At what age is it appropriate to teach children about Islamo Fascism?

Question

Islamophobes in my community continue to hold protests at the local elementary school concerning the State's approved textbook for 7th grade students. At issue is the textbook's depiction of Islam, which doesn't address their hot button issues. Specifically, they believe that the state has a responsibility to teach that Mohammed was a pedophilic, blood-thirsty, Jew-hating misogynist, and this - along with suicide bombings and public beheadings - is what Islam has to offer the world. Where the state has failed, they are there with their leaflets and signs, to make sure children are properly educated in their version of the truth.

While I'm not about to validate *that* message, the very real role Islamo Fascism plays in world affairs cannot be ignored interminably, so at what age does this subject get introduced?

Personally, I think they should take their protest to the state legislature, and keep their distance from the rest of us decent folk not spreading hatred.

Answer 1

By the 7th grade, kids are reading on the Internet about the possibility that Mohamed was a pedophilic, blood-thirsty, Jew-hating misogynist. The only point of formal schooling in this regard would be for a teacher to guide the discussion and give it some balance. Kids that age will also have read about the Sept. 11 attacks and the factors behind the attacks. They may also have had a chance to see videos of people on their knees with their hands tied, being beheaded by men wearing ski masks. The kids can instantly decide if the men in masks are brave or sadists who fear their mothers' wrath for being in such a video.

So kids in the 7th grade have most likely already been exposed to the concepts that you mention and are forming opinions on them. Getting such topics into a formal curriculum will take years of pointless debate, by which time the kids will have formed their own opinions and possibly discussed things with their parents.

Answer 2

Solly, this is really evil stuff. I don't know where you live but it sounds like some kind of collective insanity and barbarism has hit your community. Why do we want to teach our students to hate ? This is not education. A true education serves to provide a truly balanced and informed knowledge-based learning according to the maturity and the ability level of the students. Without such an education system we just produce a climate for another kind of fascism. To answer your question : Students at any age should not be subjected to this kind of pornography. When it's aimed at 7th. grade students, it is nothing more than child abuse.