Failing Citizenship

“This is not a black and white world

You can't afford to believe in your side”

– Live

Like a scab located on a part of the body that is prone to contact with the outside world, any pause in the hostilities in the Middle East always seems destined to be ripped away before it can lead to permanent healing. Looking to disrupt the expanding state of detente between Israel and its neighbors, Hamas stuck a knife directly into the healing wound with its barbaric terrorist attack of October 7th. Israel's right-wing government responded with a sledgehammer, exacting revenge not only on the terrorists but on innocent civilians.

With our country's political systems badly broken, this conflict in the Middle East has become yet another battle in the endless culture war. We only seem to be able to see issues in terms of black and white refusing to see shades of grey. Those supporting a cease-fire are deemed to be allies of terrorists with opposition to the policies of the Israeli government too quickly classified as anti-Semitic. In response, the deep harm done to innocent Israelis is too often minimized and care is not always taken to ensure that the historic persecution of the Jewish people is recognized. While people yell past each other, thousands of families from both sides are suffering as they bury their dead.

Despite the complexity of this situation, teachers at Citizens of the World Charter School East Valley decided that it would be appropriate to tackle it in a first-grade classroom. Grown adults do not have the Emotional Intelligence to discuss the subject in a productive way, but somehow these teachers thought that six-year-olds could handle it. Predictably, the attempt blew up in their faces, with the teachers accused of weaponizing "their role as educators to indoctrinate the youngest of children with a radical and hateful agenda."

According to a report that I received, the instructor asked students to “identify who in the room was Jewish" and was “trying to persuade six-year-olds that Jews living in Israel [is] an act of genocide". In the aftermath, the charter school chain "unequivocally" condemned "the disturbing suggestion that Jews should leave the region” and “any lesson that creates bias or fear among our students."

The pain caused by these actions is magnified by the fact that the school is located on the campus of a Jewish Synagogue. Ignoring the "pain and distress" of its host community caused by events of October 7th, staff at the charter school complained "about Israeli flags that were hung up on the campus" in the wake of the terrorist attack. The principal even asked the Rabbi when they would be taken down.

This is not the first time that a franchise of this white-flight charter school chain has clashed with the hosts of its campuses:

• A forced co-location at Stoner Elementary School in Culver City, California “was marked by arguments and acrimony” that included actual “scuffles between parents” and “physical, conflict”.
• Despite a “commitment to pay what we owe”, the LAUSD reported in June that Citizens of the World charter schools had a past due balance of $156,453 for overallocation fees. This does not include the $747,991 that was removed from their bills by José Cole-Gutiérrez without any public explanation.
• Citizens of the World West Valley was one of the beneficiaries of the LAUSD’s choice to label space used by Special Education Students as “empty” so that it could be given away to charter schools.
• When the Shirley Avenue Elementary community protested against the loss of facilities by their students, Citizens of the World responded with harassment and attacks on their First Amendment rights.

Citizens of the World justifies its existence (and the funding provided by taxpayers) by promising to create “meaningful school experiences that build cross-cultural understanding and tolerance.” In reality, the chain has left a trail of ill will as it repeatedly finds itself at the center of conflict. How can it succeed at teaching children to be citizens of the world when its management consistently fails at displaying citizenship in the communities where it operates?

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Carl Petersen is a parent advocate for public education, particularly for students with special education needs, who serves as the Education Chair for the Northridge East Neighborhood Council. As a Green Party candidate in LAUSD’s District 2 School Board race, he was endorsed by Network for Public Education (NPE) Action. Dr. Diane Ravitch has called him “a valiant fighter for public schools in Los Angeles.” For links to his blogs, please visit www.ChangeTheLAUSD.com. Opinions are his own.