Ethnic studies classes are now illegal in Arizona public schools as of Jan. 1.  No Latino, African American, Native American...

"...Tom Horne, the force behind the Arizona law, says ethnic studies serve to divide rather than unite. “Fundamentally, I think it’s wrong to divide students by race,” says Mr. Horne, the outgoing Arizona schools superintendent, who was elected state attorney general in November.

...Horne helped draft the law in response to complaints about a program that teaches Mexican-American history and culture in the Tucson Unified School District, the city’s largest with more than 50,000 students. He plans to announce Monday the district is in violation of the law."

www.csmonitor.com/USA/Education/2010/1231/Ethnic-studies-classes-illegal-in-Arizona-public-schools-as-of-Jan.-1

Cough cough:.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFta4iTZasM



Cat

WTF is this sh*t? I'm white, and yet I'd love to take an ethnic studies class. That doesn't mean that I'm racist against my own race, or that I'd like to "overthrow the American government." What is wrong with wanting to learn about other cultures?

I'm fascinated with history and culture in general. I'd enjoy an American/European history class as much as I'd probably enjoy a class on other cultures. As long as ethnic studies classes are offered as electives and not as part of the core curriculum, I don't understand what the controversy is over. Last time I checked, American History is part of every state's core curriculum, anyway.

Ethnic studies classes are now illegal in Arizona public schools as of Jan. 1.  No Latino, African American, Native American...


Last I looked at my citizenship, I was AMERICAN, no hyphen.  I don't need an Irish-American heritage class, a Scottish-American heritage class, or an Italian-American heritage class, despite the fact that at one time or another, two of these ethnicities were underclasses in the USA and I share bits of these ethnicities.  I learned at an early age that the biggest A-holes in my town were the ones who self-segregated by their "ethnicity" which they saw simply as a way to express their "ethnic pride".  Next in line were those who segregated themselves by their religious denomination.

I guess this only applies to K-12 since I'm a student at Arizona State University and ethnic studies classes are still being offered.

That said, this is yet another reason why I hate this state.  If it wasn't for friends, I'd move out right after college graduation.  Heck, even with friends, I'm still considering it.  State is going down the drain and the voters in this state will continue to re-elect the same people causing the problems.  Current governor Janet Napolitano had an extremely low approval rating, but when she tried the immigration bill, she was suddenly guaranteed re-election.  The voters here are absolutely awful.

Last I looked at my citizenship, I was AMERICAN, no hyphen.  I don't need an Irish-American heritage class, a Scottish-American heritage class, or an Italian-American heritage class, despite the fact that at one time or another, two of these ethnicities were underclasses in the USA and I share bits of these ethnicities.  I learned at an early age that the biggest A-holes in my town were the ones who self-segregated by their "ethnicity" which they saw simply as a way to express their "ethnic pride".  Next in line were those who segregated themselves by their religious denomination.


The history taught in schools tends heavily to English, Irish, Scottish, and (to a lesser degree) Italian males.  The biggest A-holes in my town were the ones who drove by people deemed by them not to be "all-American" and yelled "go back where I came from" because if you were anything other than..well, y'know...you weren't really American, (I would say 99% of the time they were of either Irish, Scottish, Italian, or English descent, what's up with that?)and the teacher who said I would have to be a slave in the Civil War play because "they didn't do anything else"  The problem with American History is it isn't. It is an gender/ethnically cleansed American history and until all Americans are included in the study off the United States it will be necessary to have ethnic studies to give the whole picture. I find the people I have spoken to who are against ethnic studies, and the people least likely to think they are relevant, the people most uneducated or miseducated, are of Irish, Scottish, Italian, or English descent,  again, what's up with that?

