Arizona bans teaching courses that breed resentment of a race or class of people or advocate ethnic solidarity
Alyssa Hadley Dunn, a clinical assistant professor of urban teacher education in the College of Education at Georgia State University, sent me a note about a “teach-in” at GSU to make people aware of the ban on the teaching of ethnic studies in Tucson schools, a decision based on a controversial — and some say overreaching — new Arizona law.
I have spent the morning looking at the law, its origins and the public debate around its passage. I agree that the broad language of the law creates minefields for teachers. And I also suspect that the courts will be busy for several years dealing with the fallout from its four provisions.
The new Arizona law prohibits instruction that: a) promotes the overthrow of the United States Government; b) promotes resentment toward a race or class of people; c) is designed primarily for people of a particular ethnic group and d) advocates ethnic solidarity instead of treatment of pupils as individuals. Schools in violation risk losing state funding.
A group of teachers in Arizona has sought to overturn the law, saying in their motion: The prohibitions are too vague and broad and violate the first amendment rights of teachers, schools and students. Since every provision of the law violates the constitution, the motion calls for the law to be overturned in its entirety. It is fundamentally argued that this law is designed to limit the material and ideas allowed in the classroom and thus restrict the first amendment rights of teachers to teach and students to learn.
The law has now led the Tucson schools to ban a popular Mexican American Studies program begun in 1998. At the middle school level, the Mexican American Studies classes were electives and included literature, mathematics, Chicano studies and an independent study course. At the high school level, MAS classes were offered in literature, American history, American government/social justice, and Chicana/Art, and could be used to satisfy graduation requirements.
In a recent 37-page decision, an administrative law judge upheld the decision to end the Mexican American Studies program, ruling that it violated Arizona’s new law. For balance, you can read a critique of that legal ruling here.
Here is what Dr. Dunn sent me about the effort of Georgia educators to make people aware of what is happening:
Last week, the Tucson Unified School District, after a long legal battle with the state, decided to prohibit the teaching of ethnic studies, specifically Mexican American studies, in their public schools. The argument was that such courses encouraged divisiveness, not unity. Teachers were prohibited from teaching anything where “race, ethnicity, or oppression was a central theme.”
Events are still unfolding and the district asserts that books were not officially “banned,” but what we know for certain is that students watched as classroom books were confiscated during class, boxed up, and brought to a district storage facility. These confiscated items included award-winning Paulo Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed, major contributions to the Chicano(a) studies movement, texts on critical race theory, and Rethinking Columbus by Rethinking Schools.
The issue is about more than censored books; through this ban, Tucson is also banning certain histories and pedagogies. We believe that classes like this often provide students with their only glimpse into the history of their people. Education about multiculturalism combats exactly the type of fear and divisiveness that they are spreading with the ban. Ethnic studies and multicultural education are about empowering students to recognize histories of power, privilege, and oppression and then acting in socially just ways to change their worlds. They are not meant to pit “one group against another,” but to demonstrate the interconnectedness of humanity without whitewashing history.
As educators in Georgia, we want to address the underlying issues at work in this legislation and inform local teachers, professors, students, families, legislators, and community members about the implications for Georgian education. We have planned “Teach, Think, Do: A Teach-in on Tucson” for Saturday from 11 a.m.- 2 p.m. at Georgia State University’s College of Education (30 Pryor St., Atlanta).
At this free community event, participants will engage in dialogue about the legislation, hear from “virtual keynote guests” via webcast (including author Jeff Biggers and Tucson teachers and students), and work in small break-out sessions to plan curriculum, discuss the censored texts, and plan legislative action. Free lunch and materials will be provided. Event coordinators include faculty and students from Georgia State, Emory University, Clayton State, Kennesaw State, and Georgia Gwinnett; teachers from local districts; and members of community groups focused on education. More information can be found on our Facebook page.
Along with further dialogue about censorship, academic freedom, and multicultural education, we hope this first event can help ensure that Georgia schools remain safe and inclusive places for all students to learn in ways that honor their voices, share their histories, and encourage them to be change agents for social justice.
