Comments on 60 Minutes Segment
May 13, 2012 coverage of Gulen charter schools
Page created June 3, 2012
by C.A.S.I.L.I.P.S. - Citizens Against Special Interest Lobbying in Public Schools CASILIPS on Twitter, slideshare
On May 13, 2012, the TV program 60 Minutes ran a segment approximately 13 minutes long on Gulen charter schools. Some footage of one of the Harmony schools in Houston was included. A full transcript and the video are available at the CBS website.
60 Minutes is to be commended for bringing this important issue to the attention of a wide mainstream US audience. Key questions were raised. Inevitably, when such a complex issue is covered in such a short period of time, much is omitted. For this reason, supplemental comments to some of 60 Minutes' statements are provided here.
60 Minutes: "This is the Harmony School in Houston, part of a rapidly expanding chain of 36 charter schools in Texas. They serve mostly underprivileged students..."
Comment: To put this in perspective, the state of Texas average percent of economically disadvantaged students is 59.2%. This means that most Texas schools are dealing with a majority of low-income students. The following graph shows that about half of the Harmony schools actually have a smaller percentage of low-income students than the Texas state average.
Further, nearly all the Harmony schools have a much lower percent of limited English proficiency (LEP) students than the Texas average (see following graph). On average, students with limited English skills require additional resources, are more challenging to educate, and tend to have poorer test scores. As for the one school with a high percentage of LEP students, Harmony Science Academy Austin, it is noteworthy that in the 2009-10 school year, this school had only 9.7% LEP, and in 2008-09 it was only 2.3%. How did this percentage change from 9.7% to 31.3% in just one year?
60 Minutes: "Newsweek voted two Harmony schools among America's top 10."
It is assumed that this refers to the ranking of two Harmony schools on Newsweek's 2011 "Top 10 Miracle School" list, which, it should be noted, is distinct from the main "Top US High School" list that Newsweek produces annually.
The two schools in question were Harmony Science Academy Dallas, and Harmony Science Academy North Austin in Pflugerville, Texas. As has been remarked in several other contexts (see here and here), the inclusion of Harmony Science Academy North Austin on this list is an error. The school was not eligible for Newsweek's 2011 list, because it did not have a 12th grade in the 2009-10 school year, as can be verified by checking the official Texas AEIS school report cards at the Texas Education Agency website. Newsweek's list was based on self-reported school data that were specifically required to be for the 2009-10 school year.
As for Harmony Science Academy Dallas, there are many reasons, including large student attrition, to question its classification as a "miracle school;" see here.
Another Harmony school, the Bryan-College Station branch, made the #10 position on Newsweek's 2012 "Top 10 Transformative High School" list. That ranking was based on data such as SAT and ACT test scores, AP test statistics, and "100% graduation rate" for the 2010-11 school year, when this school had a 12th grade class of.......4 students. Yes, only four (this can be confirmed at the Texas Education Agency website).
An excellent New York Times article of June 3, 2012, "In Lists of Best High Schools, Numbers Don’t Tell the Whole Story," puts this all in perspective.
60 Minutes: "Class work stresses hands-on experiments...." "students get state-of-the-art technology"
Comments: Reporters doing stories on Gulen charter schools are invariably taken to the flagship school - the highest-performing one, set up as a showcase. In this showcase environment, select students may show off hovercraft or whatever. However, the typical classroom experience of a student in a Gulen charter school does not involve hands-on activities. In fact, the Gulen charter schools tend to be very weak in experimental science, particularly compared to traditional district public schools. Many do not have chemistry labs, and if they do, they are generally not used (except when reporters visit). A small, select group of students may work on robotics after school, but this is not part of the regular class work. While classrooms may be equipped with computers (which is not particularly unusual for public schools) there is nothing "state-of-the-art" about what few pieces of lab equipment Gulen charter schools may have. It cannot be overemphasized that what reporters are shown of these schools is not typical of what most students experience.
