0 Comments on Ethnic Studies Under Fire, Oct 18 2012, Urbana Free Library as of 10/16/2012 8:47:00 AM
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By: Debbie Reese,
on 10/16/2012
Blog: American Indians in Children's Literature (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Barbara Jones, Debbie's lectures, TUSD, Francisco Baires, Urbana Free Library, Add a tag
By: Debbie Reese,
on 10/8/2012
Blog: American Indians in Children's Literature (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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In addition to Rethinking Columbus and the Alexie and Zepeda books, over 50 other books were removed.
As TUSD administrators moved forward in shutting down the Mexican American Studies courses, they prevented students from reading Sherman Alexie's Ten Little Indians and The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven, and Ofelia Zepeda's Ocean Power.
The teachers who taught in the program were reassigned and no longer called Mexican American Studies teachers. As they created new syllabi, they were also told they could not teach from a Mexican American Studies perspective.
But, I wonder... Are teachers who were not previously teaching in the Mexican American Studies classes teaching Rethinking Columbus this year? Or Alexie? Or Zepeda?
By: Debbie Reese,
on 7/5/2012
Blog: American Indians in Children's Literature (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: TUSD, Mexican American Studies, Add a tag
In January 2012, Tucson Unified School District's (TUSD) renowned and highly successful Raza Studies Program, program was shut down. The program was finally eliminated after a prolonged, brutal campaign to demonize the students, the teachers and Tucson Arizona’s Mexican American community; the latest of a long history of cultural genocide enacted against Mexican Americans and indigenous people in the United States. In this two hour program, we look at the history of the struggle for Raza studies, also known as Mexican American Studies, in the Tucson Unified School District and why the program was so meaningful and successful, and we explore why the program was viciously attacked and shut down - by examining the racist narrative and intent of the state and school administrators who are responsible for its destruction. We hear about the devastating impact the shutting down of this program has had on teachers, students and community members in Tucson.
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By: Debbie Reese,
on 10/16/2012
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By: Debbie Reese,
on 10/8/2012
Blog: American Indians in Children's Literature (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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Bill Bigelow and Bob Peterson's edited volume, Rethinking Columbus, was being used in the Tucson Unified School District a year ago, but was subsequently removed from the classrooms when the district shut down its Mexican American Studies classes.
Rethinking Columbus is an outstanding book, offering readers the opportunity to develop and apply critical thinking skills to events--like Columbus Day--that carry bias in favor of one viewpoint, at the expense of the viewpoint and perspective of others.
When Rethinking Columbus was removed from the classrooms in Tucson, essays and poems by Native writers were also removed. Their essays and poems are in Rethinking Columbus. Among them are:
- Suzan Shown Harjo, who wrote "We Have No Reason to Celebrate"
- Buffy Sainte-Marie, who wrote "My Country, 'Tis of Thy People You're Dying"
- Joseph Bruchac, who wrote "A Friend of the Indians"
- Cornel Pewewardy, who wrote "A Barbie-Doll Pocahontas"
- N. Scott Momaday, who wrote "The Delight Song of Tsoai-Talee"
- Michael Dorris, who wrote "Why I'm Not Thankful for Thanksgiving"
- Leslie Marmon, who wrote "Ceremony"
- Wendy Rose, who wrote "Three Thousand Dollar Death Song"
- Winona LaDuke, who wrote "To the Women of the World: Our Future, Our Responsibility"
In addition to Rethinking Columbus and the Alexie and Zepeda books, over 50 other books were removed.
......................................................................
When you remove a class, you remove its
syllabus and everything on it.
......................................................................
As TUSD administrators moved forward in shutting down the Mexican American Studies courses, they prevented students from reading Sherman Alexie's Ten Little Indians and The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven, and Ofelia Zepeda's Ocean Power.
The teachers who taught in the program were reassigned and no longer called Mexican American Studies teachers. As they created new syllabi, they were also told they could not teach from a Mexican American Studies perspective.
