A lesson plan developed in New York state and promoted by the New York State Education Department called “Dying to be a Martyr,” features video interviews with Islamic terrorists who explain why their attacks on Israelis are justified, according to an investigation by The Blaze.
For the last decade, the plan has been offered to teachers through the taxpayer-funded Public Broadcasting Service’s “LearningMedia” website. The PBS website offers “a media-on-demand service offering educators access to the best of public media and delivers research-based, classroom-ready digital learning experiences.”
The lesson plan is geared for high school-age students. As The Blaze reports, “There are no instructions in the lesson plan for teachers to denounce these views and no videos are featured showing the Israeli response.
“Among the other biased aspects of the lesson plan are instructions for teachers to ‘Check for understanding by asking students to respond to the focus question. (Mohanned, feels he would rather die and by a martyr than live his life, sees his life as hollow—in contrast he sees Israelis as happy, going out, having fun, traveling.) Ask your students why Mohanned may feel that way (Answers may include: Palestinians have less land, fewer privileges, cannot come and go as they please.)’”
A further investigation by the news outlet showed that until the expose on the lesson plan was published, it was being promoted by the New York State Education Department (NYSED). After a request was made for comment by state officials, NYSED’s website was changed and the lesson plan was dropped.
However, the plan was still listed on another NYSED website as well the promotion of a video titled “Story of Islam: A History of the World’s Most Misunderstood Faith.”
The Blaze reports that out of 40 items included on the website, “Dying to be a Martyr” was the only complete lesson plan listed.
The author of the plan is a long-standing public teacher in upstate New York. Requests for comments by The Blaze from the author as well as the NYSED were ignored.
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