A May 17, 2012 Maryland newspaper article on Chesapeake Science Point, a Gulen charter school, noted serious concerns being raised with regard to the school's proposed charter renewal. One of the problems mentioned was "A dearth of proper equipment in science labs and the media center, among other deficiencies in the facilities." This is very typical of this chain of schools.
60 Minutes: "students get... extensive one-on-one tutoring"
Comments: A very few select students may get "one-on-one" tutoring. Most students do not. Certainly the students who most need it - special education students and those lagging behind in class - do not get such attention. It is true that all the Gulen charter schools offer something called free after-school "tutoring." This is touted as proof of the school staff's dedication and functions as a very effective talking point for press releases and for defending the schools. The use of the word "tutoring" is arguably a misnomer in this context, however. The term "tutoring" is supposed to mean a teacher working with one student or a very small group. "Tutoring" in Gulen charter schools generally means a teacher staying in a classroom after hours to handle all the students in that grade level and for a particular subject such as math who need or want extra help. This could easily be 5-10 students at a time if not more. In many cases the teacher may be essentially just babysitting the students, handing out worksheets with only a minimal amount of interaction. Thus, it is more accurately described as an after-school study hall or supplemental class than as "tutoring." Gulenists have occasionally chosen a couple of select students for more individualized tutoring; in exchange, they get a few parents with undying loyalty who rave about the school and the Gulenist teachers to the press, local officials, and other parents. One or two such parents is usually all that is required to get a local newspaper or TV station to run a very flattering story about the school, so the Gulenists receive a valuable return on their time investment. The reality is that Gulen charter schools are run in a sink-or-swim manner. The administration for the most part does not want to help students who cannot keep up (unless their parents are donors, or influential people, or otherwise useful to the school). The sink-or-swim approach helps keep the student body selective.
60 Minutes: "...the Turkish imam Fethullah Gulen who tells his followers that to be devout Muslims they shouldn't build mosques - they should build schools; and not to teach religion, but science."
Comments: While Gulen may have made such a statement publicly, it is far more important to consider what his followers are actually doing.
The reality is that the Gulen Movement is teaching religion in its private schools. It is running madrasas in Albania (see link, link, link and also here). Even the supposedly non-madrasa schools in Albania are religious. Consider this excerpt from Muslim Cultures Today: A Reference Guide by Kathryn M. Coughlin: "In Albania, Gulen’s 'secular' private schools, known by the name of Mehmet Akif, have emerged throughout the country…..While the message of these schools is strongly religious…”
The website of the International School of Tuzla, a Gulen school in Bosnia-Herzegovina, has a page (accessed May 2012) about a religious competition that the school hosted. The page states: "Our school was host to 3rd Islamic religious education for 5th graders. Over thirty schools participated to this competition. Our student from 5th grade JEHONA DŽEMAILI won third place. We congratulate her on success."
Here is an excerpt from a newsletter of Burc College, a Gulen school in Australia, clearly showing that the school teaches Islam:
An Aug 10, 2010 news article entitled “Multicultural Burc College keeps on growing”
which ran in the City North Messenger, an Adelaide, Australia newspaper, stated: “Mr Ayvaz said the school’s religious studies, which focused on Islam, emphasised social justice, respect for elders, equal opportunity and compassion.” If readers doubt Burc College's affiliation with the Gulen Movement, they need only note the slogan "Golden Generation" appearing under the school logo in the above image. Yet in other promotional material, Burc advertises itself as catering to "students of all faiths," a highly deceptive statement.
The Gulen Movement is also building mosques. The Movement is said to be behind the construction of the "biggest mosque" in the Turkish part of Cyprus (link). It advertises that it is building a huge school-mosque complex in South Africa with "the largest mosque in the southern hemisphere" (link). A South African website (link) states that "The mosque... will cost an estimated R210-million. It is modeled on the Selimiye Mosque in Edirne, Turkey, acclaimed for its lavish Ottoman architecture. Scheduled for completion in January 2012, it will incorporate the Sama (meaning heaven in Arabic) High School, student boarding facilities, a bazaar, clinic, conference facility and a community hall for 1500 people. The venture is the brainchild of Ali Katircioglu, 72, better known as 'Uncle Ali,' a Turkish businessman who is funding and managing the project. Katircioglu, who is inspired by the teachings of his long-time friend Fethullah Gulen, a Turkish preacher, author and educator, was advised by his friend to develop the project in 'Madiba’s home.' " (More at this link.) This provides evidence that at least some of the mosque-building performed by Gulen's followers is at the instigation of Mr. Gulen himself.
