Thursday, July 05, 2012

U.S. Rep. Andre Carson's Words On Schools Being Modeled After Madrassas Questioned


Breitbart has posted this video of U.S. Rep. Andre Carson delivering a speech where he says that our schools should be modeled after madrassas, Islamic parochial schools that provide instruction based upon the Koran. The video only features a small clip of his speech so I don't know whether his words are being taken out of context. Rep.Carson does reference his wife in the speech, who is a principal for the Pike Township public schools, which obviously aren't modeled after madrassas.

UPDATE: Congresman Carson's campaign manager, Scott Carr, sent an e-mail to me clarifying the context of Carson's comments, which attributes the misunderstanding to the way the video has been "cropped":
I'm happy to provide some clarification regarding the story you posted this afternoon.  The way the clip is cropped seems to dilute some of the context.
Congressman Carson's comments refer to a school model that is focused on addressing the different learning styles that enable success for our children, including the visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learners that often miss out in a one size fits all pedagogy.  This model is being championed by many public magnet programs, charter schools, and a significant number of faith-based private schools throughout this country – Christian, Jewish, and others.  The Congressman does believe that, like many other faiths, the American Muslim community is fortunate to have schools that follow a model that empowers these learning styles.  
These remarks are not a proclamation that any faith should take precedence in our education system, but a call to look at what models of instruction are working in the classroom and replicate them.

5 comments:

Downtown Indy said...

Funny thing -- Muslim countries don't seem to show up on the list of countries with the best education:

Best education

Jon said...

The date in front of him is May 26th, why are we just hearing about this?

Downtown Indy said...

This morning, Dems are actually terming the speech 'innocuous'.

Oh, really? But Mike Pence's recent comment on Obamacare was an evil, unspeakable, massively disrespectful thing.

Unknown said...

Here is the entire speech. You decide.
http://www.wnd.com/2012/07/u-s-lawmaker-model-public-schools-after-muslim-ones/

Jon said...

Take a trip over to http://jonathanturley.org/, Jonathan Turley's blog and see the reaction to our representative.