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On Monday, June 25, 2012, from 1:30 to 3:30 at the American Library Association conference in Anaheim, Adriana McCleer, Carmen Tafolla, Oralia Garza de Cortes, and Tony Diaz will present "Ethnic Studies Under Fire: The Role of Publishers, Librarians, Teachers, and Activists." Sponsors include REFORMA and ALA's Intellectual Freedom Committee.
The description for their panel:
The removal of educational materials in connection with the elimination of Mexican American Studies classes in the Tucson (AZ) Unified School District sparked a national outcry and resolutions in opposition from the American Library Association, REFORMA, the American Indian Library Association, and others. At this panel, hear from represntatives from the publishing, library, teaching, and activist communities as they discuss the genesis and implications of this controversial decision. This program is sponsored by IFC/AAP/REFORMA. Location: Anaheim Convention Center, 201D Carmen Tafolla's books are amongst those that could no longer be taught by teachers who used to teach in the Mexican American Studies department that was shut down in the Tucson Unified School District (for background, see the list of chronological links under the "Mexican American Studies" button on the tool bar above). In March, San Antonio, TX named her as the cities first poet laureate, and the publisher of Curandera reissued the book in a 30th anniversary edition. Oralia Garza de Cortes was amongst the librarians who worked on developing the ALA resolution condemning the actions taken by administrators in TUSD. This photo was taken at ALA Midwinter, where the resolution was drafted and passed: Tony Diaz launched Librotraficante, a project through which book lovers collected copies of the banned books and delivered them to students in Tucson Unified School District. Here's a video of Diaz on Democracy Now: I can't be at ALA, but look forward to the hashtag tweets from audience members who attend the panel. The hashtag to follow on Twitter is #alaif.
[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.
[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???
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.
I wonder if Arizona's Superintendent of Public Instruction John Huppenthal or Arizona's Attorney General, Tom Horne watched it? Or Mark Stegeman, the president of TUSD's governing board?
Thanks to The Daily Show, millions of people saw Michael Hicks embarrass the district and the state, too.
Citizens of Tucson: It is not in your best interest to have Hicks on the school board. I think you should sign the petitions to have him recalled. Learn more about Hicks from TUSD's Hicks Recall Effort Begins Sunday. and from David Safier's blog post, Michael Hicks' letter to UA Dean of Social and Behavioral Sciences.
Below is my transcript of the Daily Show segment. Beneath it is a response from Michael Hicks. Beneath his response is a post to Mark Stegeman's Facebook wall. As more responses appear, I'll add them.
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
[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.”
This award honors those who promote democracy through education by ensuring that students have the knowledge and skills to be informed and active participants in their communities, country, and the world.
The 2012 Myles Horton Award for Teaching People’s History honoree is Sean Arce, co-founder and director of the Mexican American Studies program in Tucson, Ariz. The Zinn Education Project is delighted to honor Sean Arce for his instrumental role in nurturing one of the most significant and successful public school initiatives on the teaching of history in the United States.
“Tucson’s Mexican American Studies program gets it absolutely right: Ground the curriculum in students’ lives, teach about what matters in the world, respect students as intellectuals, and help students imagine themselves as promoters of justice,” explains Zinn Education Project co-director Bill Bigelow. “I’m thrilled that the Zinn Education Project is able to honor the work of Sean Arce by recognizing him with the first Myles Horton Award for Teaching People’s History. Mr. Arce has begun work that we hope will be emulated by school districts throughout the United States.”
The Zinn Education Project is joined by many educators, writers, and policy makers in our respect for the invaluable achievements of Sean Arce.
“At a time when students, particularly students of color, are accused of being apathetic about education, Sean Arce, a teacher and director of the Ethnic Studies program of the Tucson Unified School District, refutes this claim loudly and beautifully. Given the widespread mean-spirited a
[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.] 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:
- Effective authors make specific language choices (emotive, evocative, formal, impersonal) and use specific organizational strategies to position readers to accept representations of people, events, ideas and information in particular ways.
- An author's perspective and global cultural experiences impact choices made about the text, such as what to include or not include as well as considering the point of view from which the narrative is told.
- Reflection on the nuanced meanings of words and phrases in texts is a tool by which readers discover the meaning, tone and theme of a text.
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
[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.  | | Source: Librotraficante website |
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. Follow the caravan on Twitter using #Librotraficante. 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.
[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.
[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
[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
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."
[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. The best source for daily updates out of Tucson is blogger David Abie Morales at Three Sonorans.]
___________________________________
Last night (February 22, 2012), students from the now-banned Mexican American Studies (MAS) classes at Tucson Unified School District skyped in from Tucson to New Haven, Connecticut, for a Teach-In at Yale University. It was an outstanding event, with a great deal of enthusiasm and support for the MAS students. The MAS students spoke of the need to censor the writing they do in classes because their work can be collected and examined to see if former MAS teachers are violating the ban by continuing to teach from a Mexican American perspective. When asked about ways of providing them with support as they continue to fight the ban of the MAS program, one student referenced a letter they prepared that asks people to send photos of teach-ins and letters to TUSD that demonstrate support for the MAS program. (See the letter below.)
