Precious Knowledge
The documentary "Precious Knowledge," created in 2011, takes us into the world of Tucson High School's Raza Studies/Mexican American Studies/Ethnic Studies program. In this program, students, mainly of Mexican American descent, learn about their heritage and they are empowered to build their confidence and defy the statistics that have been occurring for years.
Throughout the documentary, we are introduced to students, teachers, community leaders and lawmakers. We are given a look into their view of the Raza studies program in Tucson schools. One of the most powerful parts of this documentary were the students' views of the program. All of the students that spoke talked about how this program has helped them feel more in touch with their culture, classmates and their school. A study of the program showed that students taking these courses performed better on standardized tests and their graduation rate was 93%. The overall nationwide dropout rate of Mexican American students was over 50%. This data proves that these courses were beneficial to the students that took them and helped them feel more confident in themselves and at school.
As we learned more about the students and teachers involved in the program, we start to hear about superintendent Tom Horne trying to eliminate these courses. "I'm calling on Tucson Unified School District to shut down the ethnic studies program and start teaching kids to treat each other as individuals and not on the basis of what race they were born in. And, excuse me, the chanting behind us, I think illustrates the rudeness that they teach to their kids." This is a quote from Tom Horne, when he is first discussing the shut down of the Raza studies program. When I heard this quote, I was very confused and thought that maybe I had missed something. I had seen some short clips of these classes and did not understand how the superintendent came to this conclusion. As I continued watching, I learned that Horne had never been to one of the classes, despite being invited by the teachers and students many times. How could he come to any conclusions and make any decisions about the classes without observing them himself?
Tom Horne's view of the Raza studies program made me think back to one of our first readings for this class, "Note to Educators: Hope Required When Growing Roses in Concrete," by Jeffrey M. R. Duncan-Andrade. I thought of false caring. False caring is defined as when "...the more powerful members of the relationship define themselves as caring despite the fact that the recipients of their so-called caring do not perceive it as such" (Duncan-Andrade 183). In the Tucson High School struggle, Tom Horne is considered the powerful member in the relationship and the students and teachers in the Raza studies program are the others. Tom Horne feels that he is showing he cares for those in the program because he is trying to make all students feel equal. His view is that the program separates those in these classes from all other students. To him, this leads to racism because students in these classes are taking them because of their heritage, which makes them stand out from the other students.
I was interested to see if the law is still in place. I came across an article that was published in December 2017. In this article, they discuss the final judgement of the seven year court battle regarding the banning of the Raza studies program. "U.S. District Judge A. Wallace Tashima issued a final judgement Wednesday that prohibits Arizona education officials from enforcing the 2010 law..." I have linked the article here if you are interested in reading more about this decision.
Kendra,
ReplyDeleteYou make a great point when you say "All of the students that spoke talked about how this program has helped them feel more in touch with their culture, classmates and their school." I was struck by how powerful the students' stories were and the impact that the Raza studies course had on each of their lives. Yet, as poignant and powerful as their stories were, and as much as their studies had taught them to feel empowered, no one seemed to listen to them. Tom Horne in particular was emblematic of this problem. He proudly explains that he has never visited the school to see the "objectionable educational practices" firsthand because doing so would somehow endorse them. Instead, he makes judgments about their clothing and their "rudeness" while peacefully protesting. The fact that he went on to become superintendent is disgusting, but also far too common. The national pushback against ethnic studies and critical learning is only getting worse and we as teachers are going to have to figure out a way to provide compassionate instruction to our students even as policy makers seek to keep us from doing so.
I was also interested in knowing whether or not the Mexican Studies course was still banned in AZ. The article that you linked says that, "The Tucson district ceased the classes in 2012 to avoid the threat of losing 10 percent of their state funding as a penalty." 10% of their state funding!? That is certainly a way to get people to do what you want! No amount of protesting by sitting in the statehouse would get 10% of the state funding back into anyone's pockets. Government certainly knew how to stop the teachers and students from having a voice in the matter.
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