{"id":51488,"date":"2020-08-28T16:17:52","date_gmt":"2020-08-28T16:17:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wagingnonviolence.org\/forusa\/?p=51488"},"modified":"2020-09-10T16:08:06","modified_gmt":"2020-09-10T16:08:06","slug":"los-angeles-teachers-workshop-promoting-muslim-arab-awareness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wagingnonviolence.org\/forusa\/2020\/08\/los-angeles-teachers-workshop-promoting-muslim-arab-awareness\/","title":{"rendered":"LA teachers are fighting to save a popular workshop promoting Muslim and Arab awareness"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<a id=\"Voznoq5YSr1eyqxAQtmZ-A\" class=\"gie-single\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/871328144\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal !important;border:none;display:inline-block;\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'Voznoq5YSr1eyqxAQtmZ-A',sig:'gHU9W5ApFwgvGQDUWIJYP6EWY8D3GheGG0RLWQG4EUs=',w:'508px',h:'339px',items:'871328144',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src=\"\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\" async=\"\"><\/script>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As Muslim and Arab students join their classmates in heading back to school this fall, the 19th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terror attacks weighs on their minds. It\u2019s a time of perennial blame and shame, a time when classmates and teachers hold them unjustly responsible for a national tragedy they also mourn. Many experience being called a terrorist and, if a Muslim, having their religion deeply misunderstood, maligned and denigrated. As a result, they have learned to suffer silently or hide their identities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While few efforts exist to put an end to this problem, one group of teachers in Los Angeles \u2014 which is home to both one of the largest school districts and Arab American populations in the country\u2014 has been working for over a decade to confront the elephant in the classroom. It all started in 2005, when they were approached by the Quaker organization American Friends Service Committee, or AFSC, to join its Middle East Peace Education Committee. Since teachers in the Los Angeles Unified School District, or LAUSD, can participate in the creation of professional development courses for salary point credit (thanks to their union contract), the committee decided to start a new kind of professional development course addressing Islamophobia and Arabophobia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote alignright is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>\u201cStudents look to us to make sense of human conflict with deep historical roots and dramatically divergent perspectives.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">They set about designing a course for LAUSD teachers that would dispel misinformation, misunderstanding and irrational fears \u2014 while at the same time promote the history, culture and contributions of people from the Arab Middle East. The course was approved that year by the Joint Labor Management Salary Point Committee, or JSPC \u2014 which is comprised of an equal number of members appointed by the union (United Teachers Los Angeles, or UTLA) and the district.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe 16-hour two-day class taught teachers about positive achievements of Arabs and Muslims throughout history, while providing them the opportunity to ask questions about aspects they didn\u2019t understand, or for which they had only negative information,\u201d said Linda Tubach, one of the teachers who helped design the curriculum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to Rola Karam, chair and lead organizer of the workshops, they tried to emphasize the importance of talking to students about what was on the news \u2014 such as the U.S.-led war on Iraq, occupation of Palestine and Middle East refugee crisis. \u201cThese are teachable moments, which are potentially transformative,\u201d she said. \u201cStudents look to us to make sense of human conflict with deep historical roots and dramatically divergent perspectives.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While the course became highly successful \u2014 drawing more than 1,000 educators from 2005-2018, often with a waiting list to enroll \u2014 adversity struck in October 2017, when the LAUSD began receiving complaints that the curriculum portrayed Israel critically. They came from an organization called the Israel Group, which says it \u201cprotects Israel in the diaspora by developing and launching initiatives to cripple the BDS movement,\u201d or the boycott, divestment and sanction of companies doing business illegally in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem. Moreover, the Israel Group had launched a social media campaign accusing the LAUSD and UTLA of promoting anti-Semitism by discussing BDS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote alignleft is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>\u201cOur students, and their families, need us to make sure that they are seen in our classrooms, that their stories are heard in our curriculum, and that we have the professional preparation to make sure that happens.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Fellowship of Reconciliation-LA\u2019s Arab World Education Committee (which has sponsored the class since 2007) was quick to dispute the claim. According to Karam, who chairs the FOR committee, \u201cThe classes present facts and a variety of sources including from Jewish organizations, some of which support BDS as a legitimate form of nonviolent resistance in the struggle for Palestinian self-determination. We leave it up to the participants to think critically and draw their own conclusions.\u201d She insists that all course materials reflect, and are in keeping with, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/\">international law<\/a> \u2014 including scores of UN General Assembly and Security Council Resolutions condemning Israel\u2019s illegal occupation and colonization of Palestinian land, and providing for their right of return. \u201cThese resources are perfectly acceptable components of our curriculum,\u201d Karam said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In response to the Israel Group\u2019s complaints, the LAUSD sent staff to observe one of the classes in October 2017. The observers issued a report to the superintendent and the Board of Education stating that the presenters met and surpassed all guidelines and criteria. Specifically, they taught to the class agenda, were knowledgeable about the topics, engaged participants in dialogues and activities where diverse viewpoints were encouraged, provided multiple sources to help participants formulate their own opinions, promoted the values of peace and inclusiveness, and respectfully responded to two non-district individuals who repeatedly challenged the presenters. According to Tubach, \u201cLAUSD staff did not observe any evidence of concerns raised by community members about the course.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The contract for this version of the class expired in 2017, and in August 2018, Karam submitted a proposal for a new class called \u201cIntroduction to the Arab World and Islam.\u201d The JSPC unanimously approved the proposal for a new five-year contract. However, in October 2018, the district\u2019s assistant chief of human resources officer sent a memo to the JSPC citing \u201cissues related to potential safety of our employees participating in the course.