Last I looked at my citizenship, I was AMERICAN, no hyphen.  I don't need an Irish-American heritage class, a Scottish-American heritage class, or an Italian-American heritage class, despite the fact that at one time or another, two of these ethnicities were underclasses in the USA and I share bits of these ethnicities.  I learned at an early age that the biggest A-holes in my town were the ones who self-segregated by their "ethnicity" which they saw simply as a way to express their "ethnic pride".  Next in line were those who segregated themselves by their religious denomination.



and yet there are a bunch of items available to proclaim as much

http://rlv.zcache.com/irish_american_t_shirt-p2354277743920864533r0p_400.jpg

http://images4.cpcache.com/product/253074324v5_480x480_Front_Color-White.jpg

I remember seeing Italian American shirts long before I ever heard anyone use the phrase African - American  for the record I prefer black but if people want to identify themselves by their culture the beauty of living in this country is that they have the right to do so.

and yet there are a bunch of items available to proclaim as much

http://rlv.zcache.com/irish_american_t_shirt-p2354277743920864533r0p_400.jpg

http://images4.cpcache.com/product/253074324v5_480x480_Front_Color-White.jpg

I remember seeing Italian American shirts long before I ever heard anyone use the phrase African - American   for the record I prefer black but if people want to identify themselves by their culture the beauty of living in this country is that they have the right to do so.



There is one group, not sure which one  ::)  that has devoted much time and a lot of public funds to proclaiming(shoving down our throat) their heritage.

http://www.thegully.com/essays/america/nyc/img_nyc/st_pats+parade.jpg

http://blog.cleveland.com/nationworld_impact/2009/03/large_St-Patricks-Day-revelers-Mar17-09.jpg

The history taught in schools tends heavily to English, Irish, Scottish, and (to a lesser degree) Italian males.  The biggest A-holes in my town were the ones who drove by people deemed by them not to be "all-American" and yelled "go back where I came from" because if you were anything other than..well, y'know...you weren't really American, (I would say 99% of the time they were of either Irish, Scottish, Italian, or English descent, what's up with that?)and the teacher who said I would have to be a slave in the Civil War play because "they didn't do anything else"  The problem with American History is it isn't. It is an gender/ethnically cleansed American history and until all Americans are included in the study off the United States it will be necessary to have ethnic studies to give the whole picture. I find the people I have spoken to who are against ethnic studies, and the people least likely to think they are relevant, the people most uneducated or miseducated, are of Irish, Scottish, Italian, or English descent,  again, what's up with that?


Well where I grew up, being of Scottish or Irish descent made you a minority.  But then where I grew up, EVERY ethnicity was a minority.  We had germans, croats, slovaks, blacks, irish, scottish, english, serbs, hungarians.  Pretty much everything but hispanics and asians.  Not many jews though.  Italians were probably the single biggest ethnic group; it was not unusual for the mothers to speak only Italian but they demanded that their children learn english.  When the KKK was burning crosses, they were outside the "white" catholic churches.

I have no problem including key historical figures (of ANY ethnicity) in social studies classes.  But to try and band-aid this with divisive "ethnic studies" is silliness.

Well where I grew up, being of Scottish or Irish descent made you a minority.  But then where I grew up, EVERY ethnicity was a minority.  We had germans, croats, slovaks, blacks, irish, scottish, english, serbs, hungarians.  Pretty much everything but hispanics and asians.  Not many jews though.  Italians were probably the single biggest ethnic group; it was not unusual for the mothers to speak only Italian but they demanded that their children learn english.  When the KKK was burning crosses, they were outside the "white" catholic churches.

I have no problem including key historical figures (of ANY ethnicity) in social studies classes.  But to try and band-aid this with divisive "ethnic studies" is silliness.


the regular curriculum is not comprehensive enough. The whole history of the Americas should be studied... this should include class and ethnic studies.  Unfortunately, the way its written now...at least for blacks you learn that black people were slaves and Martin Luther King lead civil rights... there's a whole hell of a lot more to the history than that. 