Here's two photos. First is the Tucson students. Beneath it is a photo of the overview I presented at the start of the Teach-In. Both photos were taken by Theodore Van Alst, Assistant Dean of Yale College and Director of the Native American Cultural Center.
Panel members were: - Alicia Schmidt Camacho, Associate Professor of American Studies and Ethnicity, Race & Migration
- Stephen Pitti, Professor of History & American Studies, Director of Ethnicity, Race & Migration
- Birgit Brander Rasmussen, Assistant Professor, American Studies
- Debbie Reese, American Indians in Children's Literature
Conversations will continue between Yale professors and students, and the MAS students in Tucson. _______________ To Supportive Educators and Supporters Who Have Access to Students: UNIDOS is calling upon YOU to help us launch our first NATIONAL YOUTH SOLIDARITY MOVEMENT for the youth and communit
[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. The best source for daily updates out of Tucson is blogger David Abie Morales at Three Sonorans.]
___________________________________ Do you know someone in a self-involved bubble that insulates them from the fact that our civil rights are under assault by well-funded conservative politicians? If so, tell them about what is happening in Tucson, where the conservative-power-elite wrote, passed, and enforced a law banning the perspectives of Mexican Americans... Where that same conservative-power-elite is now trying to get a law passed (SB 1202) that prohibits teachers from teaching partisan documents like Barack Obama's 2004 DNC speech in social justice courses... And where that same conservative-power-elite is also trying to pass a law that prohibits teachers from using words that violate the obscenity and profanity guidelines set up by the Federal Communications Commission. If passed, what will that mean for teachers who teach young adult literature that has the F-word in it?
Who is among that conservative-power-elite? The Chicago Tribune article points to Floyd Brown, the founding chairman of Citizens United. He complained to school administrators that a teacher used the F-word in class, but, he says, they didn't take him seriously. So he went to Klein, and now, that complaint is a bill that has passed one committee and will be voted on by the house and senate in Arizona... The photo that accompanies the Trib article shows Brown and his now-home-schooled daughter, sitting before a pile of books that includes William J. Bennett's Our Sacred Honor: Words of Advice from the Founders in Stories, Letters, Poems, and Speeches. I wonder if that book would be in violation of the "partisan" documents bill?! There are people who don't think either bill will pass. They might not, this first round. The Ethnic Studies law didn't pass the first two times it was considered. Third time? It passed and was signed into law by Jan Brewer.
This coming Wednesday, February 22nd, 2012, there is a Teach-In at Yale in support of the Mexican American students in TUSD.
 | | William L. Harkness Hall |
Organized by Theodore Van Alst, Dean of Native Students at Yale, the Teach-In is a panel composed of the following individuals: - Alicia Schmidt Camacho, Associate Professor of American Studies and Ethnicity, Race & Migration
- Stephen Pitti, Professor of History & American Studies, Director of Ethnicity, Race & Migration
- Birgit Brander Rasmussen, Assistant Professor, American Studies
- Debbie Reese, American Indians in Children's Literature
The panel begins at 7:00 PM at William L. Harkness Hall, room 119. Though New Haven is a long way from Tucson, I think Yale would be smart to send someone to TUSD to encourage students from the now-banned MAS program to apply to Yale.
[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
[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.]
___________________________________ Teach, Think, Do: A Teach-In on Tucson will be live streamed here on February 4, 2012, starting at 11:00 AM, Eastern Time. The Virtual Panel from 11:30-11:45 includes two TUSD teachers, Norma Isela and Jose Gonzales and TUSD student, Nico Dominguez. Jeff Biggers and I will join them on the panel. For background and updates, visit the Teach-In on Tucson blog.
[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:
All MAS courses and teaching activities, regardless of the budget line from which they are funded, shall be suspended immediately.
On January 18, 2012 MAS teachers were given a sheet of "Guiding Principles for MAS Teachers" that says (see the principles here): - Assignments cannot direct students to apply MAS perspectives.
- The teachers cannot use the MAS curriculum designed individually or by MAS staff in TUSD.
- The focus of student learning must not exclusively trail back to MAS curriculum and issues.
- Teachers should balance the use of literature focusing on multiple perspectives and varied literature.
- Race can be taught and discussed. However, context is important and the focus should be on using literature content as the teaching focus relative to race or oppression.
- Visitations in class by an administrator will be frequent to insure compliance. (At least one visit per unit of lessons.)
- Teachers will write and submit a syllabus and/or a curriculum map that demonstrates adherence to common, standards based approach to the curriculum. The due date is January 26.
- Student work will be collected by the evaluator when he/she comes into the classroom.
- Teachers can choose to submit student work that would serve as evidence that curriculum is adhered to.
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[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.]