But, I wonder... Are teachers who were not previously teaching in the Mexican American Studies classes teaching Rethinking Columbus this year? Or Alexie? Or Zepeda?
0 Comments on Anyone in TUSD teaching from RETHINKING COLUMBUS? as of 10/8/2012 12:36:00 PM
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By: Debbie Reese,
on 7/5/2012
Blog: American Indians in Children's Literature (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: TUSD, Mexican American Studies, Add a tag
On July 2nd, Education Radio featured a two-hour program in which they interviewed students and teachers from the now-shut-down Mexican American Studies program in Tucson Unified School District. Here's the link:
Arizona Goddam! Fight for Raza Studies
And here's info about the radio program (pasted from the Education Radio website):
In January 2012, Tucson Unified School District's (TUSD) renowned and highly successful Raza Studies Program, program was shut down. The program was finally eliminated after a prolonged, brutal campaign to demonize the students, the teachers and Tucson Arizona’s Mexican American community; the latest of a long history of cultural genocide enacted against Mexican Americans and indigenous people in the United States. In this two hour program, we look at the history of the struggle for Raza studies, also known as Mexican American Studies, in the Tucson Unified School District and why the program was so meaningful and successful, and we explore why the program was viciously attacked and shut down - by examining the racist narrative and intent of the state and school administrators who are responsible for its destruction. We hear about the devastating impact the shutting down of this program has had on teachers, students and community members in Tucson. 
0 Comments on Recent radio program on the shut-down of TUSD's Mexican American Studies Classes as of 1/1/1900
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By: Debbie Reese,
on 4/4/2012
Blog: American Indians in Children's Literature (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap) JacketFlap tags: The Daily Show, TUSD, Mexican American Studies, Sean Arce, Michael Hicks, Add a tag
[Editor's Note: A chronological list of AICL's coverage of the shut-down of the Mexican American Studies classes at Tucson Unified School District is here.] Dear Board Members of the Tucson Unified School District: What happened to last night's board meeting? In the last few days, reports from people in Tucson indicated you planned to vote on an initiative to set up a multicultural program to replace the Mexican American Studies classes that you shut down based on a racist and politically driven anti-Indigenous agenda. This morning, I read that you had a very short meeting. One of those 60 second kind of meetings that allow you to conform to your own bylaws about holding regularly scheduled meetings. Why did you do that? Was it because of Michael Hicks' appearance on The Daily Show? Are you in some intense behind-the-scenes damage control? This morning I ran a search on Twitter using "Tucson" as the search term, and guess what? The top twitter story on Tucson is about the Daily Show episode. I grabbed this image around 6:30 AM, Central Time, on April 4th, 2012:  For the sake of the citizens of Tucson, I hope you're figuring out how to get rid of Hicks, and, I hope you're also trying to figure out how you're going to withdraw your letter to Sean Arce telling him his contract is not being renewed. Sean Arce, the man who directed the Mexican American Studies Department for the last several years... You know Arce just received a national award from a highly regarded organization, right? Come on, TUSD board members! All of this attention can not be good for anyone in Tucson. How many people are choosing not to move to Tucson based on what they're learning about TUSD? And I've got a question for Mark Stegeman, too. Are you defending Hicks? I've been following your defense of him on Facebook, on Curtis Dutiel's wall (note: the thread below started on Monday, April 2nd, after the Daily Show episode aired):  It looks to me like you (Stegeman) are trying to defend Hicks. In the Facebook comments, Hicks tell us he went to Rusk's class. When he was on the Daily Show, did Hicks forget he'd been to Rusk's class? Why are you talking about THAT?! Is it because you---like the rest of America---are shocked at the rest of what Hicks said and prefer not to address Hicks' ignorance? When will you just admit that Hicks is not qualified to be on the board and ask him to step down? Is that what is going on right now, behind the scenes? I hope so. For information about Sean Arce's award, see Zinn Education Project Honors Sean Arce at the Zinn Education Project website.
