Religion Is a Taboo Topic. I Discuss It in My Classroom Anyway.

On my first day as an Arabic teacher, my school mentor sternly advised me, "Avoid the three taboos: sex, politics, and religion.”When I started teaching Arabic in a public school, I inherited the curriculum and materials from the previous teacher. These materials, designed by Arab and Muslim curriculum developers, included religious references, such as the word Allah, the name of God in Islam, and sayings attributed to the Prophet Muhammad. To my surprise, the previous teacher had covered these religious elements with sticky notes before copying them for students. When I asked my mentor why, she explained, "This is a... [Read more...]