Story By: Lisa-Maria Goertz, Sub-Editor: Marija Stojkoska, Agency: Newsflash
An ex-pat teacher working at a school in Kuwait has been fired for asking her students to identify countries on a map of the Middle East which included Israel.
The teacher, identified only as Annie, gave her year five students a geography assignment at the international school called the American Creative Academy which is a privately owned institution offering international baccalaureate qualifications.
it claims to offer a standards-based American curriculum within an environment in which Islamic values are respected and practised.
According to local news outlet The New Arab, the homework assignment consisted of students naming the different countries on a map, which included Israel.
Reportedly, both parents and students complained but the teacher refused to remove the exercise, saying it was about geography and not about political views.
Local resident Kawthar Bahzad tweeted a photo of the workshop with the post: “This was given by a teacher called Annie to American Creative Academy class 5-D.
“She gave them this map in which the name of the Zionist entity is considered a state. When the students objected, she said this is a lesson for the fifth grade, and she refused to change the paper. Please share, in order to protect our children from the Zionist ideology.”
According to The New Arab, at first when parents complained they said that the school administration did not act, but after the image began to circulate on social media, causing an influx of complaints to the school, they released a statement to say the teacher had been let go.
The statement as reported by national newspaper Qudsnen, read as follows: “The American Creativity Academy expresses its deep regret at what happened to one of the teachers who added a website (outside the curriculum) that contains a map of the region in which the name of the Zionist entity appeared.”
The statement went on to say that the school fully supports the Palestine cause and that their values are centred on upholding justice whilst proving the best global education, adding_: “Therefore, we have terminated the contract of the aforementioned parameter immediately, and we will work hard not to repeat such individual errors.”
The school ended the statement assuring the public that they would be checking the curriculum to make sure they eliminated anything that prejudices the country’s religious and national beliefs.
There has been no further information about the teachers’ full name or identity or any response from her about the situation.
The country of Kuwait, in western Asia, remains one of the only members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to refuse to recognise Israel, in solidarity with Palestine, until a solution to the conflict is reached.
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