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By: Debbie Reese,
on 4/3/2012
Blog: American Indians in Children's Literature (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap) JacketFlap tags: CNN, Common Core, TUSD, Mexican American Studies, Michael Hicks, Add a tag
[Editor's Note: A chronological list of AICL's coverage of the shut-down of the Mexican American Studies classes at Tucson Unified School District is here.] The Daily Show's segment on the shut-down of the Mexican American Studies program gave some cause to laugh and exclaim over the ignorance and racism of Michael Hicks, one of Tucson Unified School District's school board members, but it is imperative we remember what is happening in Tucson. This CNN story captures some of it: In related news, Education Week has a story out about the Common Core Standards, and how students ought to be reading more demanding texts. In the now-shut-down Mexican American Studies classes at TUSD, students were reading texts that some felt were too complex for high school students. Moreover, they felt that the classes and study of those texts promoted resentment of a race or class of people (with race and class referring to affluent white people). So, they voted to shut down the classes. In the middle of the week. In the middle of the academic year. Ironically, TUSD announced recently they were adopting the Common Core Standards! Seems to me they ought to reinstate the entire MAS program and its teachers! School districts across the country ought to call Sean Arce and invite him to help them revamp their classes in light of the Common Core Standards. He just received national recognition for his work, but it looks like TUSD's governing board is not going to renew his contract. How much shame will TUSD endure before it stops its attacks on the Mexican American Studies teachers and students??? ![](https:
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By: Debbie Reese,
on 4/3/2012
Blog: American Indians in Children's Literature (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap) JacketFlap tags: Curtis Acosta, TUSD, Mexican American Studies, Michael Hicks, The Daily Show, Add a tag
Last night, The Daily Show with John Stewart aired a segment on the shut down of Mexican American Studies classes in the Tucson Unified School District. Most of it was an interview of TUSD school board member, Michael Hicks. Stewart introducessegment on Mexican American Studies  John Stewart (Daily Show): Your children’s education… Nothing is more important! You want them tolearn enough to do well in the world, but not so much that they can winarguments with you. But, what are they really learning in school? Al Madrigalfollowed this eye-opening story. Madrigal introducesthe law Al Madrigal (Daily Show): Across the country public educationis failing, but in Arizona, lawmakers have found a solution to the biggestproblem facing their schools. CNN TV news: Arizona’s governor Jan Brewer just approved abill banning ethnic studies classes in public schools. Al Madrigal (Daily Show): And using this new law, the TucsonSchool Board banned the K-12 Mexican American Studies program. School boardmember, Michael Hicks: Madrigal’s interviewof Michael Hicks  Michael Hicks (TUSD school board member): My concern was alot of the
3 Comments on Michael Hicks and Curtis Acosta on the Daily Show with John Stewart, last added: 4/4/2012
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By: Debbie Reese,
on 4/3/2012
Blog: American Indians in Children's Literature (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap) JacketFlap tags: TUSD, Mexican American Studies, Sean Arce, Zinn Education Project, Add a tag
[Editor's Note: A chronological list of AICL's coverage of the shut-down of the Mexican American Studies classes at Tucson Unified School District is here.] The Zinn Education Project Honors Sean Arce  Identifying Sean Arce as the co-founder of "one of the most significant and successful public school initatives on the teaching of history in the United States," the Zinn Education Project released a statement yesterday, naming Sean Arce as the recipient of the 2012 Myles Horton Education Award for Teaching People's History. Here's the announcement: Washington, D.C. (April 2, 2012) – The Zinn Education Project announced the recipient of the 2012 Myles Horton Education Award for Teaching People’s History. The award is named for Myles Horton, one of the most influential educators in the 20th century. Myles Horton was co-founder of Highlander Folk School in Tennessee, famous for its pivotal role in desegregation efforts, and a tireless advocate for education and civil rights. In 1961, segregationists attempted to close Highlander on trumped-up charges, to which Horton replied: “A school is an idea, and you can’t padlock an idea.”