AmericanIndian Library Association Statement on Ethnic Studies Programs in Arizona
TheAmerican Indian Library Association (AILA) wishes to publicly express itsstrong disapproval of the elimination of the Tucson Unified School District(TUSD) Mexican American Studies classes and removal of books associated withthe program due to the State of Arizona Revised Statutes Sections 15-111 and15-112. We write this statement in support of all students, educators, andfamilies who have been negatively affected by this action. Allstudents have the right to develop critical thinking skills through achallenging curriculum. All students, regardless of their background, have theright to learn about the history of their own people, as well as the history ofthe land and peoples where they are currently living. In Tucson, this shouldinclude the history and literature of Mexican American people as well as theTohono O'odham and Pascua Yaqui peoples. The targeting of one ethnic group isan attack on all ethnic groups, and the elimination of a curriculum and booksthat encourage students to consider the perspectives of those who are oftensilenced should be a concern to all humanity. Theteaching of Mexican American studies cannot be separated from the teaching of thehistory of the Indigenous peoples who inhabited this land long before thearrival of Europeans. Indigenous communities have been artificially bisected bythe US-Mexico border. People from these communities may speak Spanish, English,as well as their Indigenous languages. Their histories, their stories, anddiscussion of their contemporary issues have a place in our classrooms andlibraries. The curriculum that has been banned in Tucson includes works writtenby highly acclaimed authors and Tucson residents Ofelia Zepeda (Tohono O'odham)and Leslie Marmon Silko (Laguna Pueblo), in addition to a number of otherNative American authors. The censorship of Native voices due to the prohibitionof the Mexican American Studies curriculum is part of what prompts the AmericanIndian Library Association to take a stand on this issue. Thesystematic banning of ethnic studies and the discouragement of studentslearning about their own histories is reminiscent of
[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
[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.]
________________________________________ At 8:00 AM, Mountain Standard Time, teachers who taught in the Mexican American Studies Department held a press conference where they read aloud the statement below. It is signed by national educational associations such as the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE), the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) and the International Reading Association (IRA):
STATEMENT IN OPPOSITION TO BOOK CENSORSHIP IN THE TUCSON UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT January 30, 2012
The undersigned organizations are committed toprotecting free speech and intellectual freedom. We write to express our deepconcern about the removal of books used in the Mexican-American Studies Programin the Tucson Unified School District. This occurred in response to adetermination by Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction John Huppenthalthat the program “contained content promoting resentment toward a race or classof people” and that “materials repeatedly reference white people as being‘oppressors….’ in violation of state law.” The books have been boxed up and putin storage; their fate and that of the program remain in limbo.
The First Amendment is grounded on the fundamentalrule that government officials, including public school administrators, may notsuppress “an idea simply because society finds the idea itself offensive ordisagreeable.” School officials have a great deal of authority and discretionto determine the curriculum, the subject of courses, and even methods ofinstruction. They are restrained only by the constitutional obligation to basetheir decisions on sound educational grounds, and not on ideology or politicalor other personal beliefs. Thus, school officials are free to debate the meritsof any educational program, but that debate does not justify the wholesaleremoval of books, especially when the avowed purpose is to suppress unwelcomeinformation and viewpoints.
School officials have insisted that the bookshaven’t been banned because they are still available in school libraries. It isirrelevant that the books are available in the library – or at the localbookstore. School off
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. Carmen Lomas Garza, author of In My Family/En Mi Familia, was a young child in the schools then. In the video (at the 5:45 mark) she talks of being made fun of when she took out her lunch of tacos with frijoles, meat, and rice. It was so bad that she didn't want to take that lunch to school anymore. 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 PenaMatt 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
160. Drafts of the Pacing Guides for the MAS junior and senior Latino Literature courses demonstrate that elements of critical race theory and critical pedagogy encompass a significant portion of the course.
161. Propo
[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.]
Below is Curtis Acosta's January 26, 2012 update from Tucson. Acosta is a teacher in the now-shuttered Mexican American Studies Department in Tucson Unified School District.
 | | Norma Gonzales |
In his letter, Acosta writes about his colleague, Norma Gonzales, and her experiences over the last few days. In addition to teaching literature at the high school level, Gonzales worked with elementary school teachers in TUSD, helping them bring Mexican American content into their teaching. She also did art projects with students at Wakefield Middle School. 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. I n 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.
Unfortunately, there has been little guidance and movement toward how my colleagues and I are to move forward in the development of brand new curriculum and the pedagogical changes that must be made. As I wrote to you all last week, anything from the Mexican American Studies perspective is now illegal for the former MAS teachers. We are being asked to use the district adopted textbooks as the model for how to move forward. We have been told that we can still teach about race and sensitive topics, which is contradiction to ea
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1) E-mail all of the Texas State Board of Education at [email protected] and in the body of the e-mail put: To All Texas State Board of Education members (insures all 15 board members receive it) and simply tell them you support the implementation of Mexican American Studies in Texas schools, and that this is important for the success of all Texas children and the State of Texas. 
Recognition for a Chicana advocate
We’ve gone to DC to stand against the Keystone XL pipeline before -- but never like this. In the last week in April, a powerful alliance of ranchers, farmers and tribal communities will converge in Washington for a demonstration called “Reject & Protect,” and it’s shaping up to be the most beautiful demonstration against Keystone XL yet. We have the ingredients we need to make this action unignorable — what we need is your help to bring it all together. Can you pitch in to make a BIG impression on the President and help stop this pipeline once and for all?
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I do hope the Joint Conference of Librarians of Color will be addressing this as well.