(For more information on the ban, check out these responses from writer Jeff Biggers, Rethinking Schools editor Bob Peterson, and Tucson teacher Curtis Acosta. Also see this coverage from Democracy Now and the resolution from the American Library Association.)
–From Maureen Downey, for the AJC Get Schooled blog
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88 comments Add your comment
misterbill
January 30th, 2012
2:44 pm
Nat Turner-
I attended a Christian school for elhi. I learned about Crispus Attucks, Nat Turner, Frederick Douglass, George Washington Carver and many others. It was many years ago and a lot is leaving my mind. What is leaving is not, as you suggest, based on being taught by a white perspective. Rather it is an age issue and I forget just as much about white people as I do black.people.
Nat Turner’s solution to the horror of slavery was to kill white people. reasonable? I think not. White people’s reaction to his uprising–reasonable ?? I think not.
You are missing a major point. You are conflating slavery with illegal immigration and the lowering of national values. You are saying that in a world and a time when black people represented less than 1% of the population that the historians of that era were prejudiced. That is a very narrow and incorrect opinion.
Today , we have black history month. We have a hero and a holiday for a black man, Martin Luther King. These holidays were created because today’s white man, white teacher, white historian, majority is not the person of the 1600, 1700 1800 era.
We show love and tolerance. Yes, there are still people of prejudice, I dare say the percentage is equal in the black community as well as the white.
If you went to China. would you expect that most of their history books were about Asians?? Of course one would. Black history is being written now. The behavior, actions and history of our black citizenry is being noted today and will be in the history books of tomorrow. Why?? because of white people and black people and the concept of the republic if the USA.
If you want to go back and rewrite history–then go ahead. But, you had better be correct if you want to have it taught in America’s schools or you will just be another Howard Zinn.
History is what happened. It is biased by who saw it and how they saw it and , finally, how they wrote it. The majority of historical happenings in America were accomplished in the past by white Americans. The country has changed and today we have man and women like Thomas Sowell, Walter Williams, Allen West and many more. We have black historians. We have about 38 million black people.The historians will write about what is happening today and with the growth of that population the good works, (and bad), done by black people will be in the history books.
You, like many others, look back in anger at how things were , in the past.. You do not look at all the white folks who showed love and worked hard alongside our fellow black Americans to arrive at where we are today. you do not look at how things keep on getting better.
Dr No aka Mr Sunshine
January 30th, 2012
2:46 pm
This is pure craziness that haa gone off the rails.
Pluto
January 30th, 2012
3:04 pm
I am amused when teachers start bolstering their case for the precedence of diversification/multiculturalism in our schools. Our job is to help these kids develop a set of life skills that will enable them to take advantage of opportunities that avail themselves and be productive citizens. I am in my 50’s and grew in the dreaded bigoted South where I had black, chicano, phillipino and you name it friends. Let’s get back to teaching substance and quit focusing on things we have little control or is that what it’s all about; control?
javis
January 30th, 2012
3:12 pm
Censorship of any kind is wrong.
Arizona is Texas without the freedom.
Not Blind
January 30th, 2012
3:23 pm
Those kids in Arizona are free to read any book they want. The ‘banned’ books are probably available in their county library and are surely available for purchase at a book store. All people young and old should make some effort to read about the history of our country’s peoples.
Teacher Reader
January 30th, 2012
3:28 pm
The class that sparked this legislation, was ANTI-AMERICAN. The course taught students that America was the bad guy. This type of course does not belong in our public schools.
Currently our public schools aren’t teaching real American History, it’s watered down, changed, and many important parts and people are left out.
BlondeHoney
January 30th, 2012
3:31 pm
Hmmmm seems that in this global economy we would want our children to learn all they can about people of other cultures/countries in order to better understand how to do business with them.
Mountain Man
January 30th, 2012
3:31 pm
I think also they meant “except for latinos.”
jarvis
January 30th, 2012
3:41 pm
Anti-American literature has as much of a place in school as pro-American, aye camrade.