By: Debbie Reese,
on 3/30/2012
Blog: American Indians in Children's Literature (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap) JacketFlap tags: Jimmy Santiago Baca, Common Core, TUSD, Mexican American Studies, Add a tag
 On its homepage, Tucson Unified School District posts 'Announcements' on the lower right side of the page. Yesterday, I saw "TUSD Adopts New Curriculum" and clicked on the link. I wonder if TUSD admin realizes that the new curriculum includes "I Am Offering this Poem to You" by Jimmy Santiago Baca? The poem is in his Immigrants in Our Own Land & Selected Early Poems. The announcement itself doesn't have a date. The only date for the page is a "last updated" notice at the bottom indicating the page was last updated on March 28th, 2012 at 11:53 AM. Here's the introductory paragraph: The TUSD Governing Board has adopted new mathematics and English language arts curriculum for the district. The new curriculum is based on the Arizona Common Core State Standards and is designed to assist teachers in teaching those standards. The curriculum is in a rollout phase and will be fully implemented in the 2013-2014 school year.Beneath it are links to the curriculum at each grade level. I downloaded "Grade 11-12 English Language Arts Curriculum" and started reading. On page five: Competent readers recognize that:That is precisely what the Mexican American Studies program was doing! The MAS teachers designed a curriculum that taught readers to recognize that an author's perspective impacts choices made. And, they taught students to recognize point of view! According to Horne (he wrote the bill to ban ethnic studies) and Huppenthal (he enforced the bill) and Stegeman (he is the president of the governing board and voted to shut down the classes), however, there are limits on point of view. To them, thinking critically about the Founding Fathers is not ok. On the first page of the document, there are pdfs teachers can go to for further information. Among them is "Appendix B: Text Exemplars and Sample Performance Tasks." Exemplary texts. Ok... what constitutes exemplary? I clicked on the link and started reading Appendix B. I learned that the list of items (books, essays, speeches) are guideposts and "expressly do not represent a partial or complete reading list" (p. 2). There's a lot to say about the Common Core Standards and the idea of a "Common Core" list of books, bu
1 Comments on TUSD Announces New English/Language Arts Curriculum, last added: 3/31/2012
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By: Debbie Reese,
on 3/12/2012
Blog: American Indians in Children's Literature (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap) JacketFlap tags: TUSD, Mexican American Studies, Librotraficante, Add a tag
[Editor's Note: A chronological list of links to AICL's coverage of the shut-down of the Mexican American Studies classes is here.] _________________________________ In a few hours, Tony Diaz's Librotraficante Caravan will be on its way to Tucson. The caravan consists of carloads of banned books Diaz calls "wetbooks" that his caravan is "smuggling" into Tucson for use by students who were in the Mexican American Studies courses that were shut down in January. Authors of the banned books are supporting the caravan by donating money and books. In January when Diaz learned of the shut-down of the classes, he created the video below, describing the caravan. Since then, it has picked up steam and media attention. He was on Democracy Now! last week and the New York Times featured the caravan on its page of "interesting things to do this week" in Texas. The Caravan will end in Tucson with a celebration. Along the way, there are terrific events planned where authors will participate in Teach-Ins. Below is a map of the journey. You can see the detailed schedule here.
Sandra Cisneros will be at several events, and so will Benjamin Alire Saenz, author of the outstanding A Gift From Papa Diego that Jean Mendoza and I wrote about in Examining Multicultural Picture Books for the Early Childhood Classroom: Possibilities and Pitfalls.  Note (added on March 12, 10:20 AM): You can support the teachers, students, and their on-going efforts to get the program reinstated by donating to Save Ethnic Studies. You can donate to Librotraficante's work. Though the carav
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By: Debbie Reese,
on 3/11/2012
Blog: American Indians in Children's Literature (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap) JacketFlap tags: Curtis Acosta, TUSD, Mexican American Studies, Add a tag
[Editor's Note: Are you looking for information about the shut-down of the Mexican American Studies classes at Tucson Unified School District? A chronological list of links to AICL's coverage of the shut-down is here.] _________________________________ Last month, students from California State University, Northridge (CSUN) traveled to Tucson in support of students and teachers in the now-banned Mexican American Studies classes that were shut down in January, 2012 by the Tucson Unified School District's (TUSD) board. For background on their visit, see the article in the CSUN student newspaper. David Morales, who blogs at Three Sonorans, filmed students talking about how things have changed. Their day-to-day lives are ones in which they are followed and their assignments are collected by administrators: Curtis Acosta is a teacher in TUSD. He taught in the now-banned classes and has been providing updates: You can support the teachers, students, and their on-going efforts to get the program reinstated by donating to Save Ethnic Studies. 