To be clear: of course anyone has the right to start a private religious school or build a mosque. The objection here is not to these activities per se, but to the duplicity of repeatedly telling the public one thing while doing quite another.
60 Minutes: " We went to Turkey to learn more and found Gulen's schools are..... often multi-million dollar hi-tech facilities where girls are equal to boys and English is taught starting in first grade."
There is substantial evidence that girls are not treated equally to boys in Gulen schools.
Berna Arslan, in her 2009 PhD thesis entitled "Pious science: the Gulen Movement and the making of a conservative modernity in Turkey" from the University of California Santa Cruz, wrote:
which ran in the City North Messenger, an Adelaide, Australia newspaper, stated: “Mr Ayvaz said the school’s religious studies, which focused on Islam, emphasised social justice, respect for elders, equal opportunity and compassion.” If readers doubt Burc College's affiliation with the Gulen Movement, they need only note the slogan "Golden Generation" appearing under the school logo in the above image. Yet in other promotional material, Burc advertises itself as catering to "students of all faiths," a highly deceptive statement.
The Gulen Movement is also building mosques. The Movement is said to be behind the construction of the "biggest mosque" in the Turkish part of Cyprus (link). It advertises that it is building a huge school-mosque complex in South Africa with "the largest mosque in the southern hemisphere" (link). A South African website (link) states that "The mosque... will cost an estimated R210-million. It is modeled on the Selimiye Mosque in Edirne, Turkey, acclaimed for its lavish Ottoman architecture. Scheduled for completion in January 2012, it will incorporate the Sama (meaning heaven in Arabic) High School, student boarding facilities, a bazaar, clinic, conference facility and a community hall for 1500 people. The venture is the brainchild of Ali Katircioglu, 72, better known as 'Uncle Ali,' a Turkish businessman who is funding and managing the project. Katircioglu, who is inspired by the teachings of his long-time friend Fethullah Gulen, a Turkish preacher, author and educator, was advised by his friend to develop the project in 'Madiba’s home.' " (More at this link.) This provides evidence that at least some of the mosque-building performed by Gulen's followers is at the instigation of Mr. Gulen himself.
To be clear: of course anyone has the right to start a private religious school or build a mosque. The objection here is not to these activities per se, but to the duplicity of repeatedly telling the public one thing while doing quite another.
60 Minutes: " We went to Turkey to learn more and found Gulen's schools are..... often multi-million dollar hi-tech facilities where girls are equal to boys and English is taught starting in first grade."
There is substantial evidence that girls are not treated equally to boys in Gulen schools.
Berna Arslan, in her 2009 PhD thesis entitled "Pious science: the Gulen Movement and the making of a conservative modernity in Turkey" from the University of California Santa Cruz, wrote:
(Note that "community schools" refers to Gulen schools.)
Ozlem Kocabas also touched on this subject in his 2006 Masters thesis in Sociology at Middle East Technical University, entitled "Scientific careers and ideological profiles of science olympiad participants from Fethullah Gulen and other secondary schools in Turkey." On pp. 55-56 he wrote:
Ozlem Kocabas also touched on this subject in his 2006 Masters thesis in Sociology at Middle East Technical University, entitled "Scientific careers and ideological profiles of science olympiad participants from Fethullah Gulen and other secondary schools in Turkey." On pp. 55-56 he wrote:
"One of female university student coach of Olympiad organizations confirmed my observation on gender related inequalities in science Olympiad organizations. She said that ‘women were seen as incapable of science and scientific thinking and this understanding led to the low level female participation in science Olympiad organizations.’..... In Gulen schools, male oriented education understanding is dominant in raising the future’s golden generation. When success is the question, the emphasis is given to success in occupation for male students and in housework for female students.....These schools are usually criticized for their male oriented viewpoints in education."
