The decision to teach English in elementary school took a longer time to debate and implement than was expected. The original proposal was studied by the higher committee for educational policy and then debated and discussed by subordinate committees created to study the proposal. Then it was debated by the Ministry of Education and the educational administration as well as in parents’ meetings and also in private and general gatherings. The debate was a healthy one and the proposal was finally approved by the Shoura Council last week when it gave its consent to teaching English in the sixth year — the last year — of elementary school. The decision came at the right time because we were faced with a choice: Either change things in our educational system or let things stay the same.
Private schools in the Kingdom teach English at the elementary stage. They offer English courses at middle schools and provide a good learning environment by using the latest techniques to teach the language. Our students in public schools are kept from learning English at the earliest stages of their education. Middle school students are afraid of English and carry this fear and reluctance into high school.
We as a society must be honest with ourselves. Many who are against teaching English in government schools have either sent their children to private schools or have a private teacher teaching their children English.
Why is society involved in an argument against teaching a language that is so vitally important in the 21st century? We should not manufacture fictitious connections between the tragic events of Sept. 11 and improving the educational standards and qualifications of our children. If we link everything to Sept. 11, we will see that society fall into two groups. One supports the idea of more openness through the development of intellect and a school curriculum. The other group is obsessed with Sept. 11 and oppose any development or change.
We have to be honest with ourselves and eliminate the barriers to advancement. If we do not have technology under our control, then we are setting ourselves up to fail. Teaching English in elementary school is the first step away from failure.
- Arab News From the Local Press 31 August 2003