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By: Debbie Reese,
on 3/8/2012
Blog: American Indians in Children's Literature (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap) JacketFlap tags: Modern Language Association, TUSD, Mexican American Studies, Statement on Tucson Mexican American Studies Program, Add a tag
[Editor's Note: Are you looking for information about the shut-down of the Mexican American Studies classes at Tucson Unified School District? A chronological list of links to AICL's coverage of the shut-down is here.] _________________________________  Modern Language Association's Statement on Tucson Mexican American Studies Program Recent legislative and policy initiatives in the Tucson Unified School District concern us deeply as teachers and scholars of language and literature. In 2010, the Arizona state legislature passed HB 2281, which was signed by Governor Jan Brewer. The bill forbade any school district to include in “its program of instruction any courses or classes . . . that promote resentment toward a race or class of people[,] . . . are designed primarily for pupils of a particular ethnic group[,] . . . [or] advocate ethnic solidarity instead of the treatment of pupils as individuals.” State Superintendent of Public Instruction John Huppenthal declared in January 2011 that Tucson’s widely admired Mexican American studies program was in violation of HB 2281. The board of the Tucson Unified School District appealed that ruling in June 2011. In December 2011, Judge Lewis Kowal affirmed Huppenthal’s decision, saying that the Mexican American studies program had “one or more classes designed primarily for one ethnic group, promoting racial resentment, and advocating ethnic solidarity” and was thus in violation of state law. Penalties for noncompliance established in HB 2281 would have cost the Tucson Unified School District millions of dollars in state aid. As a result, the district’s school board voted 4-1 to shut down the Mexican American studies program. The school board president, Mark Stegeman, took several measures to bring that termination about, the most publicized of which involved the removal of several books from ethnic studies classrooms in Tucson and their sequestration in a storage facility. That removal, in addition to being objectionable, followed from a series of discriminatory acts by Arizona officials, all of which run against principles that the MLA considers vital. Although Arizona HB 2281 was ostensibly passed to ensure that students would be taught as individuals, we see the law as part of an attack on Mexican American citizens and cultures—including, but not limited to, undocumented immigrants. We are unaware of any similar argument or policy initiative aimed at, for instance, Americans of Irish or Polish descent; no one argues that Irish American or Polish American children who learn about their ethnic heritages in school are promoting racial resentment or ethnic solidarity, even though the history of Irish and Polish immigration in the United States is not free of instances of ethnic discrimination. Furthermore, we contend that the law has been discriminatory in effect, insofar as the superintendent’s ruling, the judge’s decision, and the school board president’s order applied it to target and shut down only Mexican American studies programs. We note that programs in Native American and African American studies seem not to have triggered fears and anxieties among the supporters and enforcers of HB 2281. We believe that teaching Mexican American children about Mexican American history and heritage is teaching them as individuals—indeed, pre
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By: Debbie Reese,
on 3/8/2012
Blog: American Indians in Children's Literature (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap) JacketFlap tags: REFORMA, TUSD, Mexican American Studies, Add a tag
[Editor's Note: Are you looking for information about the shut-down of the Mexican American Studies classes at Tucson Unified School District? A chronological list of links to AICL's coverage of the shut-down is here.] _________________________________  February 29, 2012 REFORMARESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF THE STUDENTS OF THE OUTLAWED MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIESPROGRAM IN THE TUCSON UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT REFORMA, the National Association to Promote Libraryand Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish-speaking, an affiliate ofthe American Library Association, with nineteen local and regionalchapters and at-large members from all parts of the United States, views the dismantling ofthe Tucson Unified School District (TUSD) Mexican American Studies (MAS)program as a violation of the core principles of intellectual freedom andequity of access, and a violation of the Library Bill of Rights.1 REFORMA