"'Greco-Roman Knowledge Only'" (B. Brown, Article 1)

Roberto Cintli Rogriguez

"'Greco Roman Knowledge Only in Arizona Schools, Indigenous Wisdom Outlawed Once Again"

Rethinking Schools

Summer, 2010

http://www.rethinkingschools.org/archive/24_04/24_04_greco.shtml

Summary:

Rogriguez provides an overview of the current situation in Arizona regarding the passage and signing into law of HB-2281. This bill outlaws the teaching of ethnic studies by removing funding from classes that fall under a specific category; Rogriguez insists that the Arizona State Superintendent of Schools Tom Horne has specifically targeted Tucson HS's Mexican American Studies program. It is interesting to note the close parallels this bill has with Arpaio's SB-1070, giving police officers more or less free reign to infringe on rights based on skin color.

Intended Audience: general public, and of specific interest to anyone outraged by the continuing history of minority oppression in America

Key Points:

• similar bill introduced last year, defeated after much protest
• students in the Mexican American Studies program tend to perform better than those not in the program, and they claim a higher rate of college-bound seniors
• Arizona has a recent history of increased operations against immigrants under the purview of Joe Arpaio, including the above-mentioned bill
• as a border state, Arizona may have to deal with these issues more immediately and intimately than many other states

Relevance: This is where it gets fun! Because of the nature of the issue, there is a knee-jerk reaction to think of it in terms of black-and-white. "Clearly," our moral minds assert, "this is a crime of segregation perpetrated by a racist school superintendent who must be failing his students and his district!" The article itself, written by a teacher or participant in the Mexican American Studies program, is clearly pitched in that direction-- but, Deconstructionism reminds us, what is the danger in immediately coming to that conclusion? Thinking of it from only his perspective is a useful tool to sympathize, become similarly outraged, and take action; but what of the perspective of the superintendent? For that matter, there isn't a word said about students' reactions to the MAS program... does anyone feel discriminated against simply because of the presence of such a program? Would a European American Studies program receive similar backing, or would it be shot down as well?

Although this is an issue that, in all likelihood, is another extremely conservative Arizona public servant operating in an unbelievable manner, it is valuable to keep in mind the tendency of Rethinking Schools to be outraged, and to outrage in turn. I will try to find a more "balanced" article next time, to see if more than the perspective of the oppressed is represented in the article. Bottom line: fascinating (and outrageous!) development in a state that is increasingly unbelievable. It will be interesting to follow these laws and see if they can possibly remain upheld.