Heraldsphere: Questions concerning Saudi outreach have... -
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Published on: 1/31/2002
Last Visited: 1/31/2002
Williamson met extensively both with the parents of the students at the school and with female and male educational professionals in meetings dedicated to topics such as increasing Internet access, creating a school for girls and providing more extensive cross-cultural experience for the students.
Other team members taught seminars in math and science, gathered student work and curricular materials and met with the school administration about many reform topics, including increasing student problem solving and critical thinking skills.
On this, as on other trips, our diverse team, representing different genders, races, ethnicities and faiths can testify to the warmth, integrity and support of the teachers, students, parents and administrators of the King Faisal School.Given our experience, we would thus disagree that Saudi, Muslim and Arab culture is as hostile to ourvalues as Fulmer argues.
Indeed, as we learn more about our Saudi colleagues and friends, we learn that we share far more values, and of far greater importance, than many of us have been lead to believe.
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Judy Williamson, MA
Coordinator, IESE
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During the same period, the Indonesian military -- including many of the American military's students -- slaughtered upwards of 200,000 East Timorese.) So tell me, Prof. Amirault and Ms. Williamson: Is Brown ready to say that any freedom agenda, even a modest one that exposes your Saudi charges to the radical idea that women can work and drive cars, that a country is stronger when voices of dissent can be heard, and that Israelis don't make matzoh out of Palestinian children, is an affirmative part of its partnership with the King Faisal School?
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IESE's response also says that IESE Coordinator Judy Williamson had meetings at the King Faisal School about, among other things, "creating a school for girls and providing more extensive cross-cultural experience for the students."What the results of such meetings were, however, was not made clear from the response.And my concern about the opportunity being given for Jewish faculty members to fully participate (assuming appropriate academic background) in this program, was not answered.The concerns raised are real as Bill Dilworth's response well documented.No doubt, if Brown had had a similar program with an all white boys school in apartheid South Africa, similar concerns would have been raised, quite loudly I am sure.I hope that the IESE and Brown will follow up to ensure that basic concerns about mutual understanding, tolerance and respect do not get lost in the desire to forge ahead with the King Faisal School "partnership".
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