Background

Ahmed Mohamed is a Freshman at MacArthur High School in Irving,Texas. He is a lanky kid who loves to tinker with gadgets and circuit boards for fun. Mohamed is quite the engineer and spends most days creating ways to make his life easier through homemade technology. For example, to most people, a pencil bag is simply a place to keep pens, scissors, and of course, pencils. However Mohamed saw it as something that could be turned into an alarm clock. Excited and full of energy, he decided to bring it to school so he could show all of his teachers and peers. In his mind, he thought this newest invention would bring acceptance and praise. Instead, he left the school that afternoon in handcuffs (pictured below).

The Public School System Is Flawed

According to Mohamed, he had presented his alarm clock to a teacher first thing in the morning and was quickly ordered to put it away. Then, while sitting in class, it began to make noise as most alarm clocks do. This teacher quickly sent him to the principal's office, where the police were called and Ahmed was arrested under suspicions that he had created a fake bomb. He had been questioned prior to apprehension for some time until the principal decided that Mohamed's answers were simply not to the administration's satisfaction. What types of questions were asked? "What is this device?" And for at least an hour, Mohamed could simply respond that it was a homemade alarm clock.

Now, in regards to the public school system, this is an ugly situation. Every teacher he revealed his invention to turned him down. What is most disturbing is that not one single teacher asked him questions or even invited him to demonstrate it. They simply chalked it up as a bomb. Why? Because the public school system does not believe that someone his age can make something that extraordinary from a pencil bag. A disease that has plagued America's education system is called "routine" and "standardized." High schools across the country refuse to challenge their students or create an environment for them to rise above themselves because everything is rhythmic and curriculum is the same for all so that we are able to avoid any creativity or urgent contemplation. Well, thankfully Mohamed was able to break this course in life as a skilled engineer (which I hope he continues to pursue). But for other kids, they simply go to school for 10 months out of each year and learn ways around so called "tests" by studying the index of definitions in the back of each book. I like to say that my favorite teacher was "McGraw-Hill."

Was This A Form Of Prejudice And Racism?

Would Mohamed have been arrested if he was not a Muslim? Would he have been arrested if his name wasn't Ahmed Mohamed? We can say that no matter who brought this alarm clock to school, they would have been treated in the same manner as Mohamed. But truthfully? That just isn't the case. Islamophobia, much like the Red Scare of the 1950's, is making us insecure about any and all who are Muslim. With the rapidly growing terror group ISIS and the conflicts in America we are seeing with young adults attempting to join their cause, it can be hard to refrain from generalizations about an entire group when they are constantly portrayed as evil. While I do not disagree with those who say that what Ahmed experienced was driven by Islamophobia and that is was wrong to have him arrested, I do see the need to protect others. However, with that being said, if Ahmed was actually trying to blow up his school with a pencil bag bomb, would he really show it around to his teachers? Has any terrorist done that in the history of terrorism?

What Happens Next?

In my opinion, the school needs to issue a public apology, and (from what Twitter users are saying and I agree with) find a way to support Mohamed's quest to become the next world class engineer. We also need to rethink our handling of young minds because what this situation has shown is that some teachers in the public school system limit the progression of kids with bright futures by refusing to challenge them. What is also a big concern is our view towards American diversity and the constant battles we as nation have been facing recently. The Black Lives Matters movement keeps a large divide between not only police officers and the African American community, but also between those who are White and those who are Black. And now, we see our fear that any person of Muslim origin or descent has increased, as our fear of ISIS capabilities has done the same. We are repeating history because of irrational fears about the state of the nation in terms of our domestic and international security. Ahmed Mohamed, the gifted engineer whose hashtag "#IStandWithAhmed" is currently trending, will hopefully be a step in the right direction to eliminate prejudice, racism, and generalizations against other ethnicities.