Arizona Teachers Embark on "Save Ethnic Studies" Tour
There’s that old cliché that you don’t know where you’re going until you know where you’ve been. This wisdom proves particularly true in the case of ethnic studies programs. Just look at the facts in Tucson Unified, the largest school district in Arizona: While national Latino high school graduation rates are at 56%, students who participate in the ethnic studies program graduate at a rate of 97.5%. Two-thirds of students in the program go on to college, whereas only 24% of all high school students do so nationally. Students consistently score higher on the state’s standardized tests than those who are not enrolled in the program.
But you wouldn’t know this listening to politicians like Tom Horne, who successfully lobbied for the passage of HB 2281. This Arizona law banning ethnic studies programs for all K-12 schools is set to go into effect in 2011. To supporters of the ban, courses that teach history inclusive of groups who are often left out of the narrative are “divisive” — never mind that thinking critically about race, ethnicity, and identity, and the way such concepts shape our world is the only real path to breaking down discrimination. (Dr. Arnold Pan of Post Academic offers