advocates for and affirms students’ right tohave access to accurate and meaningful information that will enhance theircritical inquiry skills and understanding of an inclusionary society thathonors and respects all of its component members. We support student access todiverse literature that lends to inquiry, conversation, and critical thinking –all strengths that we value in the continued building of our democracy. WHEREAS the 2010 Census found that Arizona’sHispanic/Latino population accounted for 29.6% of the state’s total population,2and Tucson’s Hispanic/Latino population accounted for 41.6% of the city’s totalpopulation3, with both the state and the city having largerHispanic/Latino populations than the national average; and WHEREAS Dr. Arnulfo Trejo, educated in TUSD schoolsand the University of Arizona and later serving on the faculty of theUniversity of Arizona’s Graduate Library School, in 1971 founded REFORMA andprovided its driving force; and WHEREAS reading listtitles associated with the MAS program consist of works written by nationallyand internationally renowned, award-winning authors, including but not limitedto Sherman Alexie, James Baldwin, Ana Castillo, Sandra Cisneros, FranciscoJimenez, Matt de la Peña, Carmen Tafolla, and Luis Alberto Urrea, whose storiesreflect this country’s rich and diverse heritage; and
WHEREAS these books have been removed from classroomsrelated to the MAS program, and
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By: Debbie Reese,
on 3/7/2012
Blog: American Indians in Children's Literature (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap) JacketFlap tags: Mexican WhiteBoy, Matt de la Pena, TUSD, Mexican American Studies, Save Ethnic Studies, Add a tag
If you're in Tucson next Tuesday (March 13, 2012), head over to the fundraiser for Save Ethnic Studies. Matt De La Pena is the featured guest. Matt's book, Mexican WhiteBoy is amongst those that former Mexican American Studies teachers can no longer teach "from a Mexican American Studies perspective." 
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By: Debbie Reese,
on 2/6/2012
Blog: American Indians in Children's Literature (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap) JacketFlap tags: Curtis Acosta, TUSD, Mexican American Studies, Add a tag
[Note: A chronological list of links to AICL's coverage of the shut-down of the Mexican American Studies Department at Tucson Unified School District is here. Information about the National Mexican American Studies Teach-in is here.] ___________________________________  Barack Obama's speech at the 2004 DNC Convention is among the readings Curtis Acosta taught in his Social Justice, Resistance, and Literature course. Ever since January 15th when I read Who's afraid of "The Tempest" in Salon, I've been wondering what the teachers in the Mexican American Studies courses were teaching that led people to write laws to penalize school districts that offered courses that sought to "promote the overthrow of the U.S. government" or "promote resentment towards a race or class of people" or were "designed primarily for pupils of a particular ethnic group" or "advocate ethnic solidarity instead of the treatment of pupils as individuals." Since then, I've learned a lot about the Mexican American Studies (MAS) Department and resistance to it. There's a lot more to know. I continue to study the historical context that the program and resistance to it are nested within. It seems the primary targets of the law were ideas taught in MAS history and social justice classes. I say that based on Governing Board President Stegeman's 2011 proposal to make those courses electives rather than allow them to count as fulfilling core course graduation requirements. Students and community that support the MAS program successfully stopped that proposal from being voted on by occupying the board's meeting room. Students chained themselves to board members chairs. Depending on who you ask, it was a violent and threatening event, or, it was a peaceful demonstration. TUSD's response was to start having heavy police presence at their meetings. This included the use of helicopters, cordoning off streets, and admitting people to meetings only after they were wanded by security. Most of us know about the police brutality at Occupy Wall Street events, but I don't think the police brutality in Tucson is getting that attention. If you've seen it in the national press, please send me links. Here's a video of that brutality: What was being taught that moved people to write the law in the first place? What was being taught that motivated supporters of the program to fight so hard to
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By: Debbie Reese,
on 2/3/2012
Blog: American Indians in Children's Literature (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap) JacketFlap tags: TUSD, Mexican American Studies, Sean Arce, Michael Hicks, Add a tag
