As I write (11:31 AM, CST, January 23, 2012), students are walking out of Tucson Unified School District's high schools. They are walking to a rally during which Arizona legislators will announce a bill to repeal the one passed last year that has resulted in an end of the Mexican American Studies program.
At noon CST, Simon Ortiz, author of The People Shall Continue and Winona LaDuke will be on Native America Calling.
I am tweeting these two developments. My twitter ID is debreese.
You can also follow the walkout by going to the Facebook page of DA Morales, or following his blog posts at Three Sonorans, or, by following his Twitter feed: ThreeSonorans.
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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
Established in 2006 by Dr. Debbie Reese of Nambé Pueblo, American Indians in Children's Literature (AICL) provides critical analysis of Indigenous peoples in children's and young adult books. Dr. Jean Mendoza joined AICL as a co-editor in 2016. (Site redesign on January 8, 2025)
Monday, January 23, 2012
Stegeman's January 22, 2012 letter
[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.]
David Safier, a blogger at Blog for Arizona, posted a letter Mark Stegeman (President of the Governing Board, Tucson Unified School District), sent out yesterday. It raises more questions than it answers about the Mexican American Studies (MAS) program.
To get around the fact that three of the books that were removed actually had approval for use, Stegeman now says that the curriculum itself was never approved. That may, in fact, be the case, but I hope that Stegeman is applying that curriculum approval process in an even-handed manner. Has the curriculum for all their programs been through the curriculum approval process? All along, students have been noting that it is only the MAS program that is being scrutinized. If I walked into the TUSD offices, would I be able to see a document that approved the Native American Studies program? What about the curriculum at the college prep school?
That said, there is research data that demonstrates that students who took MAS classes are succeeding in school (see data on page 44). Their attendance is better. Their grades are better. And they graduate at higher rates than students who have not taken the classes. The independent audit of the program recommended it continue.
With research that demonstrates the success of the program, it seems to me that an educational leader would say "hey, lets fast track the approval of the curriculum and make it more widely available at all the schools so more students can start doing better in school."
Instead, TUSD voted to end the program rather than fight the political machine in Arizona. As he says in his letter, they're going to revise the social studies core curriculum, making sure that Mexican American history and culture will be covered. This time, he says, they "want to get it right."
Based on everything I've learned about him, I'm doubtful that they will ever "get it right." At the end of his letter, he says developing this core curriculum will be a long process and that he does not expect it to happen any time soon. Again, with research based evidence that demonstrates the success of the program, it seems to me that it would be smart to use the MAS curriculum as the core.
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MARK STEGEMAN'S LETTER:
______________________________________
David Safier, a blogger at Blog for Arizona, posted a letter Mark Stegeman (President of the Governing Board, Tucson Unified School District), sent out yesterday. It raises more questions than it answers about the Mexican American Studies (MAS) program.
To get around the fact that three of the books that were removed actually had approval for use, Stegeman now says that the curriculum itself was never approved. That may, in fact, be the case, but I hope that Stegeman is applying that curriculum approval process in an even-handed manner. Has the curriculum for all their programs been through the curriculum approval process? All along, students have been noting that it is only the MAS program that is being scrutinized. If I walked into the TUSD offices, would I be able to see a document that approved the Native American Studies program? What about the curriculum at the college prep school?
That said, there is research data that demonstrates that students who took MAS classes are succeeding in school (see data on page 44). Their attendance is better. Their grades are better. And they graduate at higher rates than students who have not taken the classes. The independent audit of the program recommended it continue.
With research that demonstrates the success of the program, it seems to me that an educational leader would say "hey, lets fast track the approval of the curriculum and make it more widely available at all the schools so more students can start doing better in school."
Instead, TUSD voted to end the program rather than fight the political machine in Arizona. As he says in his letter, they're going to revise the social studies core curriculum, making sure that Mexican American history and culture will be covered. This time, he says, they "want to get it right."
Based on everything I've learned about him, I'm doubtful that they will ever "get it right." At the end of his letter, he says developing this core curriculum will be a long process and that he does not expect it to happen any time soon. Again, with research based evidence that demonstrates the success of the program, it seems to me that it would be smart to use the MAS curriculum as the core.
____________________________
MARK STEGEMAN'S LETTER:
January 22, 2012
Dear friends and correspondents,
Because of the recent media attention on
TUSD’s “book ban,” it seems useful to clarify that situation. TUSD also
issued a press release on this subject several days ago, which is
posted on the district website.
Every district in the state approves
curriculum according to a process guided by statute and local policy,
and approving the books to be used is part of that process. Through
such processes a typical district might approve several hundred books
for use in instruction. This leaves millions of books not approved for
instruction; it would be silly to say that all of those books are
“banned.”
When the TUSD board voted (4-1) to end
the Mexican-American Studies (MAS) curriculum, ending use of the books
had to be part of that package. Staff says that the seven titles
removed from classrooms and placed into storage are still available in
school libraries, and I expect many of the books in storage to be
distributed to libraries where they are not already available.