There is one group, not sure which one  ::)  that has devoted much time and a lot of public funds to proclaiming(shoving down our throat) their heritage.

http://www.thegully.com/essays/america/nyc/img_nyc/st_pats+parade.jpg

http://blog.cleveland.com/nationworld_impact/2009/03/large_St-Patricks-Day-revelers-Mar17-09.jpg





and yet there are a bunch of items available to proclaim as much

http://rlv.zcache.com/irish_american_t_shirt-p2354277743920864533r0p_400.jpg

http://images4.cpcache.com/product/253074324v5_480x480_Front_Color-White.jpg

I remember seeing Italian American shirts long before I ever heard anyone use the phrase African - American  for the record I prefer black but if people want to identify themselves by their culture the beauty of living in this country is that they have the right to do so.



True, true.  But we have not yet made St Patrick's day a national holiday, and last I knew, the local schools were not spending money on an "Irish ethnic studies" or "Italian ethnic studies" curriculum.

But we do have The Godfather Trilogy and My Cousin Vinny upon which to fall back.  ;D

As to "hyphenating one's self".  You are correct, everybody certainly has that right, and I as an irish-Scottish-Italian-German-American stand at the front of that line.  Of course, when one identifies their being with a separate moniker, one should not be surprised that others perceive... the difference... that one has decided to proclaim...

I recall Teresa Heinz Kerry being castigated for referring to herself as African-American (she was born in Mozambique).  Various "African-American" leaders stated that to be respectful she should drop the hyphen and go simply as "African American".  I have seen similar criticisms of Egyptian-Americans who, of course, as as African as anybody else on the continent.  I imagine that if I tracked my genealogy back far enough, I too could claim to be African American.

You want to know how I know that I am of partial Italian descent?  Well back in the early 1900's, a relative came into some money and decided that he wanted to trace the family's "Irish heritage" (never mind that the family name is of obvious Roman origin).  When the truth came out that the "Irish roots" got to ireland after emigrating from Italy, he was embarassed and burned the study.  So much for the "ethnic pride" thing, I say. (and at that time, neither irish nor italian descent were advantageous in the USA).

It gets so silly that it is not unusual to hear a news account where some politician visits some African country and the journalist describes his interactions with the "African-American" politicians over there.

True, true.  But we have not yet made St Patrick's day a national holiday, and last I knew, the local schools were not spending money on an "Irish ethnic studies" or "Italian ethnic studies" curriculum.




For you to be of Irish and Italian descent is not unusual at all.  The intermarriage between Irish and Italians is almost becoming the norm around Boston. A friend of mine and I discussed that subject once, his mother Italian, father Irish.  When he was dating his soon to be wife her father(Italian) was beside himself, even though he(my friend) was half Irish.  The old timers were dead set against it, but in the end what it came down to was "at least they are Catholic".  Heck, even Al Capones wife was Irish.

In Massachusetts St. Patricks Day is a Suffolk County holiday but all state workers are allowed a comp day for it. In the late 1800s when the Irish became a political force they wanted to celebrate that fact, in order to do that they dug through the history of Boston and found out that the British were driven out of Boston on March 17, 1776 and B'gosh and beggora we have a reason to have a holiday.  Legally it is called Evacuation Day, but you will only find maybe 1 in 1000 who would know what you were talking about if you called it that.  In the schools you will find four leaf clovers, children are told to wear green, kids in school learn "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling" and teachers will tell them, as they told me, "there are two kinds of people, those who are Irish and those who want to be". 

I think it's important to understand the point of view of the colonized not just the colonists, especially in Arizona where there is a large population of indigenous peoples who have been treated like crap for 400 years.  It's an underhanded sentiment for us guys of European heritage to say we don't see race and we're all one people, etc.  That ain't the way we played the game when we held all the cards. 

I am wary of identity politics, however.  I don't object to studying the cultures of Native Americans, Caribbeans, African Americans, and Latins.  I do not object to studying the way the way coexistence and conflict with colonial powers affected these cultures.  I draw the line at white-bashing.  Most white people had little to do with setting political or social policy.  We need to address the real taboo in America: Class.

