Comments on: U.S. charter schools tied to powerful Turkish imam
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- I am the parent of a Harmony student. I have been following similar stories on the internet for a few years now. What amazes me the most is the persistent opposition to these schools both from Islamaphobes here in the US and anti-Gulen folks from Turkey. This thread is no different. There is no shortage of lies and misinformation spread about these schools from it's opponents. By the way Mary Addi, we get that you don't like Gulen or charter schools that may have been influenced by his teachings. The fact that you use the term "Gulenites" in every post shows who you are working for. So Mary Addi, since you lost your teaching job, who is paying you to sit in front of the computer and post to this story all day? If the same person posts more than 5 times to a story, they are not a casual observer. They have skin in the game and are most likely drawing a paycheck for their venom.
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- It is interesting what those Turkish people who hate Mr. Gulen say. In Turkey, they say Mr. Gulen is a CIA agent and a threat to Turkey. In USA, they say he is an Islamist and a threat to USA. kimkim34, you say he is a CIA agent in one of your comments and you say he is a threat to USA and USA should stay away from him in another comment of yours. That is just too funny!
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- I am a 4th grade teacher at one of these schools. I am 100% Caucasian, as are 75% of the staff here. Yes, there are several Turkish teachers here, as well as the principal, but they have never, ever tried to instill their values on us or the students. The students have the opportunity to learn both Turkish and French languages, but I remember when I was in middle school that I took a semester of French and a semester or German... and I see nothing wrong with that! There is NO religion taught here, and we don't teach anything about Gulen or Turkey, or Islam....you would not even know it was a "Turkish ran" school unless someone told you.
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- My son has attended a Harmony school (in Texas) for the past 3 years. He is the beneficiary of a top-flight education in a culturally diverse, caring environment. I couldn't be more pleased. Let me give you some facts from a parent's perspective.
1. For all the Islamophobes I see commenting - THEY DO NOT TEACH RELIGION!! They do, however, strive to inculcate values of community service, tolerance and caring for others. (Most recent Field Trip I chaperoned was to a local food bank where the kids volunteered).
2. Everybody (teachers, administrators, etc.) is 100% committed to your child getting a top-flight education and gaining admittance to a top-tier school. There are in-home visits every year, any kid who needs it gets (free) tutoring, etc. Best in-school environment I've ever been exposed to.
3. My son (Caucasian) is a minority. School seems to be about equally divided among Latinos, blacks, whites, and Asians. Sort of like, the world.
4. Yes, his Science, Math, Computer and Character Ed. teachers are Turkish. So?
5. There is no - zero, zip, nada, zilch affiliation with the "Gulen Movement" as far as I can tell. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation? Yes...
6. My son's school is a T-STEM academy. (Go ahead and Google it).
7. 60 Minutes attempt at a hit piece was sadly lacking in supporting evidence. - Reply to this comment
- I am a Turkish citizen. And I dont trust this guy and his followers.
If Gulen was a person who promotes tolerance and love, why he can not visit his own country? Why were his schools in some Muslim countries closed?
American tax payers should be careful about where their tax dollars go. I read on newspaper that FBI already started investigate about his schools. - Reply to this comment
- My mother tought a "secular" Turkish history and language for Turkish kids in the US. Her school was very popular with Turkish immigrants and was even written up in Turkish papers. That was the end of the school. The press attracted proto-Gulenist (early 90s) to her school. They demanded she teach Islam and stop teaching secular history of Ataturk. She refused. Gulenists - before they were even known as that - paid the parents of all the students to go to another school.
The US government should, if not already, investigate every one of these schools. 3 Gulen schools were closed in Philadelphia recently for various dubious activities.
I would not trust this guy or his followers. They do the same thing in Turkey. They give people appliances, coal, food, etc in return for their votes for the Islamic parties. they said religion would neve be mixed with the government yet they just converted a state owned public Tv to a religion instruction station. They have made so many new and little changes like that, that the entire country is now unrecognizable from 15 years ago. It is turning into a Islamic Republic and anyone who speaks out is jailed on some trumped up charge.
Do not believe ANYTHING that the Gulenist say. - Reply to this comment
- Breaking news;
Good morning,
Department of Health just released an important announcement this morning. The officials said they have recently found a fake medication that is called TY-guLEN-with schoOL. Although, it sounds like a leading over-the-counter drug brand TYLENOL, they have noticed severe problems with that brand including but not limited to acting as peace-killer due to misleading mixture of thoughts in the capsule.
Here are the details;
Product Name: TY-guLEN-with schoOL (tie-Gulen-with Charter School)
Uses: Intoxicate US citizens and conscious people with hate feelings.
Side effects: Serious vision problems. It has been noticed that whoever uses that tablet loses common sense. May cause lack of respect to human rights in US. Using/being addicted to that drug also make people prejudiced. So, those people strongly discouraged to drive into comments area under influence of this pill. (subject to be charged with DUI)
Suggestions: People who are affected with TY-guLEN-with schoOL are strongly suggested to visit Amazon.com and search for "Fethullah Gulen" and read the books/articles published on his thoughts that were written by respected US Scholars/College professors and leaders.
More press release will be published as we encounter with new symptoms.
:) - Reply to this comment
- We Americans are gullible. We give taxpayer dollars to a foreigner, Muslim at that, under the guise of eduating our children, while American teachers are displaced and we allow a chain of schools to set up in our own country and we encourage a system of unchecked immigration to support a flow of foreign teachers to influence our most vulnerable. We obviously have our heads in the sand because we haven't a clue as to what's going on. Wake up!
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- Yes he is evil:))
1-My father has passed away when I was 9 years old. His followers have helped me to have middle school/high school/ college education. I am the first generation of college graduate from my family.
2- One of his speech,he said that he spent approxilmately 30 minutes to save an ant in the bathroom
3- Writes and concerns about ALL HUMANITY.
Read his writings a whole then, make your judgement. - Reply to this comment
- Shame on you, 60 Minutes. Another sensationalist story that does not present all of the facts.
My kids have been attending Harmony in Houston for the past six years -here is what you should know.
Harmony is providing my children with a top-caliber education. One that was not being provided in the public school district in which we live.
My kids are provided with character education classes and caring guidance from their teachers that was not being provided in public school education. I have never seen the depth of involvement and concern consistently shown by the Harmony teachers elsewhere.
My children are respectful, caring young adults who recognize and appreciate that there are many other people in the world besides those who look like themselves. On any given weekend we have children in our home who are of the Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Mormon and Sikh faiths, representing cultures from all over the world. We call it our kids', "U.N. gatherings."
My children began foreign language instruction in fourth grade and will be fluent by the time they get to college.
Both of my children constantly talk about college and "where" they're going, not "if" they are going.
And, at no time in the six years that my kids have been attending Harmony have they ever been taught the Islamic religion.
If you want to do a story, 60 Minutes, perhaps you should dig into why we as parents believed we had to remove our kids from the public schools they were attending in the first place. Perhaps you should investigate the sub-standard education they were receiving there. And perhaps you should dive into why taxpayers' money is being wasted at public schools and not producing results commensurate with the investment we were making. Perhaps you should do some hard-core research into the stats on public school kids who go on to college versus the kids who are attending Harmony. There is your real story. - Reply to this comment
