According to an article published by Education Week just yesterday, Tucson Unified’s hugely popular and highly controversial Mexican-American studies program, eliminated just months ago by executive decision of newly appointed Arizona state superintendent of instruction John Huppenthal, may have a chance at reinstatement. This is big news if you’ve been following the debate that has been taking place in Arizona (and elsewhere in the country) about the value and role of ethnic studies programs in public schools. If you haven’t yet seen the recently released PBS documentary on the subject, this is the time (see a brief clip of it here). But my favorite piece on the subject was actually produced by Democracy Now, which offers a fantastic overview of this program and the politics of its elimination, including an extended and entertaining interview with Huppenthal himself.
Part of what is so astonishing is the rationale that Huppenthal and his supporters have used to defend his decision – namely that, despite research findings to the contrary, Tucson Unified’s Mexican-American programming has failed to teach students “to treat and value each other as individuals and not…to resent or hate other races or classes of people.” Although the school district has long provided comparable courses drawing on the experiences of African Americans and other historically marginalized groups, La Raza alone was found in violation of these principles (as legislated by the passage of HR 2281). Of course, it probably didn’t help that the program was a dangerous vehicle for Marxist indoctrination and a threat to the future of American society.
Today, it is the long-overdue resolution of a desegregation case against Tucson Unified that has the potential to bring back La Raza studies. If you’re interested in reading more about the district’s proposed Desegregation/Unitary Status Plan, it can be accessed here. Specifically, the plan proposes a new teacher development program to “engage thoughtfully with students from diverse racial, ethnic, cultural, and linguistic backgrounds using culturally responsive pedagogy,” endorses strategies to “improve the academic achievement and educational outcomes of the District’s African American and Latino students,” and most importantly, mandates that the district “develop and implement culturally relevant courses of instruction designed to reflect the history, experiences, and culture of African American and Latino communities.”
I can’t wait to see what happens next.