Stay classy, Arizona.

::)

I think it's important to understand the point of view of the colonized not just the colonists, especially in Arizona where there is a large population of indigenous peoples who have been treated like crap for 400 years.  It's an underhanded sentiment for us guys of European heritage to say we don't see race and we're all one people, etc.  That ain't the way we played the game when we held all the cards. 

I am wary of identity politics, however.  I don't object to studying the cultures of Native Americans, Caribbeans, African Americans, and Latins.  I do not object to studying the way the way coexistence and conflict with colonial powers affected these cultures.  I draw the line at white-bashing.  Most white people had little to do with setting political or social policy.  We need to address the real taboo in America: Class.


i agree with what you say, but I don't understand where the idea the assumption of "white bashing" enters into it. I have studied African American history and Womens history and a bit of South American history and, as in all things, you can study in the scholarly texts or you can study crap.  It is that way on both sides of the issue.  The people I have found most likely to "white bash" are unreconstruted rebels still pissed of at Grant, Lincoln and anyone north of the Mason/Dixon.

i agree with what you say, but I don't understand where the idea the assumption of "white bashing" enters into it. I have studied African American history and Womens history and a bit of South American history and, as in all things, you can study in the scholarly texts or you can study crap.  It is that way on both sides of the issue.  The people I have found most likely to "white bash" are unreconstruted rebels still pissed of at Grant, Lincoln and anyone north of the Mason/Dixon.


Good point.  I have seen students of so-called ethnic studies regardless of ethnicity misapprehend scholars as saying all white people are evil racists when the scholars were saying Europeans had the upper hand for the past 500 years of colonialism thus were in a position to do evil and racist things.  Scholars who say all white people are devils don't tend to make tenure!

Dinesh D'Souza offers a good argument for ethnic studies by being Dinesh D'Souza.  I'm surprised Keith Olbermann didn't pick up on this.  I can't remember the exact wording, but in essence, D'Souza decries Barack Obama as "anti-colonialist."  When a C-SPAN caller asked if "anti-colonialism" was not a bad thing, D'Souza replied the British did some bad things in India, but they did do the Indians a giant favor by teaching them...English!
http://www.inthe00s.com/smile/07/nut.gif

(Evidently, the Indians had a civilization advanced in mathematics, engineering, architecture, liberal arts, and so forth, before the first English ship ever docked on the subcontinent.  Whether they're speaking Hindi or English, the Indians do quite nicely for themselves...at least the ones with the Karma to do so!  D'Souza's parents are Indian and Dinesh knows this.  He isn't stupid, he just thinks you are!)
::)

Good point.  I have seen students of so-called ethnic studies regardless of ethnicity misapprehend scholars as saying all white people are evil racists when the scholars were saying Europeans had the upper hand for the past 500 years of colonialism thus were in a position to do evil and racist things.  Scholars who say all white people are devils don't tend to make tenure!

Dinesh D'Souza offers a good argument for ethnic studies by being Dinesh D'Souza.  I'm surprised Keith Olbermann didn't pick up on this.  I can't remember the exact wording, but in essence, D'Souza decries Barack Obama as "anti-colonialist."  When a C-SPAN caller asked if "anti-colonialism" was not a bad thing, D'Souza replied the British did some bad things in India, but they did do the Indians a giant favor by teaching them...English!
http://www.inthe00s.com/smile/07/nut.gif

(Evidently, the Indians had a civilization advanced in mathematics, engineering, architecture, liberal arts, and so forth, before the first English ship ever docked on the subcontinent.  Whether they're speaking Hindi or English, the Indians do quite nicely for themselves...at least the ones with the Karma to do so!  D'Souza's parents are Indian and Dinesh knows this.  He isn't stupid, he just thinks you are!)
::)



Once again you said it better than I could. There is a defensive mode that some go into when the not so stellar aspects of history are brought to the front.  The accusation comes forth that one is re-writing history as opposed to interpreting from a different perspective, delving into forgotten or ignored truths. 

