Metro
Published June 7, 2024 at 3:44 pm
Leave the kids alone!
Senior students at a prestigious Manhattan Collegiate School have penned a stern letter to school administrators and parents urging them to stop telling them what to think after a long-running anti-Semitism debate erupted into public view.
In a letter to administrators and the board of trustees, the 2025 class of freshmen at the upscale private school said it was “not their place to impose any particular political views on students.”
25 freshman members of the College School penned a stern letter to administrators and board members Thursday, demanding that they stop telling them what to think. By Gregory P. Mango
“While many parents have called for the school to demonstrate moral leadership during these divisive and challenging times, we want to emphasize that the best moral leadership for our community is not one that dictates what we should believe, but rather one that dictates how we should engage with others in rational, open-minded and empathetic dialogue,” reads the five-page letter dated Thursday and obtained by The Washington Post.
“It is therefore very important that schools do not impose on students or faculty any particular moral or political views on complex issues.”
The letter, signed by all freshman students, comes amid rising tensions over the $63,400-a-year school's approach to anti-Semitism in the wake of the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attack, which has left parents, teachers and school officials embroiled in a blame game.
The board created a task force late last year to root out possible anti-Semitism on the Upper West Side campus after more than 100 Jewish parents complained that the school's response to the Hamas bloodshed was “out of step with the times.”
Later, a highly anticipated internal task force report acknowledged that some teachers had indeed blamed “wealthy and influential” Jewish parents for rising tensions amid the escalating war between Israel and Hamas.
The letter, signed by all freshman students, came amid rising tensions over how the school, which charges $63,400 per year, deals with anti-Semitism in the wake of the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attacks.
Meanwhile, Collegiate director David Lurie also later criticized the task force as a “joke” and little more than a “Jewish family power play” to oust him — allegations borne out by a wide-ranging sex discrimination lawsuit filed by task force director Anna Calero.
“While many (but not all) parents were outraged by the school's response to October 7th, we students want to assure you that while it is the school's responsibility to encourage universal empathy, education and discussion, it is not the school's role to force any particular political opinion on students,” the students complained.
“These sentiments are clearly supported by both Jewish and Muslim students.”
In their letter, the freshmen argued that the adults present “missed or overlooked opportunities to include students themselves in the dialogue.”
“Adults in our community, especially parents, need to trust us, high school students, to constructively debate complex global issues with one another,” the teens argued.
Collegiate President David Lurie recently called the task force a “joke” and accused it of nothing more than a “power play by Jewish families” to oust him, according to the lawsuit. Collegiate/Facebook
They specifically pointed to the task force report, which found that the majority of college students feel somewhat or very prepared to engage in difficult conversations, as a reason they should be trusted.
“It is important for students to understand that, indeed, we may make mistakes; it is by learning from our mistakes that we grow as students and as members of society,” the students wrote.
At one point, young people praised teachers for fostering an environment that tolerates differing opinions, but acknowledged that given the current situation, teachers are increasingly afraid of being reprimanded.
“We ask that the teachers we trust be given the support to engage with us in a positive way and that any mistakes they make along the way be seen as opportunities for growth and learning,” they wrote.
“For teachers to facilitate the complex dialogue and debate that is essential to a rigorous education, they must feel supported and trusted by administrators and parents.”
The students did not provide specific examples, but at least one university instructor, Dwayne Alexis, was placed on administrative leave late last year for showing in his class what some alleged was a biased video about the war between Israel and Hamas.
According to several parents, a middle school English teacher accused Israel of “committing genocide” and forced sixth and seventh graders to watch a decontextualized video about Israel's war to defend Gaza.
The Post contacted the Collegiate regarding the students' letter.
One of New York City's most exclusive private schools, Collegiate's most famous alumni include David Duchovny, rapper Lil Mab, and well-known new actors Jack Schlossberg and Cornelius Vanderbilt II.
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https://nypost.com/2024/06/07/us-news/collegiate-school-kids-blast-officials-for-forcing-their-political-opinions-on-them-after-oct-7-spat/?utm_source=url_sitebuttons&utm_medium=site%20buttons&utm_campaign=site%20buttons
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