Because MAS did not actually have a
board-approved curriculum, it was not immediately obvious which books to
remove, but the staff took guidance from the evidence presented during
the hearing on TUSD’s appeal of Huppenthal’s finding against the
district. Because one motivation for the board’s vote to end the MAS
classes was to forestall the substantial financial penalty which the ADE
threatened to impose, it made sense to remove the books which helped to
provide the basis for that finding.
The seven removed books are:
Occupied America: A History of Chicanos - Rodolfo Acuña
Rethinking Columbus: The next 500 Years - Bill Bigelow
Critical Race Theory - Richard Delgado
Pedagogy of the Oppressed - Paulo Freire
Message to AZTLAN - Rodolfo Gonzales
500 Years of Chicano History in Pictures - Elizabeth Martinez (ed.)
Chicano! The History of the Mexican Civil Rights Movement - Arturo Rosales
I am not aware of any other school district in Arizona which has approved these books for use in instruction. If anyone knows of such approvals, then I would be interested to hear about them.
Occupied America: A History of Chicanos - Rodolfo Acuña
Rethinking Columbus: The next 500 Years - Bill Bigelow
Critical Race Theory - Richard Delgado
Pedagogy of the Oppressed - Paulo Freire
Message to AZTLAN - Rodolfo Gonzales
500 Years of Chicano History in Pictures - Elizabeth Martinez (ed.)
Chicano! The History of the Mexican Civil Rights Movement - Arturo Rosales
I am not aware of any other school district in Arizona which has approved these books for use in instruction. If anyone knows of such approvals, then I would be interested to hear about them.
Shakespeare’s The Tempest is not on this
list and never was, despite some media accounts to the contrary.
Instructors are free to use it.
In the resolution which ended the MAS program, the TUSD board also said:
“The district shall revise its social
studies core curriculum to increase its coverage of Mexican-American
history and culture, including a balanced presentation of diverse
viewpoints on controversial issues. The end result shall be a single
common social studies core sequence through which all high school
students are exposed to diverse viewpoints.”
When staff brings this new curriculum to
the board, it may or may not recommend that some of the seven books be
approved for use in that new curriculum. I do not expect this to happen
any time soon, however. Developing the new curriculum will be a long
process, which will include community input. Obviously, this time, we
want to get it right.
Thank you for your continued interest in
TUSD. The MAS issue has been a long-running distraction for the
district, far out of proportion to the small number of students in the
MAS courses (currently fewer than 300). Bringing that issue to closure
will increase our capacity to focus on the many large reforms necessary
to improve education in TUSD, for all students.
Mark
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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
________________________________________________________
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
Sunday, January 22, 2012
ALA Midwinter Discussions of Tucson Ban of Mexican American Studies Covered by CNN
[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.]
Today (Sunday, January 22, 2012), one of CNN's bloggers covered the banning of the Mexican American Studies Program at Tucson. Stephanie Siek (the reporter) talked to Barbara Jones:
And yet, Siek writes, Stegeman (President of the TUSD governing board) said that the books might be brought back into the classroom after a review, and that the review might be completed by the end of the summer!
Isn't that contradictory? Did the books get reviewed or not? Is someone going to change his or her mind and decide that the content of the books does not "promote resentment of a class of people"???
For a video and more details, see How Tucson Schools Changed after Mexican American Studies Ban.
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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
______________________________________
Today (Sunday, January 22, 2012), one of CNN's bloggers covered the banning of the Mexican American Studies Program at Tucson. Stephanie Siek (the reporter) talked to Barbara Jones:
Barbara Jones, director of the American Library Association's Office of Intellectual Freedom, said the removal of the books was a big topic of discussion at the association’s 2012 midwinter meeting, which began last Thursday in Dallas. Groups including REFORMA, the Latino librarians' group, the American Indian Librarians' Association and the Intellectual Freedom Committee planned to respond and a coalition of civil liberties groups were researching possible legal action and expecting to release a statement this week, Jones said.Siek writes:
Regardless of the words the district used, Jones said, it's actions restricted access to books, which leads to censorship.
"We're gathering facts. Right now it looks like it's just the curriculum that’s affected and not school libraries," Jones said. "But we know from experience this will eventually affect books in the library."
District leaders said they aren't banning the books, but have removed them from classrooms while their content is evaluated.While their content is evaluated?! I thought the contents had already been evaluated and found to be guilty of "promoting resentment of a class of people"!
And yet, Siek writes, Stegeman (President of the TUSD governing board) said that the books might be brought back into the classroom after a review, and that the review might be completed by the end of the summer!
Isn't that contradictory? Did the books get reviewed or not? Is someone going to change his or her mind and decide that the content of the books does not "promote resentment of a class of people"???
For a video and more details, see How Tucson Schools Changed after Mexican American Studies Ban.
