The great debate on public school education

This article is titled Debate rages over Hebrew charter school in NYC. The article discusses the controversial nature of establishing public schools that have a focus on a particular language and culture especially if that culture or language has a religious focus. In the fall of 2009 the Hebrew Language Academy charter school is expected to open in New York City. It is the second school of this nature to be established in the city and as expected the public is divided in its opinion. Those who support the charter school do so because 1. The school will use Modern Hebrew texts to teach thus it will not promote the Jewish religion. 2. The school is to be built in an area substantially populated by blacks, Hispanics, Asians, and a moderately sized population of Jews. This choice of location will supposedly increase its appeal to diverse ethnic and religious groups. On the other side of the debate critics are concerned that schools like the Hebrew charter school will transmit cultural values and identity that are non-American. This fear is best quoted in the article by Diane Ravitch a professor of education at NYU. She states that “We don’t send children to public schools to learn to be Chinese or Russian or Greek or Korean. We send them to learn to be American”. I am against schools like the Hebrew charter school not because of the ethnocentric argument that it will transmit non-American values, but because my primary concern is that by allowing schools like the Hebrew language academy to be established the state of New York risks violating the establishment clause of the First amendment. As public institutions these types of schools will receive federal funding and will thereby be subject to regulate any element of religion as part of the school curriculum. But let’s say hypothetically that teachers teach Jewish prayers to students during school hours. Is that not promotion of the Jewish religion and a violation of the separation of church and state? Isn’t the state of New York advancing religion because it funds the operation of the school? It is my opinion that the state of New York walks a fine line by approving such schools because the religious identity of the languages and cultures being taught in the schools. I think it’s better if such schools are to be established they should be private institutions to avoid such issues.