Boerum Hill Is It for Khalil Gibran School

Last night, parents of students who attend public schools at 345 Dean Street in Brooklyn convened for an emergency meeting with the Department of Education. The emergency was the fact that the DOE wants to move an Arabic-themed specialized school, named after the poet Khalil Gibran, into the building.

Parents generally stuck to arguing that another school would overcrowd the school. The Post quoted Janet Filemyr, whose child attends sixth grade at the Math and Science Exploratory School in the building, "I think our country needs to better understand Arabic culture and this is a wonderful way to do it, but if it's at the expense of future artists, scientists and mathematicians, then that's wrong." Others said that the DOE had made empty promises of new/updated facilities at their children's school. The Sun reports that Deputy Mayor Dennis Walcott said it's "unfortunate that this school is being singled out" given there are many other specialized language schools. It should be noted that the Sun's columnist Alicia Colon wrote a column damning the proposed school: "How delighted Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda must have been to hear the news — that New York City, the site of the worst terrorist attack in our history, is bowing down in homage to accommodate and perhaps groom future radicals... I say break out the torches and surround City Hall to stop this monstrosity."

The DOE said that the school "will open as planned." According to their numbers, the building has a capacity of 1,900 students, and the Math and Science High School's attendance, along with the Brooklyn High School of Arts' attendance, totals 1,220. The Khalil Gibran school would house 60 to 80 students; however, no students have signed up yet.

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By Jen Chung in News on May 15, 2007 5:48 PM

Comments [rss]

Wael G.Eldin

From Hippies to Hypocrites:

I worked in Park Slope for almost 6 months, I liked the neighborhoods's attitudes towards life and politics. However, it seems that the older a hippy grows the more conservative and close-minded they become. To have such a service offered by a public school is a phenomenon that happens nowhere else in the west but New York City, a city that is known for its tolerance and support for minorities. I think this is a great opportunity for Parents to learn about the Arab-Speaking world through their kids and this is something we really need to use in order to wipe out some of the misconceptions created by ignorance and illusions of the cave as Plato calls unenlightened opinions that are based on solipsism. Lets give it a try, after all there is a reason you don't have a homegrown terrorism in the United States the likes of which England, France and Spain have. Don't create the same kind of alienation that exists in Europe. By the way Alicia, Thomas Jefferson had an English copy of the Qur'an, similar to the King James version of the Bible, which I'm sure inspired him to write "all men are created equal..."

Not Delusional

Never mind that Khalil Gibran was a Maronite Christian who grew up in Boston's South End area.

Also, any unfalsifiable dogma (e.g. Islam, Christianity, Judiasm, et cetera) must be described openly as just that - irrational nonsense. Don't see what that has to do with this secular school.

Osama

My daughter goes to this school. Here is her schedule for the upcoming fall semester:

Morning:

8:00 AM - Prayer

9:00 AM - How to Make Your Own Hajib

10:00 AM - Field trip to local synagogue to deliver pig's head with hidden bomb inside.

12:00 PM - Lunch at the halal food stand

Afternoon:

1:00 PM - Advanced IEDs: How to Bomb those Kikes back to Jerusalem

2:00 PM - Prayer

3:00 PM - Koran studies: Why Mohammad rules and everyone else should be beheaded

d

Who's the chick on the left in the "Neighborhoodies" ad? She's got nice hoo-has.

Tim N.

I used to think the Post was for people who couldn't spell "Journal."

Obviously, the Sun is for people who can't spell "Post."

Ignorance grows fear. Fear fuels ignorance. The effort to bring this school about is an effort to break that cycle. But apparently, some people really love their fears.

zymmmins

Alicia Colon = terrible person at worst, ignorant at best

KZ

It's ironic since most present day math and science concepts originally developed in the Arab and Muslim world.

og

Society should be cautious of this school. It's the first step for their sharia law. The woman who will be principal of this school is an ADMITTED 9/11 denier (like Rosie O, Altmontaser thinks that someone other than Arab-Muslims carried out these terrorist attacks). I wonder what they'll teach about the 1993 attacks on the WTC? Or how about the rumors that swirled in the Arab world about Zionists? It won't be a surprise when we see young jihadis "graduating" from this school.

MT

That quote from Alicia Colon has to be the most ignorant load of horse s**t I have seen in a long while - and I read Andrea Peyser (and, no, I have no idea why).

Someone seriously needs to make that woman look in a mirror and take a good long look at herself. What a freak! Society needs to be more afraid of her than any Arabic-themed school.