________________________________________________________
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
Progressive Libriarian's Guild: Statement on Censorship and the Tucson Unified School District
[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.]
On January 21, 2012, the Progressive Library Guild issued the following statement on Censorship and the Tucson Unified School District. Kudos to the Guild for this outstanding and well-researched statement.
________________________________________________________
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
______________________________________
On January 21, 2012, the Progressive Library Guild issued the following statement on Censorship and the Tucson Unified School District. Kudos to the Guild for this outstanding and well-researched statement.
_______________________________________________
PLG Statement on
Censorship and the Tucson Unified School District
Recent
media reports regarding the mass removal of books from classrooms in
the Tucson
Unified School District (TUSD) demand a response from librarians,
charged by
our professional ethics to oppose censorship and restriction on
information.
After
reviewing publicly available materials documenting the process leading
up to
this TUSD action, the Progressive Librarians Guild believes a challenge
should
be issued regarding not only the onerous situation, but the politics
underlying
the decision to cut District’s Mexican American Studies program (MAS)
program.
At issue is
the supposed violation by TUSD of Arizona state law prohibiting classes
in
public or charter schools from instructions that:
1.
Promote
the overthrow of the United States Government
2.
Promote
resentment toward a race or class of people
3.
Are
designed primarily for pupils of a particular ethnic group.
4.
Advocate
ethnic solidarity instead of the treatment of pupils as individuals.
A.R.S.
§15-112
The books
in question include the following titles used in conjunction with
courses
taught throughout the TUSD as part of the District’s MAS program:
Critical Race Theory by Richard Delgado
500 Years of Chicano History in
Pictures edited by Elizabeth
Martinez
Message to AZTLAN by Rodolfo Corky Gonzales
Chicano! The History of the Mexican
Civil Rights Movement by
Arturo Rosales
Occupied America: A History of
Chicanos by Rodolfo Acuna
Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paulo Freire
Rethinking Columbus: The Next 500 Years by Bill Bigelow
On December 27, 2011,
Lewis D. Kowal, Administrative Law
Judge, ruled in favor of Arizona’s
Department of Education Superintendent’s allegation that MAS courses
violated
the law, and on January 10, 2012, the Board of TUSD passed a resolution
requiring the immediate
suspension of MAS classes. Had TUSD not
suspended the program state funds would have been withdrawn from the
District.
The Board’s resolution
did not address the removal of books
from classrooms, yet TUSD officials removed and stored books even while
one
class was in session. News of this mass removal of books from schools
traveled,
and TUSD found itself confronted with accusations that it had “banned
books”
from the schools.
On January 17, 2012,
the District issued a statement saying, “Tucson Unified School District
has not
banned any books as has been widely and incorrectly reported.”
The press release described the removal as
simply a move of the books to storage and further noted that all of the
titles
removed from classrooms were available to students through TUSD school
libraries. A check of the online catalog
verified that at least one copy of each title is, indeed, available.
The fact that these
titles are available through the school
libraries has minimal bearing, however, on the extreme and censorious
behavior
of school officials in at least three respects:
1.
Neither A.R.S.
§15-112 nor
the TUSD Board resolution requires the removal of books in order to set
the
District into compliance with the law.
2.
The act of removing books from a
classroom during a class session clearly has a chilling effect on
students and
the entire educational community. Further, removal of materials from
classrooms
impinges on teacher freedom of speech.
3.
TUSD can quibble over whether or not
it banned any books, but it certainly cannot state that it did not ban
all the
courses being taught through the MAS program.
Compliance with the order to suspend the program is in itself an act of
censorship and a violation of academic freedom.
Regarding
the political aspects of this situation, A.R.S. §15-112 was signed
into law in
the spring of 2010 on the heels of the state’s anti-immigration law,
considered
by many to be racist and neocolonial.
The law is currently being reviewed by the U.S. Supreme Court.
PLG considers A.R.S. §15-112 to have arisen
from a climate of racist sentiment among lawmakers in the State of
Arizona. This sentiment has been promoted by Judge
Kowal in his siding with Department of Education expert witnesses
against TUSD
and MAS, which placed TUSD “between a rock and a hard place” – either
suspend
MAS or lose state funding for the entire school district. Given
the budgetary problems facing school
districts across the nation, TUSD’s decision to sacrifice MAS over
funding is
understandable, but unacceptable.
TUSD is
aware its MAS program did not teach “racial resentment” but historical
literacy. It is also is aware
there is absolutely nothing in the MAS curriculum that affronts civic
values or
clashes with classes that teach “ethnic solidarity.” In the face
of absurd, draconian laws, the
only ethical position to take is one of complete opposition.
Today’s capitulation to A.R.S. §15-112 will
be tomorrow’s capitulation to the next absurd, racist law enacted by
the Arizona legislature. The law should be abolished.
The Progressive
Librarians Guild opposes the actions of all
officials in the State of Arizona responsible for the passage,
enforcement,
and/or compliance with A.R.S.
§15-112.