\u201d As a result, the district wouldn\u2019t offer the course until 2019, and would move it to an online format and platform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">UTLA responded to this announcement by filing a formal grievance with the district, arguing that its action violated a section of the collective bargaining agreement that gives the JSPC sole authority to approve salary point classes. What\u2019s more, the agreement states that JSPC\u2019s decisions are final and binding. At the same time, the union also requested, but never received, evidence to substantiate the \u201cpotential safety\u201d issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After months of district inaction on the grievance, UTLA Secondary Vice President Daniel Barnhart <a href=\"https:\/\/www.utla.net\/sites\/default\/files\/utla_pub_aug19-low-rez.pdf\">published an article<\/a> in the union\u2019s August 2019 newspaper titled \u201cLAUSD Censors Long-standing Professional Development Class.\u201d In it, he called upon educators to play a frontline role against the ignorance, bias and hate that precede acts of violence, by learning and teaching about the roots of anti-immigrant, Islamophobic, anti-Jewish, and xenophobic racism in the classroom. \u201cOur students, and their families, need us to make sure that they are seen in our classrooms, that their stories are heard in our curriculum, and that we have the professional preparation to make sure that happens,\u201d Barnhart wrote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote alignright is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>\u201cEducators are on the frontlines in confronting ignorance and inoculating students against hate and bias.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to Tubach, the salary point class was cancelled despite the district mandate that teachers and all health and human services professionals complete two units of coursework to meet its multicultural awareness requirement. She finds it ironic that the district would stop providing a professional development workshop that not only meets this requirement but also addresses the roots of Islamophobia, when hate crimes against Muslims and Arabs have spiked in recent years. \u201cWhy is this the only salary point class out of many that are offered for multicultural competency to be unilaterally postponed by district management and told to change to an online format?&#8221; she asked. &#8220;This is disparate treatment, and we think the district is simply caving to the threat of blowback from the Israel Group.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">These issues are particularly relevant as the LAUSD shut down the workshops at a critical moment. According to Sahar Alsahlani, board member of the Council of American Islamic Relations-New York, \u201cThere has been an uptick in Islamophobic hate crimes, unprecedented since the immediate aftermath of 9\/11.\u201d In the past five years, the climate has grown increasingly hostile towards Muslims and Arabs, as many Republican candidates, in particular, have run on platforms steeped in anti-Islam vitriol and fear-mongering. From Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas stating that American Muslims are potential \u201csecurity risks\u201d and \u201conly Christian refugees should be allowed into the country\u201d to President Donald Trump\u2019s unconstitutional \u201cMuslim Ban,\u201d there has never been a greater need to improve the public\u2019s understanding of Arabs and Muslims.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cEducators are on the frontlines in confronting ignorance and inoculating students against hate and bias,\u201d Karam said, noting the importance of training workshops like the \u201cIntroduction to the Arab World and Islam\u201d course, which she feels is weakened by the online format. &#8220;This strips it of one of its greatest strengths: interpersonal engagement and interaction. Sometimes the best exchanges of information are over lunch while sharing Middle Eastern food.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After many months of no response from district management, UTLA moved the grievance to arbitration and the hearing date was set for April 3, 2020. However, all arbitrations have been postponed indefinitely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. At this point, FOR-LA&#8217;s Arab World Education Committee sought support from legal counsel, which was able to make a public records request to the district, after the publication of the article about the course cancellation in the UTLA newspaper. Additionally, the district has been asked by counsel to respond to the committee&#8217;s demand that the class resume in the format approved by the JSPC for five years, as soon as face-to-face instruction is possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For the time being, UTLA and the FOR-LA are just waiting for district management to respond. According to Karam, &#8220;Our new class is even more interactive and has enhanced sections on addressing stereotypes \u2014 exactly what the district wants out of a multicultural awareness professional development course.&#8221; Meanwhile, other school districts across the country facing similar challenges in addressing Islamophobia and Arabophobia have yet to adopt such professional development workshops. In this regard, the survival of &#8220;Introduction to the Arab World and Islam\u201d is imperative not only for teachers and students in Los Angeles, but the rest of the country, which can look to this professional development curriculum as a model and inspiration.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A pioneering professional development course that\u2019s been training teachers to confront anti-Muslim and anti-Arab hate for over a decade faces political threats and shut down.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":544,"featured_media":51492,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[29,61,77,78],"tags":[10,112,52,71,96],"region":[59,66],"series":[],"article_type":[],"class_list":["post-51488","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-education","category-militarism","category-racial-justice","category-religion","tag-boycotts","tag-islam","tag-labor","tag-palestine","tag-united-states","region-middle-east","region-north-america"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v28.2 (Yoast SEO v28.2) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>LA teachers are fighting to save a popular workshop promoting Muslim and Arab awareness<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A pioneering professional development course that trains teachers to confront anti-Muslim, anti-Arab vitriol faces threats and shut down.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/wagingnonviolence.org\/forusa\/2020\/08\/los-angeles-teachers-workshop-promoting-muslim-arab-awareness\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"LA teachers are fighting to save a popular workshop promoting Muslim and Arab awareness\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A pioneering professional development course that trains teachers to confront anti-Muslim, anti-Arab vitriol faces threats and shut down.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/wagingnonviolence.org\/forusa\/2020\/08\/los-angeles-teachers-workshop-promoting-muslim-arab-awareness\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Fellowship Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/wagingnonviolence\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-08-28T16:17:52+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-09-10T16:08:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wagingnonviolence.org\/forusa\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/08\/Screen-Shot-2020-08-25-at-9.20.46-PM.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1016\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"642\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Susan H. 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