Tom Horne to Ethnic Studies: Drop Dead!
Arizona Watch
New America Media, Commentary, Roberto Dr. Cintli Rodriguez, Posted: Jun 19, 2009
TUCSON -- Arizona is the New South and the new South Africa. It is the home of Sheriff Joe Arpaio, where racial profiling is official policy. Now, in another form of profiling, State Superintendent of Schools Tom Horne wants to eliminate ethnic studies.
At his behest and by a 4-3 Senate panel vote, an amendment to education bill S.B. 1069 was passed that emphasizes the teaching of individualism at the expense of ethnic studies. The bill would permit the department of education to withhold 10 percent of state monies if ethnic studies continue to exist. The full legislature is expected to pass it within several weeks, and Republican Gov. Jan Brewer is expected to sign it into law.
Horne has spent two-and-a-half years pushing this bill, and it will effectively send Arizona school children into the dark ages. Overriding the concept of local control, Horne wants Arizona teachers to impose one view of America upon the state’s children.
His objective, according a press release from his office, is “to prohibit ethnic studies in Arizona public schools.” But his real objective appears to be ensuring that only the nation’s sacrosanct national narrative is taught in schools.
This narrative is presumably the nation’s greatest asset. It is a compilation of foundational myths and legends that defines the United States as the New Promised Land -– a nation chosen by God to essentially create heaven on earth. Its secular version is to militarily spread freedom, democracy and capitalism to the rest of the world.
Horne joins the likes of Newt Gingrich, Tom Tancredo, Rush Limbaugh, Lou Dobbs and all their talk-show brethren, in both promoting scapegoat politics and in corrupting the English language.
In Horne’s America, genocide, slavery, land theft, segregation, discrimination, extralegal brutality and racial supremacy are taught as footnotes at best, or disappeared altogether. In his America, exclusion is inclusion and ignorance is bliss. In attempting to impose his philosophy, he fancies himself as carrying on the work of Martin Luther King, Jr. He oxymoronically accuses ethnic studies educators of promoting racism and separatism.
The legislation targets ethnic studies, but exempts “classes or courses for Native American pupils that are required to comply with federal law.” Also exempted are classes for English learners. Horne’s actual target is Raza Studies at Tucson Unified School district. In his crusade, he accuses Raza Studies of promoting “ethnic chauvinism” and of being a “dysfunctional program.”
Nicollete Gomez, who was in both Native American and Raza Studies at Tucson High School, says, “The outsiders who say that we are 'unAmerican' and 'dysfunctional' obviously do not sit in these classes to experience intellectual students ready for college material.”
Horne is seemingly unaware that students from Raza Studies, who are taught about their indigenous cultures, consistently outperform students from all backgrounds at TUSD. They also have a very high college-going rate. Research by Dr. Augustine Romero, former director of Raza Studies, confirms this phenomenal success.
Facts are of no concern to Horne. Only the nation’s foundational myths/legends are important. This includes, as he told the ultra-conservative Heritage Foundation in 2007, the Greco-Roman roots of western civilization.
Lecia J. Brooks, director of the Civil Rights Memorial Center and Teaching Tolerance at the Southern Poverty Law Center, the nation’s premier center for tracking hate crime, says, “The teaching of so-called 'individualism' is but another example of Western European cultural dominance. This is madness. Educators everywhere should declare in one voice: 'Culturally relevant pedagogy actually improves instruction for all students—that is, if they’re allowed access to it.'”
Horne isn’t promoting sound educational policy which encourages critical thinking; he's selling hyper-U.S. nationalism or nationalized mind control.
As University of Arizona first-year student Pricila Rodriguez, a Raza Studies alum from Tucson High, also reminds us, “People that insist that taxpayer money should not be used for ethnic studies forget that we are taxpayers, too.”
In protest, supporters in Tucson of ethnic studies will stage a two-day march to Phoenix on June 28 and 29. It’s about 90 miles through desert heat. But it’s one way to put the heat on Tom Horne.
Roberto Dr. Cintli Rodriguez, assistant professor at the University of Arizona, can be reached at: XColumn@gmail.com
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40 Years of Youth Liberation
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User Comments
Kim Dominguez on Jul 07, 2009 at 17:09:34 said:
Why has the Raza Studies debate and immigration debate muffled into one?
STRAIGHT RACIST!
Mark Travis on Jun 25, 2009 at 17:23:59 said:
It’s no surprise that Dr. Roberto “Cintli” Rodriguez joined fire against Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne for his campaign to end funding of ethnic studies in Arizona’s public schools. The “thrust of these courses,” Horne proclaimed—in a verbal slap in the face to Rodriguez and his radical colleagues—“is to bash the United States and to tell (minority) kids they are oppressed.”
“The job of the public schools,” Horne reflects, “is to develop students’ identity as Americans and as strong individuals. It’s not the job of public education to promote ethnic chauvinism. Students should be taught that (America) is the land of opportunity, and that if they work hard, they can achieve their goals.” Most people—regardless of skin color—would agree with these sentiments, but not Roberto and his critics of the white male Protestant ruling class “elite.” Rodriguez warns that any school embracing this educational mission statement “will effectively send Arizona school children into the dark ages…and impose one view of America upon the state’s children.”
Bunk!
Roberto aims to destroy what he derisively calls the American “national narrative…a compilation of myth and legend that defines the United States as the New Promised Land” and the so-called champion of “freedom, democracy and capitalism for the rest of the world.” To these revisionist historians, Anglos have always embraced this destructive fantasy where “facts are of no concern, and genocide, slavery, land theft, segregation, discrimination, extralegal brutality and racial supremacy are taught as footnotes at best.”
