“I was elected to serve the public, and govern this district. I was not elected to allow protocol to give me an excuse to do nothing. I was elected and charged with protecting children and the district from liabilities. If we ignore this situation, or follow a protocol that ignores the uniqueness of this situation, we are neglecting our duties.” -Email from Governing Board member Michael Hicks to TUSD Superintendent Pedicone and fellow Governing Board member Judy Burns
Just last week in the second day of hearings in the matter of TUSD’s “Ethnic Studies” appeal, a TUSD educator and parent testified that she was concerned about coming forward to state officials due to her concerns of retaliation by TUSD staff. The TUSD teacher parent testified that her daughter’s Mexican American Studies teacher used his position to push his agenda and anti-intellectual views on his students.
Her testimony was compelling due to the authority with which she spoke on the subject. The real fear of retaliation could be heard in her voice. District administrators and lawyers did not advise at least two Board members of her existence. News of her testimony came as a surprise to many.
What didn’t come to a surprise to Mike Hicks was the response he received from the district’s staff and fellow Governing Board member Judy Burns. Excuses, passing the buck, and a disturbing level of denial seem to carry the day these days. Hicks received an email from a concerned parent and did what he does, he asked the right question, but got all the wrong answers.
The concerned parent reached out to Hicks about a class in which their child is currently enrolled. They wrote that their child, “is interested in learning more” about our “country and its history” which is why the child “elected an American History class this year. The parent describe the child’s “first day of class last week,” in an email to Hicks.
The teacher “instructed the class that if they planned on learning from a textbook and answering questions they would not do well. She told the class that since 60% of all students in TUSD are Hispanic, she would teach this class from a Hispanic perspective. That at the beginning and end of this class they would recite a saying in both English and Spanish.* She stated she has always taught this class this way and would continue to do so in the future.”
Hicks forwarded the parent’s concerns on to John Pedicone, and copied the rest of the Board. Hicks, a teacher on the Junior College level, questioned the acceptability of a teacher on the high school level, unilaterally deciding what she would teach in a classroom that had an established curriculum.
From: HICKS, MICHAEL
Sent: Friday, August 26, 2011 2:20 PM
To: Pedicone, John
Cc: Wallace, Mary Alice
John,
Question, if this is happening is it acceptable?
Thanks
Clearly the email writer understood the normal protocol involved when a child is unhappy with a class; the parent advised their child to go to “speak to a counselor” in order to “drop this class and enter a new one.” Neither the parent or Hicks was asking for assistance in the matter. Hicks merely asked what any good educator would ask; can teachers decide to teach whatever they want whenever they want. It appears that after many years sitting on the TUSD Governing Board Burns does understand the concept. She responded to Pedicone two days later.
From: Judy Burns [mailto:jurns@earthlink.net]
Sent: Sunday, August 28, 2011 1:06 PM
To: Pedicone, John; Wallace, Mary Alice
Cc: Bynum, Karen; Auvenshine, Bridget; Adelita; HICKS, MICHAEL; Stegeman, Mark; Cuevas, Miguel
John,
I became curious if Mr. Hicks understands protocol for complaints from parents or staff.
I always ask a parent if they have spoken to the teacher. If they have and are not satisfied with the answers they received, they need to speak with the principal. If they are still not satisfied, they can go to the asst. Supt. or supt.
I have never encouraged people to circumvent the chain of command and would like to know if you believe that is still the route to go or if we should encourage parents and/or employees to come directly to the Board?
Judy
Most experienced educators question the practice of requiring the parents to discuss teaching methods and practices with a teacher. It is normally the administration’s duty to offer the level of professional development clearly indicated by the teacher’s apparent inability to distinguish her personal desires from the needs of her students.