60 Minutes: "Andrew Finkel: Tolerance is a very key, key part of their message."
Comments: Gulen in his early years of preaching did not sound tolerant at all. However, his statements and writings from that time are inaccessible to most Americans. In more recent highly-publicized statements attributed to him (in English) he advocates interfaith dialog. One can wonder whether this represents a true change of heart or simply a calculated maneuver that has enabled his movement to gain access to many new opportunities, but of course only actions, not intentions, can be known. A concrete way to assess Gulen's sincerity is to consider whether he and his followers have truly worked for more tolerance among groups of different beliefs or lifestyles in Turkey.
Fethullah Gulen does not appear to have publicly shown any concern about:
- the forms of increasing intolerance detailed in the report "Being Different in Turkey," co-authored by award-winning journalist Nedim Sener;
- Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan's May 2012 controversial statement that he advocates "one nation, one state, one flag and one religion" (see here);
- the ongoing severe repression of the Kurdish people in Turkey;
- the fact that Alevis and other religious minorities do not enjoy the same rights as the dominant Sunni Muslims in Turkey (New York Times Sep 28, 2011);
- the many human rights violations against women that continue to occur in Turkey, often while the government turns a blind eye (New York Times, April 25, 2012);
- the AKP government's killing in Dec 2011 of 34 Kurdish villagers in Uludere, some of them minors (see Amnesty International and the New York Times);
- the grave state of press freedom in Turkey.
The following do not ring like descriptions of a "tolerant" movement:
- Nedim Sener, internationally acclaimed award-winning journalist, quoted in Bloomberg May 27, 2012: "What’s scary is that the Gulen followers in the prosecution are trying to do away with respectable public personalities in order to recreate Turkey in their vision."
- "Yet the support of its media outlets for the investigation is uncomfortably reminiscent of their policy towards Ergenekon and Sledgehammer, where they [the Gulenists] have repeatedly published distortion and untruths and launched smear campaigns against anyone who has had the temerity to question the integrity of the cases." - Gareth Jenkins, Turkey Analyst, Vol 5 No. 11, May 12, 2012
In a webcast on the site herkul.org, Gulen advocated violent approaches to handling the Kurdish issue (link and link), hardly in keeping with his supposed love of peace.
Gulenists do not even appear tolerant of other forms of Islam. Gareth Jenkins in a Silk Road Paper of 2012 (Central Asia - Caucasus Institute) writes "In a newspaper interview in 1997, the Islamist preacher Fethullah Gulen, whose followers were later to
develop the most influential non-state network in Turkey, dismissively commented: 'The Iranian Shia are a reactive community. For that reason, it is impossible to expect them to think correctly, make balanced decisions or act according to prevailing global circumstances.' " Note that this comment was not directed merely at the Iranian government, but rather, apparently, at the entire Iranian population that happens to belong to the other major division of Islam from Gulen (who is Sunni). This sounds exactly like the sort of stereotyping by religion that the Gulen Movement supposedly wants to overcome.
The Gulen Movement is completely intolerant of homosexuality. This has been noted by Dutch researcher Martin van Bruinessen in his report, and is also evident from a personal account of an American teacher who tried to work at a Gulen university and was forced to leave (link).
Author and translator Ali Unal was described as "a core intellectual of the Gulen movement" by Heon Choul Kim in his 2008 PhD thesis from Temple University. Unal has written on dislam.org (Discover Islam, a website run by the Gulen Movement): "Islam is never to apologize to any other religion or ideology or system for its permission to fight. On the contrary, all other religions, ideologies and systems have a debt of apology and thanking to Islam." These are not words to inspire "interfaith dialog."
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In conclusion, the 60 Minutes piece has done a valuable service by raising public awareness of the Gulen charter schools. Additional, more detailed coverage is needed of many issues - how the lives of some Texas contractors who worked on Harmony Public Schools facilities were profoundly disrupted by Gulenists stalling on payments or failing to make payment in full, to cite just one example.