Annenberg Classroom - Speak Outs - Racial division or racial understanding?: Arizona’s new ethnic studies law

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Racial division or racial understanding?: Arizona’s new ethnic studies law

Does your high school have an African American Studies class or a Mexican history program?

What do you think of it? Does it unite your classmates, providing them with a better understanding of one another’s racial backgrounds and cultures? Or does it deepen a discriminatory divide in your school?

In Arizona, lawmakers and officials think an ethnic studies program in Tucson schools does the latter. Last year, the state’s outgoing superintendent of schools, Tom Horne, criticized a program called La Raza Studies, which teaches Mexican-American history and culture. He called it “one-sided progapanda” that is inconsistent with American values, and said it teaches minority students to feel oppressed and resent whites.

“Fundamentally, I think it’s wrong to divide students by race,” Horne said. He thinks students should be treated as individuals, not grouped by ethnicity, and helped state legislators draft a law targeting La Raza. The classes are open to all students, although most who enroll are of Mexican heritage.

Passed by the state legislature and signed by Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer in May, the law forbids school districts from offering classes designed for students of a particular ethnic group, classes teaching ethnic solidarity or promoting resentment of any race. If a school continues to offer such a class, it risks losing 10 percent of its state funding.

But the Tucson school district has no plans to remove La Raza, since officials think the program does not do any of the things that are outlawed.

“The law was created listing the things that a course of studies cannot do, and the district’s position all along has been that this course of studies does not do that,” Tucson School Superintendent John Pedicone told the Christian Science Monitor.

The course, he says, covers injustices committed against Mexicans, just as courses in African-American history touch on slavery.

Pedicone also points to the program’s positive results; 70 to 75 percent of the students who enroll in it go on to college. “It’s done some very important things, we believe, for an underserved population,” Pedicone told the Monitor. “The students that go through the program seem to do very well.”

What do you think?

Do ethnic studies programs promote racial intolerance or racial understanding? Should Arizona threaten to cut the Tucson district’s state funding because of the La Raza program? Do you agree with the Tucson school district’s decision to continue offering the program? What if a similar program were offered in your school? How would you determine whether a program was “propaganda”? Join the discussion!

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Comments

1/14/2011

Andrew
SHS, Sidney
i think thats stupid. if you wanna learn about mexican culture or african or whatever culture you can go visit there. they already waste enough time in school trying to teach unnecessary things why should we add another one.

1/14/2011

Jessy
Sidney High School, Sidney Mt.
I believe that if a school has a majority of minorities, then those kind of classes should be offered, but in no sense required. Also if the classes get too out of hand, for instance, if an african american studies class starts researching all the students history, and they find out that their ancestors were slaves, then confronted the decendendts about it then the class should be cancelled, there is no point in bring up anceint history, whats done is done and we have to move on as a unified nation

1/14/2011

Krissy H
Sidney High School, Sidney,MT
I go to school in a small town that is very unicultural with hardly any diversity for the most part. our school doesn't offer any cultural history classes, but i wish it did. offering a Mexican history program or any other ethic class would be a great thing for most schools. they teach about other cultures and would help bring about a better understanding of many people.

1/14/2011

Bryan
Faulaber, Sidney Mt
I think you should not have to learn new history programs and such just to learn about Mexican and African American backgrounds you are in america. Learn our way of life and learn our language we shouldnt have to change for all of them.

1/14/2011

PAtrick
Haraldson, Sidney MT
I dont think it should be required. i come from a town where there isnt many minorties in our school, and i know most of us wouldnt want to learn abnout it but hey, you never know. i love history and would probably take it.

1/14/2011

Ryan M.
Mr. Faulhaber/ SHS, Sidney, MT
I think that if schools want to have classes like that they are free to do so. I don't see any reason why not.

1/14/2011

Brooke B
Sidney High School, Sidney, MT
i think that they should cut the culture class because it just gives more of a reason for some students to be racial towards others. Some schools have atrouble with the blacks and the whites together already why give any of them more of a reason to hate one another.

1/14/2011

Alex
Sidney High School, Sidney MT
I dont think it is a good idea because no one wants to take a hisory class on another culturs so why make us.

1/14/2011

Tyler
Sidney High School, Sidney MT
I dont think schools should offer courses just for specific ethnic groups. I think if you offer it for one ethnic group then you should offer it for every ethnic group. I think offering these types of classes would just lead to bigger problems.

1/14/2011

Elizabeth
Sidney High School, Sidney, MT
I believe that the classes should be offered to students but not required. I think that if students would like to know about other cultures there should be one class that teaches about a multiple of cultures not just one specific culture. I believe it is good to learn about everybodys culture so we can learn and grow. Also I think that it would bring more people together to talk about their cultures similarities and differences. So I believe all cultures should be addressed and not just one.

1/14/2011

Chase
SHS, Sidney, MT
I don't think it should be a required thing for a school to have those classes, but it would help people understand more about their fellow classmates. I think it should be more of a moral issue than one that should be enforced

1/14/2011

Grant
Sidney High School, Montana
I think there should be some type of classes but they shouldn't be required to take them. Making the students take who don't wanna it would be a waste of time for the teacher and the students who don't wanna take that class.

1/14/2011

Brooke S.
Sidney High School, Sidney, MT
I think that the majority of what the school is should be what the history is. If people are upset with it there should be an after school program that offers it or an online class you can take for a credit. I think that if you are a "white" person you should be able to take an african american history class, but it should not be required by any means. Also vise-versa. I live in a small town so i think that it would be good for the students to learn about the different cultures and although we dont have a lot of discrimination in our school, I think that it could cut it down.

1/14/2011

Andi
Sidney High School, Sidney, MT
I believe that, even without ethnic classes, most history classes add some sort of ethnic culture into the curriculum. American history obviously will not include a whole bunch of racial understanding into it. Yet world history has information about all sorts of races and covers many of their traditions. If the classes are asked for by many students, it would make sense to create one because many people would sound interested in it. If not, I say leave classes the way they are.

1/14/2011

skyler
sidney high school, sidney mt
no this is americe not mexico like if they wanna live here learn our language an our culture i mean ya i guess they might be living here be it america

1/4/2011

Courtnie
Metzger, Texas
I believe that a school has the right to offer ethnic studies programs. There are some people out there that would like to know more about their culture and they have the right to do so. As long as the class does not discriminate against another race, then by all means the course should be allowed. Offering an ethnic studies program would also be helpful to those students that are interested in learning about a culture different from their own

1/4/2011

Tasnia I.
Mr.Frank / Northeast High School, Philadelphia / Pennsylvania
Yes African American History is a required course. I think it shows how this race has improved over time. Even though African Americans have improved, doesn't that mean other races have too? I don't like the idea of teaching to a particular group of people. I think we should all be a part of our studies, becuase we all make up our nation with our diversity. If they a have special program then it would make the other people feeling left out. Like I said ,people from all races make accomplishments and should be recognized equally ;otherwise it would seem like one is better than the other.Indeed keeping the unity among our country is an important thing.