From: Pedicone, John
Sent: Mon 8/29/2011 7:54 AM
To: ‘Judy Burns’; Wallace, Mary Alice
Cc: Bynum, Karen; Auvenshine, Bridget; Adelita; HICKS, MICHAEL; Stegeman, Mark; Cuevas, Miguel
As I have said to each board member, of course parents should be directed back to the principal and through the chain of command. This has been a struggle with many issues throughout the time I have been here. This needs to be one of the topics for our next retreat – I also think we need to establish a priority list of topics for that meeting. I will speak to Miguel about that when we get together and perhaps we can schedule that meeting as soon as possible. As I mentioned after the last discussion of the previous retreat, the board seemed satisfied to wait until October. I would prefer to meet before that, since it is clear there are a number of issues that need to be discussed.
John
Pedicone also mentioned at the August 3rd retreat that emails, “really puts us in jeopardy.”
Although Pedicone and Burns fail to see or choose to ignore the real fear of retaliation at the district surrounding the Mexican American Studies classes and staff, the parent did not. They referred to an article they had read about the TUSD teacher’s testimony and her acknowledgment that kids are retaliated against by staff. The parent wrote that they “found the third paragraph enlightening;” which referred specifically to retaliation.
Michael Hicks, not one to get involved in petty Board politics, responded in defense of parents and students.
From: HICKS, MICHAEL
Sent: Monday, August 29, 2011 1:18 PM
To: Pedicone, John
Cc: Bynum, Karen
Mr. Pedicone and Ms. Burns,
I will not get into a debate with you on this subject.
I’m very aware of the protocol regarding school complaints that we get from our community that we represent. I was elected to serve the public, and govern this district. I was not elected to allow protocol to give me an excuse to do nothing. I was elected and charged with protecting children and the district from liabilities. If we ignore this situation, or follow a protocol that ignores the uniqueness of this situation, we are neglecting our duties.
I believe the concern that was brought to my attention was handled properly due to the circumstances. This teacher and others have openly announced in public that they would never conform and will defy all attempts to change or modify their teaching.
You seem to forget that most parents who have children in TUSD don’t trust the district and administration and they are afraid of a little known fact that RETALIATION against students does happen in this district, whether from the teacher, administration or other children.
In regards to protocols, to truly help our parents and children in resolving school issues without them feeling that their child can suffer retaliation, the district needs to organize some type of parent/child ombudsman program, this program would provide assistance to resolve complaints, disputes, and problems between families and schools in all areas that affect student learning.
Judy, never one to miss an opportunity to complain about school funding and uninterested in holding anyone in the MAS program accountable, responded predictably.
From: Judy Burns [mailto:jurns@earthlink.net]
Sent: Mon 8/29/2011 1:32 PM
To: HICKS, MICHAEL; Pedicone, John; Wallace, Mary Alice
Cc: Bynum, Karen; Auvenshine, Bridget
Just one of many programs we have had to cut to the bone because of budget cuts over the years. We used to have a School Community Services Dept. I do believe we still have an ombudsperson for parent issues.
Judy
The parent closed the email with a hope of “hearing back from you.” According to Board member Hicks, the parent will hear from him soon, and so will others who would rather not.
* “In Lak ek” is a pledge type chant which sends the message to students that whatever they do to the teacher they do to themselves. This is often said to children by predators, i.e. “if you hurt me, you are only hurting yourself.” It was mentioned in story published here in the Arizona Daily Independent.
“The ritualized clapping, commonly referred to as the unity or Caesar Chavez clap at the start of the classes, the ritualized recitation of the “You are my other self” or “In Lak’ ek” chant during the class, and the political rally type atmosphere of the class along with the seemingly senseless events surrounding the classes in the past few months all “formed the foundation of my assessment.” Dr. Stegeman testified that the words “we are all still in the struggle” in one student’s personalized version of the “In Lak’ ek” chant, triggered a recollection of a book he had read years ago, The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements by Eric Hoffer, and he had an “epiphany.” His notes read, “this is a cult.”
Dr. Stegeman addressed each of the aspects of a mass movement as outlined by Hoffer by describing what he had witnessed in his experience with the Mexican American studies classes, community events, and the actions of MAS proponents.