Letters to the Editor

Gibran Academy article raises worthwhile questions

Nov 15, 2007 1:49 PM

Gibran Academy article raises worthwhile questions

To the Editor:

Even though the [Oct. 4] Speakout column headlined “The folly of the Gibran Academy” is essentially a vicious rant against Deborah Almontaser in particular and the “education world sinking into the sea” in general, I am glad it was published. The author raises worthwhile questions — usually rhetorically — that deserve some thought.

The author says that public education exists to provide children with “skills.” (“Public education is here to offer every child a basic education, academic skills, sometimes vocational skills and exposure to readin’,writin’ and ’rithmetic.”) Nothing about the Gibran Academy, even as described by the author, seems to be anti-skill learnin’.

What upsets her is the context in which skills are taught and she raises questions about what it means to be an educated American. In the 21st century, we do need new contexts for learning skills and having conversations about the role of education.

Garret Sokoloff, LaGuardia HS