You teach all sides of an issue and let young people decide for themselves.
skipper
January 30th, 2012
3:58 pm
@jarvis
Provided that there ARE two sides, and not some feel-good altered version that deems itself relevant as one of the sides….
jarvis
January 30th, 2012
4:01 pm
Exactly skipper….that’d be like the ommission of the Japanese Americans locked up during WWII, slavery, or the theft of Native Lands.
Our country has done a lot of great stuff in our time, but some crappy stuff as well. All should be taught, and I’m pleased to say that all was taught in my public school.
Teacher Reader wants nothing “ANTI-AMERICAN” taught in schools. That’s revisionist and ridiculous.
Nat Turner
January 30th, 2012
4:03 pm
Less than 1%? At one point, the black population, due to slavery, outnumbered the number of white Americans. And remember that not all of them were slaves.
By the way, all of that education of history took place outside of the classroom. I was inquisitive, and did my own research since the history books and my teachers didn’t feel that those contributions were important.
I can still remember the one or two paragraphs about Booker T. Washington, the Harlem Renaissance, etc.
The history books have not changed since you say history is happening all around us. And keep in mind that some people (as referenced on this blog) have a problem with Black History Month. The questions come up every year if it is relevant, and why do black people deserve a month devoted to their history (not ours but their. even though it is the shortest month of the year).
Ron F.
January 30th, 2012
4:13 pm
Children, children….when you finish the name-calling and sniping about what should or shouldn’t be taught in American schools, please recall the real issue here. The law is evidently vague enough that it will, in some way, stop the teaching of any history whatsoever. Even good old U.S. History classes would have to leave out huge chunks of information. Compliance with this law is a joke, unless you are willing to accept the clear fact that it is aimed at any even seemingly ethnic studies course. In Georgia that would end the Bible as Literature class because it’s an ethic study of the early Jewish people and later Christians.
Tony
January 30th, 2012
4:27 pm
The Arizona law is more of an attempt to cleanse public schools of certain viewpoints rather than prevent hostility towards a race or group. You would think with the push for our students to become more competitive globally, we would also want them to be knowledgeable of other cultures in the world. School systems in Arizona have locked up books that are “not approved” and have placed restrictions upon teachers that are broad and vague regarding curriculum matters. Most people call this censorship and censorship is not an American value.
Scott
January 30th, 2012
4:34 pm
So I understand general concerns about censorship and academic freedom and vague regulations. But what puzzles me who would ever want to do any of these things in a classroom?
a) promotes the overthrow of the United States Government – hard to justify a teacher doing that
b) promotes resentment toward a race or class of people – doesn’t say you can’t discuss past examples of resentment, just says you can’t promote it… though what does “promote” mean?
c) is designed primarily for people of a particular ethnic group – all students should learn the same basic curriculum so I don’t see the need for that
d) advocates ethnic solidarity instead of treatment of pupils as individuals – again why would you treat ethnic groups differently in a classroom setting?
Except for the vagueness of “promote” and even “resentment” in part b, and that vagueness is indeed scary, I don’t really see much to object to. For those feeling that c and d are important, those needs can be addressed at home or after school without tax dollars.
So if the vagueness was removed so that teachers were at ease discussing past examples of class or racial resentment, would there still be an outcry against this law?
jarvis
January 30th, 2012
4:55 pm
@Scott, I’m mostly upset because this new law makes the distribution of my new textbook illegal: “How to Win Friends, and Overthrow the U.S. Government”.
It’s so hard to make a living these days as a friendly anarchist.
Dragonlady
January 30th, 2012
5:07 pm
I think what most teachers are concerned about here is the teaching of history and the teaching of literature. As a literature teacher, how do I deal with the novels Huck Finn (tells some pretty horrible things about slavery), The Scarlet Letter (deeply criticizes Puritanism as well as exposes difficulties women had to face in the past), not to mention the writings of James Baldwinm William Faulkner, and Frederick Douglass, none of whom minced any words in describing racism, if I am prohibited from teaching anything which promotes resentment toward a race or class of people?
Current history addresses a good deal of overthrowing of governments. Would you not be allowed to discuss current events?
