Peaceful Resistance is Still Possible

From YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPZxCDMbZec&feature=player_embedded#t=0s

Yesterday in Tucson, Arizona, high school students took over the Tucson Unified School District board meeting by chaining themselves to the board members' seats. The meeting agenda included a vote concerning the fate of Mexican American Studies courses in the high school curriculum. The courses currently are able to satisfy core curriculum requirements, but the school board president had submitted a proposal that the classes be turned into electives. The background story here is important, as the Mexican American Studies curriculum has been targeted not only by the district, but also by the state of Arizona, and stands accused of creating a hostile environment in the schools and society at large. A quote from the Arizona Daily Star, the local newspaper, sets the stage for yesterday's protest, by explaining the premise of the State's new law concerning curriculum such as the MAS program at TUSD:

"The law, formerly known as HB 2281, prohibits courses that promote the overthrow of the U.S. government; promote resentment toward a race or class of people; are designed primarily for students of a particular ethnic group; and that advocate ethnic solidarity instead of treating students as individuals." (Read the whole story about the lawsuit at http://azstarnet.com/news/local/education/article_88ab2202-d7b5-5fcb-80dc-08f0068bd8c3.html )

Teachers are now plaintiffs against the State. The students yesterday took the matter to the school board directly, chanting "Our education is under attack. What do we do? Fight back!"

The protest forced the meeting to be canceled, with the agenda pushed to another meeting set for May 5th (Cinco de Mayo, by the way).

While there is a lengthy backstory here as Arizona is a fraught territory both in terms of politics and education, it is clear that in terms of education policy there is a lesson here about the who, what, and when of curriculum policy. If we ever need an example of the politicization of curriculum, here it is. If we need an example of students taking their cause to the streets and demanding a voice in their education, here you go. If we want examples of teachers taking their jobs seriously, how about suing your employers and the state in which you work. This is teacher democracy at the extreme, student empowerment in stereo, politics as unusual. Do we have to wonder where they learned that peaceful resistance is still possible?

To the students and teachers: Thank you for showing us what social justice in action looks like.

Check out the MAS website and how they describe their model of Critically Compassionate Intellectualism:
http://www.tusd.k12.az.us/contents/depart/mexicanam/model.asp

Other links:

The Mexican American Studies Department at TUSD:
http://www.tusd.k12.az.us/contents/depart/mexicanam/index.asp

More on the protest at the TUSD meeting:
http://azstarnet.com/news/local/education/article_176f8aed-4b95-53fc-9b49-0959cd5a26e5.html