Progressive
Librarians Guild, Coordinating
Committee (PLG-CC)
January 21, 2012
January 21, 2012
Bibliography
Attorneys
for Defendant John Huppenthal, Superintendent of Public Instruction for
the
State of Education.
In the Matter of the Hearing of an Appeal
by the Tucson
Unified School District. No. 11F-002-ADE, Jan. 6, 2012.
http://www.tusd1.org/contents/distinfo/Documents/EthnicStudies-Huppenthaldecision010612.pdf
http://www.tusd1.org/contents/distinfo/Documents/EthnicStudies-Huppenthaldecision010612.pdf
Biggers, Jeff. Tucson
says Banished Books May Return to Classrooms. Salon January
18, 2012. http://www.salon.com/2012/01/18/tucson_says_banished_books_may_return_to_classrooms/
Biggers,
Jeff. Who’s afraid of “The Tempest”? Salon,
January 13, 2012. http://www.salon.com/2012/01/13/whos_afraid_of_the_tempest
In the Matter of the
Hearing of an
Appeal by the Tucson Unified School District,
No. 1, No. 11F-002-ADE,
December 27, 2011.
http://www.tusd1.org/contents/distinfo/Documents/EthnicStudies-ALJdecision122711.pdf
http://www.tusd1.org/contents/distinfo/Documents/EthnicStudies-ALJdecision122711.pdf
Librarians
and Human Rights [blog]. Background on Tucson School District
Actions. January 20, 2012.
http://hrlibs.blogspot.com/2012/01/background-on-tucson-school-district.html
Mackey, Robert. Arizona
Law Curbs Ethnic Studies Classes New York Times, May 13,
2010.
http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/13/arizona-law-curbs-ethnic-studies-classes/
http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/13/arizona-law-curbs-ethnic-studies-classes/
Rene, Cara.
Reports of Reports of TUSD Book Ban
Completely False and Misleading. Tucson
Unified School District, January 17, 2012.
http://www.tusd1.org/contents/news/press1112/01-17-12.html
http://www.tusd1.org/contents/news/press1112/01-17-12.html
Safier, David. Sigh . .
. Yes, it really is a ban. Blog for Arizona. January 20, 2012. http://www.blogforarizona.com/blog/2012/01/sigh-yes-it-really-is-a-ban.html
Save Ethnic
Studies.org, n.d. http://saveethnicstudies.org/index.shtml
Tucson Unified School District No. 1 Governing Board Special
Meeting. Resolution to Implement Ethnic Studies in Tucson Unified
School District in Accordance with All Applicable Laws.December 30,
2010. http://www.tusd.k12.az.us/CONTENTS/govboard/gbminutes/12-30-10Special.pdf
Tucson Unified School District. Resolution on
Mexican-American Studies. January 10, 2012. http://www.tusd1.org/contents/govboard/Documents/ResolutionMAS011012.pdf
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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
Saturday, January 21, 2012
A Sampling of Children's Books used in the Mexican American Studies Program
[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.]
The Mexican American Studies (MAS) program in the Tucson Unified School District (TUSD) was found in violation of a newly passed state law in Arizona. If TUSD did not shut down the program, John Huppenthal, the Arizona Superindent of Public Instruction, said he would withhold millions of dollars from TUSD. The law was one that prohibited instruction that "promoted resentment toward a class of people", and/or "promoted the overthrow of the United States government."
For decades, people who work in education and literature have asked publishers to publish books that reflect African American, American Indian, Asian American, and Latino/a American children, families and communities. We've seen some growth in those books, and a lot of those books were used in the MAS program that was declared in violation of that "promote resentment" law.
Research data shows that students in the program did better in school than students who were not in the program. Their attendance was better, their grades were better, and their graduation rates were better, too. Seems to me the program was doing wonderful things!
I wondered about the picture books and novels children who were in MAS
courses have been reading since the program has been in TUSD, which is
about ten years. I've been looking over the list of books that the MAS program made available to students through the Learning Materials Center (LMC).
The books are housed in the Learning Materials Center, so I think they escaped being boxed up and taken away, but I wish for the well-being of students in TUSD who were in MAS courses, or who were receiving MAS instruction from MAS teachers (elementary students were served by MAS teachers who worked with classroom teachers who were infusing their lesson plans with Latino/a content), that the program had not been shut down.
This is just a sampling of the books on the LMC list. There are over 400 books in this collection. As I studied it, I noticed the publication years are through the 1990s, but none in the 2000s, which leads me to think it is an incomplete list and that there are probably more than 400 at this point.
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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
______________________________________
The Mexican American Studies (MAS) program in the Tucson Unified School District (TUSD) was found in violation of a newly passed state law in Arizona. If TUSD did not shut down the program, John Huppenthal, the Arizona Superindent of Public Instruction, said he would withhold millions of dollars from TUSD. The law was one that prohibited instruction that "promoted resentment toward a class of people", and/or "promoted the overthrow of the United States government."
