good idea. Now and in the future I think it could be very useful.
I do not understand why NOT to teach it. What is wrong about learning a language so many other people in the world speak? Also, when people say it is unfair that they will teach Arabic and not Christianity, I think they are being pretty stupid. Its a language class, not a religion class.
i think they should. i do because if they learn a new language then that lanuguge could become usefull in the future either for a carrear or a job.
I think its awesome that they are teaching arabic kids in Texas. I think its awesome that this is still a free country. Go USA
I dont think that they should be teaching arabic because all it does is put more money into the budget towards getting the teachrers and the stuff they need to teach.
I think offering Arabic is completely fine but forcing someone to take it, that I take issue with. I think it’s a great idea to offer Arabic but like any foreign language class I think it should be the student’s choice what language they wish to take or if they wish to take a foreign language at all. Forcing kids to learn Arabic would be a very bad idea, but simply offering it as an option; I think that is a very good idea indeed.
I think that making it mandatory for students to learn another language is good. It will broaden their mind as well as teach them about another culture. Students who learn it well will be able to out-do people for jobs. Knowing multiple languages can help throughout life. It's time American schools caught up with the rest of the world.
I think that Arabic should not be a mandatory language. I think schools should only teach widely know languages around the world. I believe that Arabic should be offered as a special language but it should not be required to graduate. I also believe that making it mandatory will start controversy amoung arguing students and government officials.
I think parents have the right to be mad because they pay for us to go to school. If they don't like what is being taught, they have a right to be mad.
Teaching students Arabic could be interesting and fun for the student because for the short time I took it, I found it to a be a cool experience. But, it shouldn't be mandatory, rather the choice of the students and parents.
I think that Arabic in schools is a good opportunity. This being because we are peace-keeping int the Middle East and, when their government is more established, it may be a good opportunity for career possibilities.
I think teaching Arabic in Texas is fine because it's not teaching the religion, it's just touching base on the language. It can only open bright doors, not dark ones.
I don't think it was a good idea because it didn't notify the parents first. However, I thinking teaching Arabic is okay, but the parent should have the final choice in the matter.
I think that the language would be great to teach. When those students get older, potential employers may be more apt to hire them.
I think it should be like any other language we learn. If students want to take it, let them take it, but it should be a choice. Don't take away an opportunity for someone else just because you don't like it.
I think that teaching Arabic is a good idea. It's always good to learn a new language. Not many people know how to speak Arabic, so that would be cool. What do you have to lose?
I don't think they should teach mandatory Arabic. Spanish is the 2nd most spoken language in America, so if anything, that should be mandatory, not Arabic.
I don't think it could be a problem. Because some people are Arabic and might think it could be a great experience. For example what if you wanted to learn a different language well why couldn't you learn that?
I think that people should be able to learn the language they want to, so that it will fit their goals. Not everyone has the same goal and not everyone speaks the same language, that's what makes us unique.
I don't think that learning this language should be made "mandatory". It's not as if the majority of the population speaks Arabic, and it's become crucial to learn it. And yes, people do have freedom of speech, they should be able to choose if they want to learn the language or not.
I don't see why they would have done it, unless I am unaware of a large Arabic-speaking population in Texas. I think learning any language should be required in a global economy such as this for the benefit of the kids. In addition, learning additional languages is good for any person's brain, but obviously Arabic, not being one of the most spoken languages, is a little random.
I think this is somewhat of a double-edged sword. Although learning Arabic would make the children more cultured (and being bilingual has its benefits), Arabic isn't necessarily a "mainstream" American language, per say. Many American jobs don't require Arabic as a known language, and its uses would probably be very situational.
I think having the opportunity to learn Arabic is really great. But I don't think it should be mandatory. Students should have the choice to chose Arabic or any other language the school offers.
Teaching Arabic in Texas as a mandatory requirement is very random. In relation to the population of Texas, there are many other languages, such as Spanish that may make more sense if mandatory. Students may have particular interests in learning Arabic but to make all students learn a language that is seemingly irrelevent to their region is not a good idea.
It's really fun learning a new language, but if you don't have a say or don't want to take a certin language for personal reasons, its not fun. It would be nice to learn other languages, then you can prosper in the future, but you should get a choice.
Seeing as though America is a country founded on the principles of liberty and democracy, it would be ironic to mandate the learning of Arabic in any part of the United States. We are by far the most diverse country in the world, composed of various cultures and backgrounds, which might prompt certain individuals to learn foreign languages such as Arabic. However, I find it unjust to essentially shove a language down a person's throat without their consent.
My personal opinion is that people should be allowed to make their own choices. Being forced to learn a new language is completely unfair and irrelevant especially in high school. If a student wishes to learn a foreign language then they should choose what it is. Arabic may be interesting, but to be forced to learn it in a country where it is not used is simply a waste of time.
i think that teachers should teach students Arabic because we the students can learn different cultures