This American Life
Dear Families,
As you may know, I have an open door policy because it is important to me to support an environment where students feel like they may come into my office at any point to talk and to share what is on their mind. Last week, sophomore Will Chafkin stopped by to share with me a disturbing story he had heard on “This American Life.” His retelling of the story of an American-born Muslim and her Palestinian husband who decided to move to America from the West Bank to raise their children after 9/11 thinking that the country (especially the East Coast) would be particularly tolerant of their kids, who were being raised as Muslim, haunted me. The story Will told was haunting because their children’s experience in school was not the experience they anticipated. In fact, their daughter’s elementary public school teacher uses a textbook that describes Muslims as killers of Christians. Of course, children at that age being considerably more impressionable than high school students, the daughter’s classmates began to taunt her and call her the “loser Muslim” and “Osama”. Around the Christmas holiday, the teacher brought in a text of her own to teach a lesson about Jesus’ blood and how this message is conveyed through the candy cane–shape of a J, the red represents the blood of Christ, and determined only the blood of Christ would save them, and not their Muslim classmate. After bringing this situation to the attention of the school principal, nothing was done.
Will left my office with the instructions to finding this story on iTunes or on NPR’s website, which I did. So the story got me thinking. The student body here believes that they are the most tolerant in the entire city. They say so collectively in many situations, but especially when they are all together in assembly. In fact, I do believe the fact that this story resonated with Will is indicative of the dedication to knowledge, respect and tolerance found throughout our community. Further, Will determined, “Ruth, that would never happen here.”
It takes work to ensure that such disrespect and ignorance do not take place here. Students believe tolerance comes easy to them, and maybe we are lucky in that regard. However, we must continue to support powerful programming that educates students on human rights issues, but also educate students with the very elementary-sounding lesson that words can result in remarkable damage. Please take time to listen to this unforgettable and educational story. Thanks to Will and all of the students who stop by to tell me what is making the difference in their lives. Every time they share, I truly learn something.
All the best,
Ruth
Updates and announcements:
• The school’s calendar can be accessed by clicking here.
• For general LREI Athletics news go to this link . This page will provide general announcements, game summaries, league standings and season recaps.
1. Midterm is here! Interims will be available on “My Backpack” beginning January 28. Interims are written for all students with a B- or below in any subject and for all students on academic probation. If you need assistance accessing your child’s interims, please email help_desk@lrei.org. If you would like interims mailed, please contact Adria Maynor at 212-477-5316, x 323, or amaynor@lrei.org.
2. The 2008 LREI Art Auction is only two weeks away.
Wednesday, February 6th – Thursday, February 7th
12:00 noon – 8:00PM
Andrew Edlin and Kathyrn Markel Galleries
529 West 20th Street, 6th Floor
Admission is Free
Kid’s Preview: Wednesday, February 6th from 4:00PM – 6:00PM.
Bus available on Wednesday, February 6th from LREI’s Sixth Avenue building to 529 West 20th Street at 3:15PM.
Reception & Final Bidding: Thursday, February 7th 6:00PM – 8:00PM
Visit our website to view a full list of artists and preview and for more information on Conditions of Sale, Absentee Bids and other important details. www.lrei.org
LREI Contact: Sandra Song 212-477-5316 x275 or ssong@lrei.org
3. Please take a look at the following letter from the LREI Lesbian Gay Straight alliance (LGSA) announcing the upcoming Visibility show.
4. For updates on faculty performances, openings, presentations, and publications visit the Faculty in the News page on the school web site.
5. LREI is a member of NYC-Parents in Action (NYC-PIA). NYC-PIA provides parenting education, information and a communications network to help parents prepare their children and teenagers to cope with social pressures and to make sound choices towards a future free of alcohol and drug abuse. Please read the attached flyer to view their 2007-2008 calendar. You can also access their website at http://www.parentsinaction.org/.