CCBC-Net Archives
Need help (OT)
- Contemporary messages sorted: [ by date ] [ by subject ] [ by author ]
From: Debbie Reese <dreese.nambe_at_gmail.com>
Date: Fri, 27 Jan 2012 05:03:07 -0600
Please forgive this OT email. I'd wait until the first of the month, but this is a time sensitive situation.
Some of you probably know that ALA issued a resolution condemning what's going on in Tucson with the Mexican American Studies program in Tucson Unified School District. (In case you haven't, here's the link: http://www.oif.ala.org/oif/?p157)
When reports began to appear that the school district had gone into classrooms and boxed up --- while students were in class --- seven books
that have been found to contain material that advocates for the overthrow of the US government (a list of the seven books is at my site) and promote resentment against a class or group of people, the closure of the program began to attract national attention. AZ passed a law against that kind of teaching.
Teachers who taught Mexican American History on one day were told that the next day, they would be teaching American History, and they were told not to teach from a Mexican American perspective. Doing so would be in violation of state law and put the distract at risk of losing 15 million dollars.
A literature teacher was told he could not teach themes of oppression in THE TEMPEST (there is audio of that discussion at my site). A history teacher was told to use a textbook that says the Tohono O'odham people "mysteriously disappeared." She's got two students who are Tohono O'odham in the class. (For those who don't know, Tohono O'odham is their name for their nation. They use that instead of "Papago".
Last summer, an independent audit of the program (requested by the school) found that it did not advocate for the overthrow of the US government or promote resentment of a class or group of people. The audit also showed that students school attendance improved. So did their grades, graduation rates, and numbers who went on to college. The state of AZ, however, disregarded the audit and shut down the program. That was two weeks ago. The program had been around for over ten years. In it, students read precisely the works of literature many of us have used for years. Matt de la Pena's MEXICAN WHITE BOY is one example. Rudolfo Anaya's BLESS ME ULTIMA is another. Sandra Cisnero's HOUSE ON MANGO STREET is still another.
The NY Times ran an editorial last weekend, and CNN has covered it several times.
If you read Huffington Post's Education page, you may have seen the most recent article by Jeff Biggers.
Biggers references Teach-In's.
Feb 1st is a National Teach-in Day in support of Mexican American Studies. If participants want to, they can use lesson plans from the Mexican American Studies program in Tucson.
I've written a lot about this on my site. You can go there for information. The American Library Association's resolution links to my site: http://goo.gl/Lnzn3
Please write to me if you want to be part of the teach-in next week, and please forward this email to individuals who you think would be interested in participating.
It can be as simple as teachers watching excerpts from the documentary of the program (it will air on PBS in May), or, it can be selecting one of the books (such as Sandra Cisneros PELITOS) that was used in the elementary classrooms served by the MAS program in Tucson Unified School District. Or, reading aloud from a novel, like Matt De La Pena's MEXICAN WHITE BOY.
Send me an email, and I'll make sure you get specific details.
Thanks, Debbie
__________________________________________________________
Debbie Reese, PhD Tribally enrolled: Nambe Pueblo
Email: dreese.nambe_at_gmail.com
Website: American Indians in Children's Literature _at_ http://americanindiansinchildrensliterature.net
Now: Studying for MLIS at San Jose State University Then: Assistant Professor in American Indian Studies, University of Illinois
Received on Fri 27 Jan 2012 05:03:07 AM CST
Date: Fri, 27 Jan 2012 05:03:07 -0600
Please forgive this OT email. I'd wait until the first of the month, but this is a time sensitive situation.
Some of you probably know that ALA issued a resolution condemning what's going on in Tucson with the Mexican American Studies program in Tucson Unified School District. (In case you haven't, here's the link: http://www.oif.ala.org/oif/?p157)
When reports began to appear that the school district had gone into classrooms and boxed up --- while students were in class --- seven books
that have been found to contain material that advocates for the overthrow of the US government (a list of the seven books is at my site) and promote resentment against a class or group of people, the closure of the program began to attract national attention. AZ passed a law against that kind of teaching.
Teachers who taught Mexican American History on one day were told that the next day, they would be teaching American History, and they were told not to teach from a Mexican American perspective. Doing so would be in violation of state law and put the distract at risk of losing 15 million dollars.
A literature teacher was told he could not teach themes of oppression in THE TEMPEST (there is audio of that discussion at my site). A history teacher was told to use a textbook that says the Tohono O'odham people "mysteriously disappeared." She's got two students who are Tohono O'odham in the class. (For those who don't know, Tohono O'odham is their name for their nation. They use that instead of "Papago".
Last summer, an independent audit of the program (requested by the school) found that it did not advocate for the overthrow of the US government or promote resentment of a class or group of people. The audit also showed that students school attendance improved. So did their grades, graduation rates, and numbers who went on to college. The state of AZ, however, disregarded the audit and shut down the program. That was two weeks ago. The program had been around for over ten years. In it, students read precisely the works of literature many of us have used for years. Matt de la Pena's MEXICAN WHITE BOY is one example. Rudolfo Anaya's BLESS ME ULTIMA is another. Sandra Cisnero's HOUSE ON MANGO STREET is still another.
The NY Times ran an editorial last weekend, and CNN has covered it several times.
If you read Huffington Post's Education page, you may have seen the most recent article by Jeff Biggers.
Biggers references Teach-In's.
Feb 1st is a National Teach-in Day in support of Mexican American Studies. If participants want to, they can use lesson plans from the Mexican American Studies program in Tucson.
I've written a lot about this on my site. You can go there for information. The American Library Association's resolution links to my site: http://goo.gl/Lnzn3
Please write to me if you want to be part of the teach-in next week, and please forward this email to individuals who you think would be interested in participating.
It can be as simple as teachers watching excerpts from the documentary of the program (it will air on PBS in May), or, it can be selecting one of the books (such as Sandra Cisneros PELITOS) that was used in the elementary classrooms served by the MAS program in Tucson Unified School District. Or, reading aloud from a novel, like Matt De La Pena's MEXICAN WHITE BOY.
Send me an email, and I'll make sure you get specific details.
Thanks, Debbie
__________________________________________________________
Debbie Reese, PhD Tribally enrolled: Nambe Pueblo
Email: dreese.nambe_at_gmail.com
Website: American Indians in Children's Literature _at_ http://americanindiansinchildrensliterature.net
Now: Studying for MLIS at San Jose State University Then: Assistant Professor in American Indian Studies, University of Illinois
Received on Fri 27 Jan 2012 05:03:07 AM CST