Once again you said it better than I could. There is a defensive mode that some go into when the not so stellar aspects of history are brought to the front.  The accusation comes forth that one is re-writing history as opposed to interpreting from a different perspective, delving into forgotten or ignored truths. 


The problem with especially high school history (or social studies) is that it is basically political history rather than social, cultural or economic history, which is why many students don't like it.  When I taught US, I focused on labor/social history.  I used a text called "Who Built America",(by the American Social History Project) and based my lectures on Harry Braverman's "Labor and Monopoly Capital" so there was a good deal of "ethnic" stuff in the content.  But since most high school teachers don't know that stuff, they can't integrate it - they also usually don't get to pick the text.

The problem with especially high school history (or social studies) is that it is basically political history rather than social, cultural or economic history, which is why many students don't like it.  When I taught US, I focused on labor/social history.  I used a text called "Who Built America",(by the American Social History Project) and based my lectures on Harry Braverman's "Labor and Monopoly Capital" so there was a good deal of "ethnic" stuff in the content.  But since most high school teachers don't know that stuff, they can't integrate it - they also usually don't get to pick the text.


That nails it.

History and politics are inseparable.  The Cold War was still in play when I was going to school.  I would call the history curriculum a "patriotic history."  The American Revolution was a lot of men in powdered wigs making glorious declarations.  Slavery was portrayed as a mistake and we've grown out of all that now.  In other words, there was not much subtlety.  Good guys versus bad guys rather than powerful versus vulnerable. 

If teachers did assign Braverman or Zinn, a lot of angry parents would storm the school board demanding an explanation for why their kids had to read all that commie-pinko propaganda!
:o

For some reason the word 'ethnic studies' makes me laugh.  ;D

For some reason the word 'ethnic studies' makes me laugh.  ;D


"Ethnic Studies" is two words  ::)

"Ethnic Studies" is two words   ::)


now that ^ made me laugh  ;D 


karma

That nails it.

History and politics are inseparable.  The Cold War was still in play when I was going to school.  I would call the history curriculum a "patriotic history."  The American Revolution was a lot of men in powdered wigs making glorious declarations.  Slavery was portrayed as a mistake and we've grown out of all that now.  In other words, there was not much subtlety.  Good guys versus bad guys rather than powerful versus vulnerable. 

If teachers did assign Braverman or Zinn, a lot of angry parents would storm the school board demanding an explanation for why their kids had to read all that commie-pinko propaganda!
:o


True enough, but most teachers have read neither Braverman or Zinn, more's the pity

I guess this only applies to K-12 since I'm a student at Arizona State University and ethnic studies classes are still being offered.

That said, this is yet another reason why I hate this state.  If it wasn't for friends, I'd move out right after college graduation.  Heck, even with friends, I'm still considering it.  State is going down the drain and the voters in this state will continue to re-elect the same people causing the problems.  Current governor Janet Napolitano had an extremely low approval rating, but when she tried the immigration bill, she was suddenly guaranteed re-election.  The voters here are absolutely awful.


No wonder AZ ranks near last in education.  Current governor is Jan Brewer, not Napolitano.  :D

Don't let your friends hold you back.  Any help with reducing rush hour traffic along the 101 near ASU is appreciated.  :D

For the record, I didn't vote for Brewer.  She's a flake.

"Ethnic Studies" is two words   ::)


"You can sum the duties of the vice president into just one word: Be prepared."

-- Dan Quayle

"Ethnic Studies" is two words   ::)


;D :-[

For the record, I didn't vote for Brewer.  She's a flake.






A flake isn't how I would describe her. I have a few other choice words that I don't think Chucky would like me saying here.  ;)



Cat