Those of us who deal with such issues are afraid legislators and even school boards might possibly go overboard when given leeway by such a law.
misterbill
January 30th, 2012
5:16 pm
Nat,
I stand corrected on the population of black people in older days. I stick with all my other statements. However they did not outnumber whites in total population. In 1790 there were approx. 760,000 black people and 4,000,000 whites. The outnumbering comes from certain states.
As to some people resenting Black History month , there are some black people who believe that whites and their history are wrong and express their dislike and prejudice against white folks on this blog. I am not sure of the benefit of Black History Month, but since it makes a lot of our citizens feel better, then I am for it.
Let us count the number of white people who died to stop slavery. Let us separate them into white and black, although, to me, that is not necessary because they all fought for freedom from slavery. So, I guess they are meaningless, those heroes of old who fought for the cause of liberty.
I wonder if any of them wrote history books? Too bad, white people should not be allowed to write history.
You have taken an issue about education and turned into a racial debate. Since I am happy with folks I meet of any color, I guess, I will say I lose this debate to you. I must add though that you bring division on a racial basis to the education argument.
As to Bla
The history books have changed and radically since my days in school. Please review Howard Zinn and see how his books were adopted in many school districts.
Not Blind
January 30th, 2012
5:33 pm
Dragonlady, If the lesson is slavery and you teach it to a mixed class then there shouldn’t be resentment to things done more than a century ago. If you teach a slavery class and restrict the class to only black pupils then maybe the feelings of resentment could occur [ or even be encouraged by a teacher with an agenda ].
Discussing the overthrow of governments is different than encouraging the overthrow of our own govenment.
I actually think that students of all colors need to be well educated in the crimes of our history. The continual misdeeds done to native Americans vis a vis treaties and reservations. The story of the Cherokee’s in north GA is a story of staggering presidential misdeeds. The whole slavery issue is a huge negative for our country a century and a half after it was abolished.
Why do all kids need to be learning these and more ? One lesson is to have a healthy distrust of the government. Another is to have a healthy distrust of our “captains of industry”. Both are capable of running roughshod over whole peoples.
misterbill
January 30th, 2012
5:40 pm
jarvis
It appears to me that only one side is being taught. as you say, the truth, the whole truth should be taught. The sanitized version today, is that our forefathers were the evil perpetrators and everyone else was a victim. Again, as you posted, some true, some not.
Teachers tell the story, the whole story!!!
QE3
January 30th, 2012
5:59 pm
My partner and I are both longstanding leftists; we are over-educated members of the elite; we have degrees from fancy institutions up the wazoo…..and there is one thing
Identity politics are the worst thing to ever happen to this country.
To quote Audre Lord from Sister Outsider, “The master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house”. We need to move past this stuff!
As long as people are obsessed with the master’s categories (such as race), and can only perceive themselves through the master’s lens, they are locked in their own minds and cannot be free.
Prof
January 30th, 2012
6:14 pm
@ Sr. Sotelo, Jan. 30, 12:26 pm. My apologies…..Georgia is not that unlike Arizona in many regards, although its racial dynamics are somewhat different.
And just a reminder to my fellow Georgians: Latinos are an ethnic group NOT a racial group, and have been defined as such by the Federal Census Bureau for more than 10 years. There are white Latinos, black Latinos, Native Latinos….and I guess Asian Latinos, though I’ve never met any.
Say What?
January 30th, 2012
6:28 pm
yap
WAR
January 30th, 2012
6:32 pm
It b awl goot…YOW!!
Nat Turner
January 30th, 2012
7:20 pm
a) promotes the overthrow of the United States Government – hard to justify a teacher doing that
So how do you feel about when the Civil War is taught? It promoted Southerners to stand up for their rights, and to secede from the Union.
Let us count the number of white people who died to stop slavery. Let us separate them into white and black, although, to me, that is not necessary because they all fought for freedom from slavery. So, I guess they are meaningless, those heroes of old who fought for the cause of liberty….
And let’s talk about the number of white people who died protecting that very institution of slavery.
I do agree with the history being taught as victims.
Prof
January 30th, 2012
8:00 pm
And another reminder. History is always written by the victor, not the vanquished. And no historical event can be neutrally related…. it is always from a point of view. At most, one can try to recognize that one HAS a point of view.
