[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.]
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On Wednesday, January 18th, Christine Sleeter, President of the
National Association of Multicultural Education, posted the following letter to the Save Ethnic Studies page on Facebook. She prefaces the letter by saying she submitted it to the Arizona Daily Star but it had not yet been published.
Dear Editors:
As a long-time educator, I am outraged that the Arizona Department of
Education closed a program that has been highly successful in graduating
Mexican American students, and is now censoring what can be taught
about Mexican American history.
Mexican American students completing Tucson’s ethnic studies program
had been graduating at a rate of over 90%, and entering college at a
rate of about 80%. This is a remarkable record of closing a huge
achievement gap. Its success is supported by social psychology research
documenting that Black and Latino students who have a strong, positive
ethnic identity and an understanding of racism and how it can be
challenged tend to take education more seriously than those who do not.
Banning texts means censoring knowledge that resonates with and
explains conditions of life Mexican American students experience
everyday. Censorship flies in the face of education in a democracy.
Ethnic Studies must be restored.
Christine Sleeter
President, National Association for Multicultural Education
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FOR A COMPREHENSIVE LIST OF AICL'S COVERAGE, CLICK ON
:
AICL Coverage of Arizona Law that resulted in shut down of Mexican American Studies Program and Banning of Books
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