Turkish School’s Success Makes New York Times Headlines

Many minorities in New York dream of being educated in their native languages, the Times reported. In today’s multicultural world some schools allow casual classroom conversation in the children’s home language. The paper reported that most teachers and students in Brooklyn are Turkish. It was noted that notices to parents are not even translated, even though many parents do not speak English and that only sixth graders study Turkish, and only for one semester.

Stressing the school’s successes of schools on science and mathematics were worth notice, the news reported that the 110-student school has proven itself in its first five years. It was also noted that sixteen students have won medals in the New York State Science Olympics’ regional competition, placing in eight of 17 categories, and competing against public schools across the region.

The newspaper wrote that next year, out of the 14 students in the eighth grade, two will go to Brooklyn Tech and one to Stuyvesant, two of the city’s most prestigious public high schools. The Times quoted Vice Principal Adem Dokmeci, who has taught in Turkey, Uzbekistan and Indonesia, as saying: "I do not want to insult public schools, but I was shocked at student behavior here. This is the most significant difference between the public schools and us. We teach math, science, language arts, and social studies, but also how to be a good citizen and a good son or daughter to their parents."