[Note: For a chronological and comprehensive list of links to AICL's coverage of the shut-down of the Mexican American Studies Department at Tucson Unified School District, go here. To go right to information about the National Mexican American Studies Teach-in, go here.] ___________________________________  On January 10, 2012, the Tucson Unified School District voted 4-1 to shut down the Mexican American Studies (MAS) Department. They passed a resolution (the complete text of the resolution can be downloaded from the TUSD website) that says:
On January 18, 2012 MAS teachers were given a sheet of "Guiding Principles for MAS Teachers" that says (see the principles here):
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By: Debbie Reese,
on 1/30/2012
Blog: American Indians in Children's Literature (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap) JacketFlap tags: TUSD, Mexican American Studies, John J. Pedicone, Tucson Unified School District, Add a tag
[Note: For a chronological and comprehensive list of links to AICL's coverage of the shut-down of the Mexican American Studies Department at Tucson Unified School District, go here. To go right to information about the National Mexican American Studies Teach-in, go here.] _____________________________________ In today's news from Tucson, KNST is reporting that John J. Pedicone, Superintendent of Tucson Unified School District, sent a letter on January 27, 2012 to Dr. Tony Estrada, the Head of Mexican American Studies at the University of Arizona. Below are screen shots of the two page letter. Read them below, or download the letter from the KNST site. To protest the shut-down/"suspension" of the Mexican American Studies classes, students organized a protest that consisted of walking out of school to a day-long ethnic studies teach in at the El Casino Ballroom. Once there, there were a variety of activities taking place. At one table, there was a poetry slam. During the day, professors from the University of Arizona delivered lectures. Pedicone's letter, in essence, tells Dr. Estrada to tell his faculty and staff to mind their own business. These professors, Pedicone says, got the students in trouble! And now, the district has no choice but to follow their disciplinary policies. Students, Pedicone writes "have been assigned consequences followed by restorative practices to create a learning experience for them." What are "restorative practices"? Sounds a lot like janitorial work. In fact, students who walked out a few weeks ago were assigned to do janitorial work. Someone must have figured out that was a bad move, and students went to detention instead. That, however, was a couple of weeks ago. The Fox News network in Tucson reported this evening that "Students who participated in walkouts from school to protest suspension of Mexican-American studies will be disciplined" and that "Students who have participated in walkouts or other activities that violate TUSD policies can face detention, suspension, or if the activity is repeated, more severe penalties." Is it time for more "restorative practices"?! I'm sure that some people think that TUSD is running things in an appropriate way, but from my perspective, they're just digging a bigger hole. After shutting the program down, they're now trying to shut out university professors. It is almost laughable, thinking of the superintendent, wagging his finger at the university, scolding its professors for getting students in trouble, and then turning to wag that finger at students as he directs them to do "restorative" practices. But it isn't a laughing matter. The well-being and future of the students is at stake. Going back over a decade, teachers in the Mexican American Studies Department at TUSD created a program that should be expanded, not shut down. It has a proven track record of student success. What will tomorrow's news hold?! All of this is very bad for the State of Arizona. Those behind the racist laws may think all is fine and dandy, but today's statement from over 20 national and international educational organizations
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By: Debbie Reese,
on 1/29/2012
Blog: American Indians in Children's Literature (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap) JacketFlap tags: Mexican WhiteBoy, Tucson, Matt de la Pena, TUSD, Mexican American Studies, Add a tag
