[Editor's Note: A chronological list of AICL's coverage of the shut-down of the Mexican American Studies classes at Tucson Unified School District is here.] Dear Board Members of the Tucson Unified School District:
What happened to last night's board meeting? In the last few days, reports from people in Tucson indicated you planned to vote on an initiative to set up a multicultural program to replace the Mexican American Studies classes that you shut down based on a racist and politically driven anti-Indigenous agenda.
This morning, I read that you had a very short meeting. One of those 60 second kind of meetings that allow you to conform to your own bylaws about holding regularly scheduled meetings. Why did you do that?
Was it because of Michael Hicks' appearance on The Daily Show? Are you in some intense behind-the-scenes damage control?
This morning I ran a search on Twitter using "Tucson" as the search term, and guess what? The top twitter story on Tucson is about the Daily Show episode. I grabbed this image around 6:30 AM, Central Time, on April 4th, 2012:
For the sake of the citizens of Tucson, I hope you're figuring out how to get rid of Hicks, and, I hope you're also trying to figure out how you're going to withdraw your letter to Sean Arce telling him his contract is not being renewed. Sean Arce, the man who directed the Mexican American Studies Department for the last several years... You know Arce just received
a national award from a highly regarded organization, right?
Come on, TUSD board members! All of this attention can not be good for anyone in Tucson. How many people are choosing not to move to Tucson based on what they're learning about TUSD?
And I've got a question for Mark Stegeman, too. Are you defending Hicks? I've been following your defense of him on Facebook, on Curtis Dutiel's wall (note: the thread below started on Monday, April 2nd, after the Daily Show episode aired):
It looks to me like you (Stegeman) are trying to defend Hicks. In the Facebook comments, Hicks tell us he went to Rusk's class. When he was on the Daily Show, did Hicks forget he'd been to Rusk's class? Why are you talking about THAT?! Is it because you---like the rest of America---are shocked at the rest of what Hicks said and prefer not to address Hicks' ignorance?
When will you just admit that Hicks is not qualified to be on the board and ask him to step down? Is that what is going on right now, behind the scenes? I hope so.
For information about Sean Arce's award, see
Zinn Education Project Honors Sean Arce at the Zinn Education Project website.
[Editor's Note: A chronological list of AICL's coverage of the shut-down of the Mexican American Studies classes at Tucson Unified School District is here.]
The Daily Show's segment on the shut-down of the Mexican American Studies program gave some cause to laugh and exclaim over the ignorance and racism of Michael Hicks, one of Tucson Unified School District's school board members, but it is imperative we remember what is happening in Tucson. This CNN story captures some of it:
In related news,
Education Week has a story out about the Common Core Standards, and how students ought to be reading more demanding texts. In the now-shut-down Mexican American Studies classes at TUSD, students were reading texts that some felt were too complex for high school students. Moreover, they felt that the classes and study of those texts promoted resentment of a race or class of people (with race and class referring to affluent white people). So, they voted to shut down the classes. In the middle of the week. In the middle of the academic year.
Ironically,
TUSD announced recently they were adopting the Common Core Standards!
Seems to me they ought to reinstate the entire MAS program and its teachers!
School districts across the country ought to call Sean Arce and invite him to help them revamp their classes in light of the Common Core Standards. He just received
national recognition for his work, but it looks like TUSD's governing board is not going to renew his contract.
How much shame will TUSD endure before it stops its attacks on the Mexican American Studies teachers and students???
Last night, The Daily Show with John Stewart aired a segment on the shut down of Mexican American Studies classes in the Tucson Unified School District. Most of it was an interview of TUSD school board member, Michael Hicks.
I wonder if Arizona's Superintendent of Public Instruction John Huppenthal or Arizona's Attorney General, Tom Horne watched it? Or Mark Stegeman, the president of TUSD's governing board?
Thanks to The Daily Show, millions of people saw Michael Hicks embarrass the district and the state, too.
Citizens of Tucson: It is not in your best interest to have Hicks on the school board. I think you should sign the petitions to have him recalled. Learn more about Hicks from TUSD's Hicks Recall Effort Begins Sunday. and from David Safier's blog post, Michael Hicks' letter to UA Dean of Social and Behavioral Sciences.