For decades, people who work in education and literature have asked publishers to publish books that reflect African American, American Indian, Asian American, and Latino/a American children, families and communities. We've seen some growth in those books, and a lot of those books were used in the MAS program that was declared in violation of that "promote resentment" law.
Research data shows that students in the program did better in school than students who were not in the program. Their attendance was better, their grades were better, and their graduation rates were better, too. Seems to me the program was doing wonderful things!
The books are housed in the Learning Materials Center, so I think they escaped being boxed up and taken away, but I wish for the well-being of students in TUSD who were in MAS courses, or who were receiving MAS instruction from MAS teachers (elementary students were served by MAS teachers who worked with classroom teachers who were infusing their lesson plans with Latino/a content), that the program had not been shut down.
This is just a sampling of the books on the LMC list. There are over 400 books in this collection. As I studied it, I noticed the publication years are through the 1990s, but none in the 2000s, which leads me to think it is an incomplete list and that there are probably more than 400 at this point.
- Ada, Alma Flor. The Christmas Tree/El Arbol de Navidad, Gathering the Sun
- Anzaldua, Gloria. Friends from the Other Side/Amigos del Otro Lado
- Cisneros, Sandra. Hair/Pelitos
- Martinez, Victor. Parrot in the Oven
- Mora, Pat. Confetti Poems for Children, The Desert is My Mother/El Desierto es Mi Madre, Tomas Y La Senora de la Biblioteca
- Ortiz-Cofer, Judith. Una Isla Como Tu
- Rohmer, Harriet. How We Came to the Fifth World/Como Vinimos Al Quinto Mundo, Just Like Me
- Soto, Gary. Baseball in April and Other Stories, Chato's Kitchen, Snapshots from the Wedding, Too Many Tamales
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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
Dear Editors at the New York Times
Dear Editors at the New York Times,
Several days have passed since books were banned in Tucson. Why have you not covered that news? Maybe I've missed it?
I searched your site, and I see that you've covered the Jaipur Literature Festival in India where people are reading from Rushdie's The Satanic Verses. That is an important story to bring to your readers, but what about the censorship of books written by citizens of the United States?!
WHERE IS YOUR COVERAGE OF THAT?
______________________________________
Update: Saturday, January 21, 1:45 PM CST
Tomorrow's New York Times will carry an editorial titled "Rejected in Tucson." It is available online here. Why is it an editorial, and not a front page news item? Why is it on the opinion piece instead of a news report on the front page?
________________________________________________________
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
Several days have passed since books were banned in Tucson. Why have you not covered that news? Maybe I've missed it?
I searched your site, and I see that you've covered the Jaipur Literature Festival in India where people are reading from Rushdie's The Satanic Verses. That is an important story to bring to your readers, but what about the censorship of books written by citizens of the United States?!
WHERE IS YOUR COVERAGE OF THAT?
______________________________________
Update: Saturday, January 21, 1:45 PM CST
Tomorrow's New York Times will carry an editorial titled "Rejected in Tucson." It is available online here. Why is it an editorial, and not a front page news item? Why is it on the opinion piece instead of a news report on the front page?
________________________________________________________
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
Friday, January 20, 2012
Three of the banned books were approved in 2007, but not properly?!
[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.]
Earlier today, Mark Stegeman, president of the governing board of the Tucson Unified School District was on the Buckmaster radio program. A caller phoned in saying that he was looking at a document from the district that approves a list of books. That list includes three of the banned books: Critical Race Theory, Occupied America: A History of Chicanos, and Pedagogy of the Oppressed.
Stegeman's response to the caller was that the list was not properly approved.
I wish the host of the program would have pressed Stegeman on his answer. What does "proper" approval look like?!
Tucson Citizen uploaded a screen shot of the document, and, uploaded the document on Scribd. I downloaded it. It is signed by Patricia E. Lopez, Deputy Superintendent, and, Roger F. Pfeuffer, Superintendent. It is dated June 12, 2007.
Under the "Description and Justification" section is:
Under the "Board Policy Considerations" section is:
Is Stegeman saying that the items (books, videos, lesson plan packets, transparencies, study guides, workbooks) on the list were only approved for use in 2006-2007?
If the answer is yes, then, are all the 102 items on that list also being boxed up and removed until they are "properly" approved?
________________________________________________________
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
______________________________________
Earlier today, Mark Stegeman, president of the governing board of the Tucson Unified School District was on the Buckmaster radio program. A caller phoned in saying that he was looking at a document from the district that approves a list of books. That list includes three of the banned books: Critical Race Theory, Occupied America: A History of Chicanos, and Pedagogy of the Oppressed.
Stegeman's response to the caller was that the list was not properly approved.
I wish the host of the program would have pressed Stegeman on his answer. What does "proper" approval look like?!
Tucson Citizen uploaded a screen shot of the document, and, uploaded the document on Scribd. I downloaded it. It is signed by Patricia E. Lopez, Deputy Superintendent, and, Roger F. Pfeuffer, Superintendent. It is dated June 12, 2007.