Roberto builds a straw man argument with his claim that public education denies racism and other evils that have justified land theft and genocide. He then charges Horne with abandoning intellectual transparency and fidelity to the truth, while pursuing a hidden agenda—the “real objective of ensuring that only the nation’s sacrosanct (patriotic) narrative is taught.”
Demagogy!
(To be continued...)
Mark Travis on Jun 25, 2009 at 17:22:51 said:
Mark Travis commentary continued...
I have in my library the history text “Home of the Brave: A Patriot’s Guide to American History” by conservative historians John Carroll and Odie Faulk. The jacket describes the book as an unabashedly patriotic account of the American experience.
The preface describes our country as a “land of contradiction and contention, of questioning and questing, of virtue and villainy.” If we’re truly descending into the dark ages—as Roberto predicts—wouldn’t you expect this text to exemplify the sanitized reputation he ascribes to the Anglo historical record?
Let’s check it out!
In the book’s introduction, the authors describe how “English, Spanish, French Dutch and Swedish settlers borrowed heavily from the Indians. They learned woodcraft, agricultural techniques, and pioneering concepts—and might have learned far more except that they despised the Indians as people of some culture and education always despise savages. Because the Indians never developed nation states or advanced technology, the Europeans derided the natives—even denied their humanity. (Mark’s emphasis) These newcomers borrowed and traded with the Indians, sought friendship and treaties with them—until they gained military supremacy, when they would turn against them with intent to destroy them.” (Mark’s emphasis)
Doesn’t sound like a whitewash to me! And no footnotes! White people did some bad things, and we weren’t always mature enough to admit the truth. Does Roberto’s intellectual maturity live up the same standards?
A favorite author of America-bashing progressives is Paolo Freire, who wrote “Pedagogy of the Oppressed.” It makes the outrageous claim that neutral education is a myth, and that schooling either conforms a person to the present system of inequity, or helps people critically examine reality in order to transform the world. Ironically, while leftists despise former President Bush, they often embody his dictum that “You’re either with us or against us,” while facts are murdered in the crossfire.
To Roberto and Paolo, truth is ultimately subservient to a higher calling—overturning the white power structure. Readers make the mistake of assuming these activists welcome Socratic dialog with anyone who disagrees. To the revolutionary mindset, truth itself must eventually take sides or suffer the consequences.
November Writes on Jun 20, 2009 at 13:25:06 said:
A true American History course would INCLUDE the contributions of people of color. Unfortunately, these courses focus on White Americans. Therefore, the need for Ethnic Studies courses is severe.
Don't agree? If not, then tell me who these people are WITHOUT googling their names:
Sherman Alexie
Norbert Rillieux
Flossie Wong-Staal
Estela Portillo Trambley
Arturo Alfonso Schomburg
Dineh Mohajer
Cathernine Dunham
If you can\'t name one, immediately enroll yourself and your child in an ethnic studies course.
Ethnic studies = well-rounded education for everyone. Those who want only a European based education WANT to remain ignorant, for this ignorance fuels their racist beliefs that people of color haven\'t contributed anything to America.
N. Gomez on Jun 20, 2009 at 01:48:52 said:
Hahaha. Nothing but a bunch of bootstraps. I'm convinced that republicans do hate Latin@'s. By they way, RAZA doesn't mean race, it means people. People studies. Mexican revolution, Mexican authors (because there are smart mexicans in the world), or any other specified as Mexican is not drilled into the mind just because it's an ethnic studies class, there are great assignments done by all sorts of people of color, and of European descents. I say you do something Tom Horne has never done and that is visit the classes and see for yourself that these classes are far more greater than what people have been spreading rumors about.
MaryJ on Jun 19, 2009 at 21:17:20 said:
Why are American taxpayers being forced to fund Raza (race) studies? Let La Raza fund its own studies if they are so hot for it. White people don't get taxpayer-financed German studies or Irish studies, even though we pay the majority of taxes in this country. Also, if raza doesn't like our national "narrative," they are free to go home to the Third World toilet they made out of their own country.
Michael Simpson on Jun 19, 2009 at 10:41:06 said:
Check out this paper exposing Horne:
Simpson, Michael W. ,Tom Horne, Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Verse Tucson Unified School District\'s Ethnic Studies: A Critical Discourse Study(April 2, 2009). Available at SSRN (Social Science research network 1372387
fedupinPHX on Jun 19, 2009 at 05:44:47 said:
\"Horne isn’t promoting sound educational policy which encourages critical thinking; he\'s selling hyper-U.S. nationalism or nationalized mind control.\"
This really is funny at it\'s best. The United States of America is a country not a motel or boarding house. If you can not have pride in this country and the good it has done then leave! Yes this country has done some wrong but so have the maya and the aztecs as they attacked other tribes, performed human sacrifices.
But no one seems to speak of this when they talk about aztecs and mayans do they? They focus on the good and not the bad. I will remind these students of how much money Arizona gets from the federal government every year (billions of dollars). Your standard of living is provided by this country- one in which you are critical of in every way.
Doug R. on Jun 19, 2009 at 05:34:15 said:
Some people just can not accept that illegal immigrants should not be here in the first place and when someone does something about it they become angry. My aunt is a hispanic she immigrated here to Phoenix in 1991 get this--THE LEGAL WAY! She did not disrespect the USA by claiming she had a right to overstay her visa or sneek in like a thief in the night.
-->She did not come in waving a foreign flag (as she was trying to become part of this country). She learned the language and had and still does have a love for the USA. She is a latina and has no issue with MCSO at all as they are NOT racial profiling.
She is a US citizen now and has a appreciation for this country because of the hard work she had to do to become part of it. I do not feel one bit bad for illegal immigrants. They appear to feel as though the USA HAS to allow them in. They appear to feel the USA HAS to look the other way as they are illegally in this country. MCSO and Joe are doing a great job and they have my full support and my aunts.