Arizona's Ethnic Studies Fight Is About Defining American History

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Without an understanding of the oppression that has happened, we have a complete lack of understanding for the state of the country today. African Americans and Latinos on the whole are doing much less well than whites. Without understanding the mechanisms that allowed this to occur, we're left to assume that it's because blacks and browns are just not as smart/capable/whathaveyou.
Ethnic studies can help to foster understanding and lead to real solutions.

ow of CA 10:21PM May 19, 2010

In a pluralistic society, noone can afford to have a chip on his/her shoulders. Playing the oppressed race/ethnic card almost always derails the real conversation. In this instance, isn't the real issue about school standards? What business is it of a school or a teacher to teach from a personal or political point of view? Isn't the job of a school to teach students how to think?

D Lusardi of CO 11:00AM May 18, 2010

Interesting perspective. Are you suggesting we not mention our roots in oppression? Is it possible to teach both what we have historically taught about our history AND also acknowledge our roots in oppression?
The people who inhabited the U.S. are now less than 1% of the population and are relegated to reservations if they are inclined to cluster. In some historical analyses this would be called genocide. Our most lethal war was among ourselves, and was at least in part linked to our agricultural dependence on slavery, which does look like oppression to most people. Are you suggesting we ignore these facts? If we elect to address them, are we insisting on a narrative of oppression?
We who populate the U.S. are almost all immigrants or descendants of immigrants. Are some immigrants better than others? Is the narrative of the historically dominant culture, European-American ethnics, the only narrative? Must we chose?
It seems obvious, but warrants comment, that the dominant group in a culture tends to control the narrative. How do you propose we introduce the "other" narratives and who will champion that effort?

Phyllis Kritek of CA 9:51AM May 18, 2010

I have attended Chicano Studies classes along with attending MECha which most of the Chicano Studies students also belong to. I've seen the Brown Berets, which look like Hitlers Brown Shirts and act like them also. What I heard was a lesson in how to hate this country and especially blame all the wrongs of the Brown People on Whites. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. MECha teaches that it is the Mexicans responsibility to regain the land Atzlan and return it back to Mexico, by what ever means possible, which means Reconquesta translated to by conquest through revolution. It is not much different than any terrorist organization.

jeanjeanie of CA 4:15AM May 18, 2010

The conservative version of US history is Christopher Columbus discovering America, Native Americans were hostile and deserved to be on reservations, no one mentioned the treaties broken with Indians, the real jingoistic and empire-expanding causes of the Spanish-American War, non-Christians were presented as heathens, Mexicans were lazy and wore sombreros, Chinese people came here to build railroads- but after that we never heard more, Japanese people were here - but it was never taught why, we all knew why Black people were here, and we watched them be barred from schools-restaurants-hotels-they were porters on trains and were maids and housekeepers- but no one said more about the reasoning behind these people being treated as second class citizens.
So don't have special classes in ethnic studies - OK. But let's get the facts straight and teach them to everyone in non-specialized classes. It is not wrong to teach children that we did wrong in the past. Everyone has. The question that should be answered in history and sociology classes is whether we have learned from those mistakes.
Our society has done fairly well in overcoming long-time biases. Still lots to do - but it has improved. The reason for specialized classes was because regular classes didn't teach the truth. There will be no demand for special studies if Americans are willing to teach facts to everyone instead of a cheerleading session for everything done in our history.
I'd like to see the replacement curriculum in Arizona - to verify that they are going to teach our real history. If so, and they enforce that as they are enforcing this - then I will believe it is becasue of a pursuit of an honest truth and the development of our kids. Right now it seems more like they are trying to muzzle anything that celebrates our diverse heritages. Polish, German, Filipino, Japanese, Mexican, Black, French, Russian, Turkishm Lebanese, Chinese, Vietnamese, and many more.
Teach it in English, but teach the truth.

DeeToo of SC 7:30PM May 17, 2010