And as much as I might sympathize with the sentiment behind it….. my verdict is this: sloppy, sophomoric, and not long for this world.
Education, politics, and anything else that catches my attention.
Monday, May 17, 2010
More On "Ethnic Studies" Courses and the Arizona Law
Last week I mentioned Arizona's new K-12 law which forbids elementary or secondary schools to teach classes that are "designed primarily for pupils of a particular ethnic group" and advocate "the overthrow of the United States government" or "resentment toward a race or class of people." Today, Michael Lopez, guest blogging over at Joanne's site, shares his impressions of the law. His conclusion should give you a feel for what to expect:
Darren,
ReplyDeleteWhat is the sympathy behind it? How do ethnic studies translate to anything other than the current curiculum doesn't include achievements or history of certain ethnic groups...so they've made an ETHNIC STUDIES class to address that.
If the suggestion is don't teach kids to be racist or overthrow the government, that's a no brainer. But why assume all ethnic studies have that underlying subtext? That's ludicrous!!!
It comes down to racism, really. Why target an entire ethnic studies program, why not target teachers or books that advocate for racism?
Because there aren't a lot of white power studies in schools, but there are a lot of victimhoom studies programs. Heck, even MEChA is considered mainstream in high schools.
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