Whiteness Studies, about 20 years old, involves the study of how being a member of this race affects the way one sees things– so that although being white seems so transparent, the way things really are, it’s just a racial perspective like any other. I do wish somehow that this could be taught in K-12 schools, whose white students need it perhaps more than its other students.
Lee
January 30th, 2012
8:11 pm
In case no one is paying attention, there is a so-called “reconquista” movement where certain Mexicans want to take over the Southwestern United States and bring it back into Mexico. I guess they feel they’ve done such a good job with Mexico, they should do the same for the US.
I mean, bankrupting hospitals and schools, overcrowding jails, and lowering the standard of living deserves a little classtime, donchathink? Oh wait, THAT isn’t on the curriculum.
Arizona bans teaching courses that breed resentment of a race or class of … – Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog) | NAINTELX
January 30th, 2012
8:15 pm
[...] more here: Arizona bans teaching courses that breed resentment of a race or class of … – Atlanta Jo… Tagged with: archives • classifieds • entertainment • facebook • georgia [...]
catlady
January 30th, 2012
9:39 pm
So I guess none of Newt’s classes would be allowed?
misterbill
January 30th, 2012
10:01 pm
“I do agree with the history being taught as victims.”
Then wonder why the country stops growing, why the attitudes do not keep improving. Thanks for encouraging me and people like me to keep fighting for equal rights for all as you debase and dismiss our efforts. I guess , in your case, wanting to be a victim, no argument, no proof before your eyes, will ever change you.
You and, you alone, feel you are the judge of what is right..
Well, good luck with that.
OTOH
January 30th, 2012
11:39 pm
This law is, as so many are these days, unconstitutional and too vague to be enforced equally. It’s another Big Gov’t sledge hammer reaction to a minor stupid local action.
I have to laugh at two things in the press release though. Confiscated? The school that owned the books gathered the books and put them in storage. No gov’t official took the books away from their legal owner. The other is Math as part of the Mexican American Studies as if Math is culturally based.
Ms. Boghosyan
January 31st, 2012
12:27 am
In Armenia there are no Turkish students because they all come to America for FREE education, so the comment about “in Armenia they have a grand time teaching Turkish culture to Turkish students” would be incorrect.
And what did that have to do with the article and ethnic studies?
Perhaps you are thinking of the Turkish charter Schools ran by followers of Turkish Imam Fethullah Gulen. They openly teach Turkish culture, language, etc, to American students in Arizona (where ethnic studies was banned – at least against Hispanic Americans)
In Turkey, they teach Turkish nationalism to all their students and are very controlling about the minority people: Greeks, Syriacs, Kurds, Armenians, Jewish being taught their own language or culture.
At least in Armenia, Armenian students are taught the history of the Republic of Turkey(ROT) est. 1923 and about it’s culture – in the context of how Armenians built ROT, including many of the historical treasures like the Topaki palace. Yes, we learn Turkish Culture, French Culture, Asian Culture, Greek Culture, etc.,
ohohmrbill
January 31st, 2012
1:55 am
Weather you are for against the Ethnic Studies program I would like to propose this question about what really motivates Tom Horne. Tom Horne personally attacked teachers with accents in the school districts. Yet he left the charter schools alone and never ever looked at them. A charter school is a public school and is not a private school. They are 100% financed by you the tax payer. They all get paid the same way as TUSD or any other school district. They are held to the same standards and bound by the same laws as any traditional public school. They are not immune to any of the laws.
