Precious Knowledge

A film Directed by Ari Luis Palos

                                                                         

The film presents a series of Raza studies controversy that led to the bill’s introduction that would ban these ethnic studies programs.

Raza studies were gaining popularity in 1997 in Tucson, Arizona. The Tucson Unified School District data reported a forty-eight percent dropout rate in graduation among the Latino student population.  In response, the district created a study group that identified different variables that caused the diminishing graduation rate among Latinos. Eventually, a social justice pedagogy gained traction. Raza’s studies made it through the school district governing board recommendation. The goal is to lower the Latino dropout rate. In 2002, the Tucson Unified School District conveyed a substantial ninety-three percent progress on graduation rate among Latino students.

The film illustrates the classes taught in the Raza studies program. In addition, the film features Curtis Acosta, who teaches literature, and Jose Gonzales, who instructs American Government.

The documentary showed how Tom Horne introduced a bill that challenged the Raza studies. He argued that the program promotes racial divide among the students in schools and “in conflict with the American values.” Initially, the bills sponsored by Tom Horne became a law when Jan Brewer approved the proposed act.

This documentary serves as a lens on social issues we are still confronting, like institutionalized racism.

The film shows Tom Horne’s talks about the exploratory committee and promotes a house bill prohibiting public schools from offering classes or courses that support ethnic studies. He exclaims, “It’s ethically wrong to divide kids up by their ethnicity and teach them separately according to their ethnicity. Well, that is the exact opposite of my philosophy. We do not see ourselves through what race we were born into or what gender. We see ourselves as individuals. We are proud Americans, and there are a lot better ways to energize students academically other than dividing them up by race.” Next, Tom Horne introduces Senate Bill 110. It authorizes the Superintendent of public instruction to withhold public monies and take regulatory action against a public school that supports a curriculum that promotes ethnic studies.

What Tom Horne and other proponents of SB 1070 is institutionalized racism. It is a policy that disproportionately affects the Latino students’ access to the rights to study materials relevant to understanding their identity, history, and background. Second, the bill is a discriminatory policy that favors the dominant culture at the expense of the culture of the minority groups. Third, the law affects ethnic studies’ students, many of whom are children of immigrants.

The passed law is astounding manipulation of a politician who uses his platform in government to eliminate a program without going to the classroom to gather data and analysis. For me, there is no evidence to Tom Horne’s claims of ethnic studies causing division students by their ethnicities.

Former Governor Jan Brewer expresses stereotypes in the film. She pointed out the photograph of the student’s demonstration and said, “People dressed up in a mask over their face, sunglasses, brown shirts are revolutionary costumes.” She clearly expressed her expectations on how students should dress up; otherwise, you look revolutionary in brown uniform shirts.

This film reminds me of the recent article I read, “Putting Educators at the Center of A Social Movement For Economic and Educational Justice.”  The diagram below illustrates how I understand a movement building by engaging students in civic activism that could lead to social change.

DEVELOP AN ISSUE CAMPAIGN – advocate for change 

   

Finally, the documentary reflects what Goldie Mohamed reiterated in the film “"Abolitionist Teaching and the Future of Our Schools."  Goldie Mohammed rationalized that, "For pedagogy, we must create a culturally and historically responsive curriculum. We must revise or modify the curriculum given to us. So, while you do have that curriculum typically embedded in skills, ask yourself how this unit plan can help my students learn something about themselves or others. By asking that question, you are making the unit better. Ask yourself how this unit plan makes my students smarter about something outside of the equation, citing textual evidence outside of the skills right when new people place things in my teaching. What kind of histories in my unearthing that they may not have learned? How would this unit plan advance my student's thinking about equity power and anti-oppression?

https://abolitionistteachingnetwork.org/