Under the "Description and Justification" section is:
The attached list reflects the 2006-2007 Supplementary Textbooks & Technology materials used to supplement the Adopted Textbooks currently being used in the classroom.
Under the "Board Policy Considerations" section is:
Teachers may use these books with approval of the Deputy Superintendent with Governing Board's ratification during the school year in which they were added.
Is Stegeman saying that the items (books, videos, lesson plan packets, transparencies, study guides, workbooks) on the list were only approved for use in 2006-2007?
If the answer is yes, then, are all the 102 items on that list also being boxed up and removed until they are "properly" approved?
________________________________________________________
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
Video: What Huppenthal saw
[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 "What Huppenthal said" I wrote that I'd like to hear from the teacher of the Mexican American Studies class that Huppenthal visited. Today, Tucson Citizen uploaded an excerpt from Precious Knowledge.
The video is pretty damning of what Huppenthal is saying about that visit. You can view it at the bottom of the Tucson Citizen page here, or, on the ThreeSonorans YouTube channel.
________________________________________________________
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
______________________________________
In "What Huppenthal said" I wrote that I'd like to hear from the teacher of the Mexican American Studies class that Huppenthal visited. Today, Tucson Citizen uploaded an excerpt from Precious Knowledge.
The video is pretty damning of what Huppenthal is saying about that visit. You can view it at the bottom of the Tucson Citizen page here, or, on the ThreeSonorans YouTube channel.
________________________________________________________
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
National Association of Multicultural Education responds to closing of Mexican American Studies program
[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.]
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.
________________________________________________________
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
______________________________________
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.
________________________________________________________
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
Thursday, January 19, 2012
What Mark Stegeman said...
[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.]
Earlier today (January 19, 2012), Tucson Citizen uploaded a screen shot of a Facebook page that includes a remark made by Tucson Unified School District president, Mark Stegeman. Stegeman was asked about other "non-approved" books that have to be removed. He said:
I'm guessing that the staff person is going to need a great big trailer to put those unapproved books onto!
What is the search strategy? Where did the search start? With English teachers? What grade level? What school did they start with? I sure wouldn't want to be that staff person.
And can you imagine being a teacher in the Tucson Unified School District, learning that someone was going to come into your classroom to see what you've got on your shelves?!
When I taught elementary school, I had hundreds of children's books in my classroom. Most elementary school teachers have a lot of books in their classrooms. Did they have each one "legally approved" first? Did they, for example, get last year's winner of the Caldecott Medal approved before taking it into the classroom? (For those who don't know, last year's winner was A Sick Day for Amos McGee, written by Philip C. Stead, illustrated by Erin E. Stead.)
And can you imagine being a first grader with A Sick Day for Amos McGee on your lap when that staff person comes into the room? What will be said to that first grader? Will the child be able to finish reading it? Or will it be taken out of the classroom immediately, as was done with the books that were removed from the Mexican American Studies classrooms?
Stegeman is either very smart or very stupid. His words put the entire district at risk. When he finds a bunch of unapproved books in classrooms, what is he going to do? He can't, of course, shut down a first grade classroom, but I wonder if there are pull-out programs that offer classes for specific reasons. Will those programs be shut down? Could the enforcement of this "legally approved" policy work in favor of the Mexican American Studies program?
Here's my screen shot of the Tucson Citizen screen shot:
Hang on, teachers. It's going to be a rough semester in the Tucson Unified School District.
________________________________________________________
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
______________________________________
Earlier today (January 19, 2012), Tucson Citizen uploaded a screen shot of a Facebook page that includes a remark made by Tucson Unified School District president, Mark Stegeman. Stegeman was asked about other "non-approved" books that have to be removed. He said:
This is the first example I know of, because external circumstances made this case urgent. But I suspect that TUSD is using many books which were never legally approved, in many different courses, and we have to track those books down and either remove them or go through proper curriculum approvals. Staff has already begun that search process.I read that and sat back a minute, stunned at the idea that (presumably) some unfortunate staff person in TUSD is going to (presumably) visit every classroom and every teacher, carrying a list of books the board has approved.
I'm guessing that the staff person is going to need a great big trailer to put those unapproved books onto!
What is the search strategy? Where did the search start? With English teachers? What grade level? What school did they start with? I sure wouldn't want to be that staff person.
And can you imagine being a teacher in the Tucson Unified School District, learning that someone was going to come into your classroom to see what you've got on your shelves?!
And can you imagine being a first grader with A Sick Day for Amos McGee on your lap when that staff person comes into the room? What will be said to that first grader? Will the child be able to finish reading it? Or will it be taken out of the classroom immediately, as was done with the books that were removed from the Mexican American Studies classrooms?
