Many seem to forget that this country would have not existed were it not for the immigrants that sacrificed their lives to come here for the “American Dream”. They built the America we see today and it should be appreciated as well as acknowledged. So while children are in school learning their history, teachers fail to place a value on that immigrant history, especially implementing Ethnic Studies. I remember when I was in high school a couple years ago, they did not offer courses such as “African or Latino Studies”. Two years after I graduated, I visited my former high school guidance counselor and was told they were finally offering ethnic studies courses. I was fortunate enough to go to a school where diversity was seen everywhere so it comes to no surprise that these classes have been doing very well. However, this is not the case at the Tucson United School District in Tucson, Arizona. As of May 2010, Arizona law had banned any ethnic studies classes, including the one being offered at the school, “La Raza” studies on the grounds that it was teaching students to be un- American. When I had watched the film about this case called “Precious Knowledge”, the opposition seemed to circulate their argument around the book that was being taught in the classes, “Pedagogy of the Oppressed” by Paulo Freire. They assumed that this was teaching kids things such as communism and Marxism and that it went against everything the American government opposed. I believe that if those people had taken the time to read this book, as I have, they would have found it profound and enlightening. His idea of conscientization, the ability to be critically aware and take action against elements of oppression in life and recognizing contradictions, is what created the field of Foundations of Education. He was known to help schools better people’s learning experiences simply by stepping back and observing their culture and how they behaved and in doing so implemented what those people already knew to better their education. This is what “La Raza” Studies was all about; taking something the students actually enjoyed learning about and motivating them to not only do homework, but to actually WANT to go to school. This program was open to all students regardless of race. It taught them how to be proud of their heritage while living in the United States. Before this program even existed, TUSD was graduating fifty percent of its Latino Students; however, during the program it graduated 100 percent of the students. I find it appalling that Arizona politicians totally disregard this achievement. They have no sympathy for a minority population that already struggles to provide a decent education to their children and when there is finally a sign of hope, those same people who say care about the future of our children, tear their dreams apart. We, as the Latino community, should not have to sit back as a bunch of money hungry “politicians” degrade our heritage. It is already enough that they see us as the people who take their jobs, jobs that they do not want to do. We deserve to know about our history because the United States is a melting pot of races and cultures that have helped build the nation that we see today.
Picture:
Articles:
No comments:
Post a Comment