Tucson Unified School District has a long history of failing its Mexican American students. This is true elsewhere, too, across the country. The PBS documentary "Taking Back the Schools" (below) is primarily about Mexican Americans in East Los Angeles in the 1960s. In the 1960s, tired of being tracked into vocational classes and feeling shame for being Mexican American, students in East LA decided to go before the school board asking for changes. They did a survey of fellow students asking them what they wanted to present to the school board. They wanted bilingual instruction, Mexican American history courses, Mexican American teachers, and an end to corporal punishment. They also wanted access to college prep classes so they could go on to college.  Her book won the Americas Picture Book Award in 1996, and in 1997 it received the Pure Belpre Honor Award, and was listed as a Notable Book by the International Reading Association. In 1997, her book also won the Tomas Rivera Children's Book Award, which brings us back to the present and the ban of the Mexican American Studies Department in Tucson Unified School District. Tomas Rivera's books are among those that were taught in the MAS program. Until it was shut down in January, the Tucson MAS program was doing precisely what students wanted in 1968, and it was doing precisely what college students are been taught in teacher education courses. Use multicultural literature and teach critical thinking! The outcome? Students did better in school, graduated at higher rates, and went on to college at higher rates than students who were not in the MAS classes. They read Matt de la Pena's Mexican WhiteBoy. Matt de la Pena Matt de la Pena's Mexican WhiteBoy is amongst the books that were taught in the MAS literature courses, but it is more than that... His book is mentioned on page 29 of the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) Kowal's decision about the program, in the section titled "Latino Literature." As such, it is evidence that the MAS program violates the law. Here's the text from that section: Latino Literature
By: Debbie Reese,
on 1/28/2012
Blog: American Indians in Children's Literature (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap) JacketFlap tags: Tucson, Curtis Acosta, TUSD, Mexican American Studies, Norma Gonzales, Add a tag
[Note: For a chronological and comprehensive list of links to AICL's coverage of the shut-down of the Mexican American Studies Department at Tucson Unified School District, go here. To go right to information about the National Mexican American Studies Teach-in, go here.]
On January 24th, students at Wakefield participated in a walkout. They were subsequently suspended. Rather than stay home on Thursday, January 26th, they spent the day attending Mexican American Studies classes at the University of Arizona, including Roberto Rodriguez's class. Among the speakers Rodriguez had lined up for that day was Simon J. Ortiz of Acoma Pueblo. Rodriguez has been writing about the attacks on the MAS at TUSD for some time at his blog. In his post on Thursday, he writes that just as his class ended that day, they learned that the suspension of the students had been lifted. The Three Sonorans YouTube Channel uploaded a twelve-minute video of interviews with the middle school students. I'm sharing it below and urge you to watch the entire video. Here is Acosta's letter, titled "Behind the Curtain in Tucson". He concludes with a reference to students in the video. Thank you all for your patience this morning with the earlier message, and I hope this latest update on what my colleagues and I are experiencing in Tucson find you well. |
He prefers to go by hearsay when cutting out the Mexican American studies, and doesn't cut out any other ethnic studies. Really?? This is censorship - and without the courtesy of visiting a class for himself. At least in cases of censorship in libraries, there is a process in which the complainant makes note of which pages he or she found inappropriate, i.e. they have actually read the book, and don't try to say "my neighbor said it was bad." Thanks for sharing this, Debbie.
I live in NM, so I had never heard of Michael Hicks until I saw him on this morning's rerun of The Daily Show. I was so astonished I tried to find out a little more about him on the internet. Amazingly, his performance on the show was apparently no fluke! E.g., I read his "raciest" Facebook post... I just don't see how this guy could be a professor (BTW, see http://www.ratemyprofessors.com/ShowRatings.jsp?tid=975445) AND on the school board! According to the Tucson Citizen, "That may explain why he got into the school board race. He said that one day he was watching a news report on the future demographics of America (aka the 'browning' of America) and it scared the bejeezus out of him... so he decided at that moment he would get involved to 'stop it.'" (http://tucsoncitizen.com/three-sonorans/tag/michael-hicks/). This is just one more of so many things lately that make Arizona look to the rest of us like the most awful state in the U.S.
His grammar and spelling are atrocious! Did I read in a post that he is a professor? You must be kidding? Arizona is a joke of a state! First the Governor shows she has no manners and quite possibly no brains, you have a sheriff being investigated and now this man is elected to to a school board? Time for some house cleaning!