Stegeman is either very smart or very stupid. His words put the entire district at risk. When he finds a bunch of unapproved books in classrooms, what is he going to do? He can't, of course, shut down a first grade classroom, but I wonder if there are pull-out programs that offer classes for specific reasons. Will those programs be shut down? Could the enforcement of this "legally approved" policy work in favor of the Mexican American Studies program?
Here's my screen shot of the Tucson Citizen screen shot:
Hang on, teachers. It's going to be a rough semester in the Tucson Unified School District.
________________________________________________________
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
What Huppenthal said...
[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.]
On January 18, 2012, the guest on Michel Martin's NPR "Tell Me More" program was Superintendent of Public Instruction in Arizona, John Huppenthal.
Democracy Now had him on its program, too, but they also had Richard Martinez on the program. Martinez is the lawyer for the teachers and students in Tucson.
On both programs, Huppenthal said pretty much the same things. As you might guess, he was pushed harder by Richard Martinez than he was by Michel Martin.
I wish that we (the public) had access to those lesson plans Huppenthal says teach students to resent white people.
And, I wish Huppenthal would provide his analysis of student performance. In their report, the auditors he hired to examine the Mexican American Studies (MAS) program included evidence that shows that students in the program outperformed students who were not in the program. (Note: Students in the classes reflect the demographics of the school district, which means students in the classes are Mexican American, white, American Indian....). Huppenthal rejected the findings of that audit. He did his own analysis. I want to see what he did!
Huppenthal apparently believes the auditors didn't know how to do their job in analyzing student performance. He said they were comparing oranges to apples, and that in his analysis he compared apples to apples. I want to see his analysis.
Huppenthal then goes on to say that students in Tucson Unified School District (not clear if it is the MAS program or the entire school) were not performing as well as students in other districts. That, he says is another of the reasons he had to shut down the MAS program. That seems to me like HE is comparing apples to oranges! Is he comparing, for example, a district with a lower SES to one with a higher SES? If so, that's not fair.
In both interviews (NPR and Democracy Now), Huppenthal talks about Che Guevara's poster being on the wall in the classroom he visited. From what he says, the lesson he observed was not about Guevara, but had something to do with Benjamin Franklin. Huppenthal says that the teacher called Franklin racist. I wish that teacher was also on the show. I'd like to know more about what Huppenthal observed.
I'm wondering if the class Huppenthal was observing was studying Franklin's "Observations Concerning the Increase of Mankind"? (Note: I found it by searching on "Was Benjamin Franklin racist?" The link I got was to "Did Benjamin Franklin have ulterior motives" which is a pdf housed at Fairfield University in Connecticut. I think the pdf was developed by Professor Dennis G. Hodgson.)
At the end of "Observations...", Franklin was talking about people coming to America. He wrote:
In that passage, Franklin was trying to keep America for the English and American Indians. He didn't want Africans or Germans, Spaniards, Italians, French, Russians or Swedes here! Huppenthal is right in saying that Franklin was president of the Abolitionist Society in Pennsylvania, but that was later in life. Shouldn't students learn that, at one time, he owned slaves, and isn't it accurate to call that racist? Like I said, I wish we could hear from the teacher. Did he drop it at that? Or did he go on to talk more about Franklin's later life?
Huppenthal says a lot that I want to push back on, but I'll finish with this. Talking about Paolo Freire, Huppenthal said:
Maybe Huppenthal can tell us where he read Freire referencing The Communist Manifesto when he gives us access to the lesson plans and his analysis of student performance.
Update: Friday, January 20, 2012, 6:15 AM CST:
Kelly Howe, President of the Pedagogy and Theatre of the Oppressed, Inc, (PTO) posted a letter to NPR at the PTO website. She did so to provide a more accurate description of Freire's ideas. Here's two excerpts.
At the end of her letter, she invites Huppenthal to the PTO conference in May and offers to pay all his expenses so that he can deepen his knowledge of Freire.
________________________________________________________
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
______________________________________
On January 18, 2012, the guest on Michel Martin's NPR "Tell Me More" program was Superintendent of Public Instruction in Arizona, John Huppenthal.
Democracy Now had him on its program, too, but they also had Richard Martinez on the program. Martinez is the lawyer for the teachers and students in Tucson.
On both programs, Huppenthal said pretty much the same things. As you might guess, he was pushed harder by Richard Martinez than he was by Michel Martin.
I wish that we (the public) had access to those lesson plans Huppenthal says teach students to resent white people.
And, I wish Huppenthal would provide his analysis of student performance. In their report, the auditors he hired to examine the Mexican American Studies (MAS) program included evidence that shows that students in the program outperformed students who were not in the program. (Note: Students in the classes reflect the demographics of the school district, which means students in the classes are Mexican American, white, American Indian....). Huppenthal rejected the findings of that audit. He did his own analysis. I want to see what he did!
Huppenthal apparently believes the auditors didn't know how to do their job in analyzing student performance. He said they were comparing oranges to apples, and that in his analysis he compared apples to apples. I want to see his analysis.