Below is my transcript of the Daily Show segment. Beneath it is a response from Michael Hicks. Beneath his response is a post to Mark Stegeman's Facebook wall. As more responses appear, I'll add them.
Stewart introducessegment on Mexican American Studies
John Stewart (Daily Show): Your children’s education… Nothing is more important! You want them tolearn enough to do well in the world, but not so much that they can winarguments with you.
But, what are they really learning in school? Al Madrigalfollowed this eye-opening story.
Madrigal introducesthe law
Al Madrigal (Daily Show): Across the country public educationis failing, but in Arizona, lawmakers have found a solution to the biggestproblem facing their schools.
CNN TV news: Arizona’s governor Jan Brewer just approved abill banning ethnic studies classes in public schools.
Al Madrigal (Daily Show): And using this new law, the TucsonSchool Board banned the K-12 Mexican American Studies program. School boardmember, Michael Hicks:
Madrigal’s interviewof Michael Hicks
Michael Hicks (TUSD school board member): My concern was alot of the
[Note: For a chronological and comprehensive list of links to AICL's coverage of the shut-down of the Mexican American Studies Department at Tucson Unified School District, go here. To go right to information about the National Mexican American Studies Teach-in, go here.] ___________________________________
On January 10, 2012, the Tucson Unified School District voted 4-1 to shut down the Mexican American Studies (MAS) Department. They passed a resolution (the complete text of the resolution can be downloaded from the TUSD website) that says:
All MAS courses and teaching activities, regardless of the budget line from which they are funded, shall be suspended immediately.
On January 18, 2012 MAS teachers were given a sheet of "Guiding Principles for MAS Teachers" that says (see the principles here): - Assignments cannot direct students to apply MAS perspectives.
- The teachers cannot use the MAS curriculum designed individually or by MAS staff in TUSD.
- The focus of student learning must not exclusively trail back to MAS curriculum and issues.
- Teachers should balance the use of literature focusing on multiple perspectives and varied literature.
- Race can be taught and discussed. However, context is important and the focus should be on using literature content as the teaching focus relative to race or oppression.
- Visitations in class by an administrator will be frequent to insure compliance. (At least one visit per unit of lessons.)
- Teachers will write and submit a syllabus and/or a curriculum map that demonstrates adherence to common, standards based approach to the curriculum. The due date is January 26.
- Student work will be collected by the evaluator when he/she comes into the classroom.
- Teachers can choose to submit student work that would serve as evidence that curriculum is adhered to.
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He prefers to go by hearsay when cutting out the Mexican American studies, and doesn't cut out any other ethnic studies. Really?? This is censorship - and without the courtesy of visiting a class for himself. At least in cases of censorship in libraries, there is a process in which the complainant makes note of which pages he or she found inappropriate, i.e. they have actually read the book, and don't try to say "my neighbor said it was bad." Thanks for sharing this, Debbie.
I live in NM, so I had never heard of Michael Hicks until I saw him on this morning's rerun of The Daily Show. I was so astonished I tried to find out a little more about him on the internet. Amazingly, his performance on the show was apparently no fluke! E.g., I read his "raciest" Facebook post... I just don't see how this guy could be a professor (BTW, see http://www.ratemyprofessors.com/ShowRatings.jsp?tid=975445) AND on the school board! According to the Tucson Citizen, "That may explain why he got into the school board race. He said that one day he was watching a news report on the future demographics of America (aka the 'browning' of America) and it scared the bejeezus out of him... so he decided at that moment he would get involved to 'stop it.'" (http://tucsoncitizen.com/three-sonorans/tag/michael-hicks/). This is just one more of so many things lately that make Arizona look to the rest of us like the most awful state in the U.S.
His grammar and spelling are atrocious! Did I read in a post that he is a professor? You must be kidding? Arizona is a joke of a state! First the Governor shows she has no manners and quite possibly no brains, you have a sheriff being investigated and now this man is elected to to a school board? Time for some house cleaning!