Cops and robbers

By Dena Rashed
Pupils at the Future Language private school expected difficult questions on their English end-of-term exam, but they never thought the subject set them for the essay would open up a can of worms about morality in the English-language curriculum taught in Egyptian schools.
"Pretend you are a burglar: Where you will commit the crime, and what will you be doing?" That was the question most students in their second year of preparatory school (the equivalent of eighth grade in the US system) found enjoyable and easy to answer. The other question in the composition section, which few of the students had the vocabulary to address, was to describe the megaprojects of the Mubarak era.
Not everyone agreed that the first question was funny, though. In fact, the question was soon published on the crime page of one newspaper among several other "amazing crimes." Writer Ahmed Ragab and cartoonist Mustafa Hussein took up the cause, lampooning the question in a comic magazine. An investigation initiated by Education Minister Hussein Kamel Bahaaeddin ensued, and the general supervisor of English-language education, Bonita Zaki, a Canadian-born Egyptian national, now stands accused of "violating the basic principles of education" and of "insensitivity to society's values."
A fact that only came to light later, however, was that the ministry-approved English-language vocabulary textbook, New Adventure, featured a chapter about role-playing -- and specifically about the game of cops and robbers. New Adventure was first assigned to private-school students five years ago. "The book's aim is to detect and encourage resistance of negative behaviour. It seeks to enhance children's imagination," Zaki told Al-Ahram Weekly. "I am not guilty of any crime: the question I gave the students was no different from the content of the curriculum. It is simply about acting and role-playing," she added.
"Moral values are not taught through vocabulary books," explained Zaki. If schoolbooks are to blamed for fostering immorality, she continued, Oliver Twist, which features children as pickpockets, should also be considered immoral. "The question is not just what to teach, but how to teach it," Zaki continued.
Another English teacher, who has been working in education for 18 years, argues that the ongoing investigation should focus not on the general supervisor's credentials but on the curriculum being taught to the children. "Why should Ms Zaki be the scapegoat? Maybe the question was a mistake, but it still is in the books approved by the ministry." The teacher, who requested anonymity, also believes that many other schoolbooks fail to comply with this society's traditions and culture, but are being taught nonetheless. "The investigation should examine the ministry committees that vet foreign books taught in Egypt. Most of the committee members are incapable of judging the books, due to their poor English," the teacher added.
On the other hand, an Arabic teacher is convinced that the question has nothing to do with morality. "As a parent, I am tired of my child's exposure to factors that are much stronger than her. The Internet and satellite TV are enough: we do not need foreign books posing the same threats to our children," the Arabic teacher said, adding that "foreign cultures and values are different from ours."
Said Ismail Ali, professor of basic education at Ain Shams University's Faculty of Education, places the controversy in a different context. "This case is part of the cultural crisis that we are experiencing in the wake of Ali Abu Shadi's dismissal," he noted, referring to the brouhaha that erupted when three novels published by the Ministry of Culture were described by a Muslim Brotherhood member of parliament as pornographic, an accusation that resulted in the removal of the books and the sacking of Abu Shadi, the head of the General Organisation for Cultural Palaces.
"The main responsibility here lies with the Education Ministry committees that choose the foreign books," he added. If Egyptian authors were encouraged to write English textbooks, Ali opined, it would be possible to provide children with educational material in keeping with their society's values.
Child psychologist May Rakhawi has a different point of view. "Role-playing is very educational," she noted. "Although the question put to the children needed a little modification, it does not affect the child's behaviour if we ask him or her to assume the role of a burglar." That was clear in the answers to the exam: most of the students mentioned scenes featuring robbers in films they had seen. "Even the ministry officials who read the answers praised the way they handled the question," Zaki said.
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