Yet the Sonoran Science Academy school chain has an over abundance of foreign teachers on H1-B visas (They claim they cannot find qualified teachers in Az or even in the USA for that matter) who have thick accents or cannot even speak English at all. The schools heavily push Turkish Nationalism on American children, Turkish culture, Turkish Language, Turkish dancing and even offered a Turkish Character class. (Is having Turkish Character better than any other nationality?) The schools are affiliated and inspired with a known religious persona. Cult Leader Imam and self proclaimed prophet Mohammad Fethullah Gulen. Cult leader Gulen even told his followers to sue any one who opposes them in there mission to promote Turkishness. So what is Tom’s real motivation to attack this group and leave this other group alone? Tom Horne’s office refuses to comment. Come to find out this group of Turkish teachers and Turkish non profits donated money to Tom’s campaigne So it doesn’t matter weather you are for or against ethnic studies the question is what makes Sonoran Science immune to the law?
http://www.todayszaman.com/news-243407-gulen-smear-campaign-under-way-against-people-who-promote-turkish-culture-worldwide.html
These are your American kids singing and dancing under the Islamic flag of Turkey. Those who are against the MAS program, then if these kids were wearing ponchos and sombreros you would be flipping cart wheels. Those who are for the MAS you still have to ask yourselves if given choice which flag do you want your child to stand under?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4fZ4Mq6xik&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Byyk7QSkEZA&feature=related
They also have for the last ten years been proselytizing the students, the staff members parents and levels of the community that Turkey (according to there mission and to Gulen) is a place of equality, tolerance , peace and love. They also told parents that their children are being taught by scholars and that Turkey is number one in the world when it comes to science and math when in fact they are at the bottom of the list when it comes to the world rankings.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1oCZaLqg3oo Feel free to share this information and to hold our politicians accountable !! Ask as many journalists to investigate and to write about this. Ask Pedicone and Horne what is there stance on this? They have yet to make a public statement.
ohohmrbill
January 31st, 2012
2:00 am
So why does Sonoran Science Academy get a free pass?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1oCZaLqg3oo
Inman Park Boy
January 31st, 2012
8:30 am
Wouldn’t traditional civil rights groups see this as a good thing??? Isn’t race/ethnicity irrelevant to education/social life?
Nat Turner
January 31st, 2012
9:34 am
Thanks for encouraging me and people like me to keep fighting for equal rights for all as you debase and dismiss our efforts. I guess , in your case, wanting to be a victim, no argument, no proof before your eyes, will ever change you.
You and, you alone, feel you are the judge of what is right..
Well, good luck with that.
What are you talking about? Nobody said anything about me being a victim. I agreed with you that history is being taught with certain groups being victims.
Geez, now who is the victim? You are not fighting for equal rights, you just want to whitewash history and not have people recognize the good and the bad of all the ethnic groups throughout history.
Freedom Education
January 31st, 2012
12:33 pm
It appears most of you did not read the decision. There was evidence of activism (getting kids to protest and overthrow the government), racism and hate (of white people and America), and lies (Arizona was stolen from Mexico). People… take the time to read and investigate before commenting.
ohohmrbill
January 31st, 2012
11:57 pm
So why is everyone ignoring the big 1000lbs. Gorilla in the corner of the room?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1oCZaLqg3oo
When it comes to charter schools Sonoran Science academy is grossly disproportionate when it comes to segregation and racial equality. It is a fact that is known amongst teachers and parents that SSA does cream students that my affect the overall outside appearances of the school and grade averages. Evidence of this can be found by teachers and parents who left comments in past articles of there schools.
The school even goes on to believe certain stereo types of Asian kids are better at math and science. We have had reports from ex-teachers that the Turkish often times admonishes Hispanic students for speaking Spanish while those foreign students are encouraged to speak Russian and Turkish in Math class. Some of these reports from the Phoenix and Tucson area include telling Hispanic students that if they do not like so much to go back to Mexico.
Ethnicity This School State Average
White 75% 45%
Hispanic 16% 41%
Asian 5% 3%
Black 3% 6%
Unspecified 1% n/a
The Sonoran Science Academy is also affiliated to the cult of Fethullah Gulen. The Today’s Zaman which is Fethullah Gulen’s mouthpiece to his followers often times uses racially charged epitaphs towards whites and to those who speak out against his schools or criticizes there cult leader Gulen and to cause and or promote discord amongst races and classes within the community
http://www.greatschools.org/cgi-bin/az/other/2741?cpn=20120129MSS#students
http://www.todayszaman.com/newsDetail_getNewsById.action?newsId=253266
http://www.todayszaman.com/news-265400-opinion-are-you-going-to-pennsylvania.html