Turkish charter school piece in USA Today

Greg Toppo’s USA Today article about the Gülen charter schools appeared online on the evening of August 16 and in print the following day: “Objectives of charter schools with Turkish ties questioned.” This is the first time the U.S. Turkish charter school network has been covered in the mainstream national press.
I look forward to continued national and local exposure of these charter schools’ connections to the Gülen Movement. It will be interesting to see if any of the revelations trigger the concern of citizens who are under the impression that their taxes are being spent on providing American kids with a strictly secular public education which is without hidden religious or foreign nationalistic agendas.
Further understanding of the motives and operation of the schools can be found in a paper posted on Fetullah Gülen’s website: “The Educational Philosophy of Fethullah Gülen and Its Application in South Africa." It was presented at a 2007 conference entitled "Muslim World in Transition: Contributions of the Gülen Movement."

Not by coincidence, the first South African school was opened in 1999, which is parallel to the timing of the first American Gulen charter schools. The primary difference is that the South African schools are private schools which subsist on tuition and private donations from Turkish merchants.
Anyone familiar with the U.S. Gulen charter schools will recognize the template.

Excerpts:

• Although the educational theory comes from Fethullah Gülen, the curriculum and management of the schools are left to the educators.
  
• The teachers are carefully selected. Those who had a Gülen schooling are preferred as they are more likely to sacrifice their time and talent.
• The teacher performs one of the highest duties in Islam, hizmet, which implies both religious and national service.
• …there is no organic link between Gülen and the schools, only a spiritual connection.
• …The Star International High School [first Turkish private High school, est. 1999, managed by Horizon Educational Trust], to provide a secular education based on the national curriculum, but with emphasis on moral values.*
• The school also has a Turkish character: the Turkish national anthem is sung, the Turkish flag is in some classrooms, and the Turkish language is taught.
• Turkish teachers teach scientific subjects, and South African teachers teach English, Afrikaans, Geography and History.
  
• New teachers adapt easily to the school as they share in the vision and mission of their leader, Fethullah Gülen.
• The teacher's duty is to emulate the Prophet's mission captured in the Prophetic Tradition (hadith): "Verily I have been sent to perfect character."
• New schools require financial backing, usually from Turkish voluntary organizations made up of Turkish merchants.
• While they [the teachers] are still improving their English, they are not effective communicators, and this is what undermines the efficacy of their teaching.
  
• He [the principal] said: "Although not ethical, we have to adopt a strict admissions policy, otherwise we cannot ensure merit and distinction passes…”
• The Gülen schools have a Turkish character: it is inspired by the educational philosophy of a Turkish religious thinker, Fethullah Gülen; the principal is a Turk, the science teachers are Turks, the foreign language taught is Turkish, the Turkish national anthem and Turkish songs are promoted at school functions.

And to match the many videos of American Gülen charter school students, here is a South African student performing a Turkish poem at a Turkish Olympiad.

From state-to-state, and from nation-to-nation, Gülen-inspired schools have been started by members of the Hizmet Movement (followers of Fethullah Gülen). They are rapidly expanding; for instance, 10 new schools are opening in the U.S. for the 2010-2011 school year. It's obvious to anyone that all these schools are related with many identical features, yet the U.S. charter school leaders seem to always deny a connection.

Why the deception?


*Tuition for Grade 8-12 at Star International Primary and High School in Cape Town is R17,600 (South African rands) = $2,427.71.