Huppenthal then goes on to say that students in Tucson Unified School District (not clear if it is the MAS program or the entire school) were not performing as well as students in other districts. That, he says is another of the reasons he had to shut down the MAS program. That seems to me like HE is comparing apples to oranges! Is he comparing, for example, a district with a lower SES to one with a higher SES? If so, that's not fair.
In both interviews (NPR and Democracy Now), Huppenthal talks about Che Guevara's poster being on the wall in the classroom he visited. From what he says, the lesson he observed was not about Guevara, but had something to do with Benjamin Franklin. Huppenthal says that the teacher called Franklin racist. I wish that teacher was also on the show. I'd like to know more about what Huppenthal observed.
I'm wondering if the class Huppenthal was observing was studying Franklin's "Observations Concerning the Increase of Mankind"? (Note: I found it by searching on "Was Benjamin Franklin racist?" The link I got was to "Did Benjamin Franklin have ulterior motives" which is a pdf housed at Fairfield University in Connecticut. I think the pdf was developed by Professor Dennis G. Hodgson.)
At the end of "Observations...", Franklin was talking about people coming to America. He wrote:
Why should Pennsylvania, founded by the English, become a Colony of Aliens, who will shortly be so numerous as to Germanize us instead of our Anglifying them, and will never adopt our Language or Customs, any more than they can acquire our Complexion.
24. Which leads me to add one Remark: That the Number of purely white People in the World is proportionably very small. All Africa is black or tawny. Asia chiefly tawny. America (exclusive of the new Comers) wholly so. And in Europe, the Spaniards, Italians, French, Russians and Swedes, are generally of what we call a swarthy Complexion; as are the Germans also, the Saxons only excepted, who with the English, make the principal Body of White People on the Face of the Earth. I could wish their Numbers were increased. And while we are, as I may call it, Scouring our Planet, by clearing America of Woods, and so making this Side of our Globe reflect a brighter Light to the Eyes of Inhabitants in Mars or Venus, why should we in the Sight of Superior Beings, darken its People? why increase the Sons of Africa, by Planting them in America, where we have so fair an Opportunity, by excluding all Blacks and Tawneys, of increasing the lovely White and Red? But perhaps I am partial to the Compexion of my Country, for such Kind of Partiality is natural to Mankind.
In that passage, Franklin was trying to keep America for the English and American Indians. He didn't want Africans or Germans, Spaniards, Italians, French, Russians or Swedes here! Huppenthal is right in saying that Franklin was president of the Abolitionist Society in Pennsylvania, but that was later in life. Shouldn't students learn that, at one time, he owned slaves, and isn't it accurate to call that racist? Like I said, I wish we could hear from the teacher. Did he drop it at that? Or did he go on to talk more about Franklin's later life?
Huppenthal says a lot that I want to push back on, but I'll finish with this. Talking about Paolo Freire, Huppenthal said:
I mean, he says, explicitly—he says, explicitly, in his book that his—literally, the Pedagogy of the Oppressed, that word "oppressed" is taken right out of—he says it right in the book—that word "oppressed" is taken right out of The Communist Manifesto, where he talks about—Karl Marx talks about the struggle of the history of man—the entire history of mankind being the struggle between the oppressed and the oppressors.I've got a copy of it, and I can't find the place where Freire says that he got the word oppressed right out of The Communist Manifesto. A small point, maybe, but Huppenthal did say he read the book. He accuses the teachers in the MAS program of teaching "to inflame feelings". By linking Freire and the Mexican American Studies program with The Communist Manifesto, I think Huppenthal is trying to inflame feelings.
Maybe Huppenthal can tell us where he read Freire referencing The Communist Manifesto when he gives us access to the lesson plans and his analysis of student performance.
Update: Friday, January 20, 2012, 6:15 AM CST:
Kelly Howe, President of the Pedagogy and Theatre of the Oppressed, Inc, (PTO) posted a letter to NPR at the PTO website. She did so to provide a more accurate description of Freire's ideas. Here's two excerpts.
Huppenthal also cast suspicion on the term "oppression." The word is a key term for Freire, who believed that as students hone their critical thinking skills they become savvier at recognizing oppressions. As a result, students seek to transform oppressions into more equitable power relationships. But Freire does not advocate "resentment" or demonization. Instead he values processes in which students gain tools to challenge oppressive systems and work lovingly but relentlessly toward new systems that recognize the full humanity of all. "The pursuit of full humanity," Freire writes, must be carried out "in fellowship and solidarity; therefore it cannot unfold in the antagonistic relationship between oppressors and oppressed" (85). Freire hoped for classrooms where everyone-oppressors and oppressed-might become more fully human.
Despite Huppenthal's claims that he has studied Freire, the interview revealed the Superintendent's embarrassing lack of knowledge about one of the core thinkers of contemporary education theory and practice.
At the end of her letter, she invites Huppenthal to the PTO conference in May and offers to pay all his expenses so that he can deepen his knowledge of Freire.
________________________________________________________
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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