TUSD’s “Ethnics Studies” defense in appeal: Part 1

Part I

“The critical educator cannot wait for the dominant group or the American structure to correct itself. The critical educator must understand that the oppressors cannot see the nature of their ways. Given this understanding, it is my belief that the dominant group is incapable of critical reflection or redemptive remembering….” Culture as a resource: Critically Compassionate intellectualism and its struggle against racism, fascism, and intellectual apartheid in Arizona, Augustine F. Romero, and Sean Martin Arce

In the third day of hearings in the Tucson Unified School District’s appeal of the finding by the state’s Superintendent of Public Instruction that the district’s Mexican American/Raza Studies classes violate state law, the district presented their defense. The body language was at times more telling than the testimony. Cameras were prohibited, but the pictures of the wilting witnesses who made appearances were etched on the minds of observers.

Three witnesses appeared in person and two witnesses appeared telephonically. First to take the stand was the Mexican American Studies Director, Sean Arce. Arce phoned in his testimony for his second appearance before Judge Kowal. The state continued their cross examination which had started at the second hearing.

He testified about an assigned reading by Roberto “Dr. Cintli” Rodriquez called The H Word, and its advocacy for the movimiento. The article argues against those who deny their heritage and fail to join the movimiento, especially those “who are born in the USA and still have relatives south of the US and Mexico border” and those “stranger still, are Raza who migrate to El Norte” and assimilate.

The article clearly condemned those people who “could be part of the movimiento” but have been discouraged, or in environments in which it is “frowned upon.” The article rejects the “Americanization movement.” It refers to the pilgrims as the “Plymouth Rockers.”

Arce was asked about the movimiento and MEChA. He testified that MEChA was “founded in 1969 and is part of one of the largest student organizations of Mexican American students” which “advocates for higher education, social justice, and involved in the civil and human rights movement.” Still Arce denied that the classes advocate for the movimiento and testified that it would be inappropriate for educators to do so.

The movimiento and Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlán or MEChA came under scrutiny as a result of the district’s Superintendent Pedicone’s testimony on the second day hearings about an email he received from Assistant Superintendent Dr. Lupita Cavazos-Garcia. In the email, Dr. Garcia expressed her concerns regarding MEChA’s efforts to recruit primarily the district’s Mexican American Studies students for an occupied peoples’ conference at which Palestinian and TUSD students would be sharing their experiences living in occupied territories.

Dr. Garcia wrote that she was concerned about the organization’s “anti-Semitic tone and tenor on our campuses.” She went on to state that the some of the district’s students have little emotional support and “our Raza students are ripe for this kind of influence.”

Arce testified as to the foundations of the Mexican American curriculum. According to testimony, the curriculum was not designed to put the United States in a bad light, but to “rehumanize” Mexican American students who have been dehumanized by the dominant group’s (white) system.

The curriculum is based upon the works of Arce and Augustine Romero, the works of Roberto “Dr. Cintli” Rodriquez, and Aztec spirituality. Rodriquez’s writings and Arce and Romero’s Barrio Pedagogy were discussed in Arce’s short appearance.

At one point, when Arce was asked to locate some highly inflammatory class materials from among the evidentiary materials sent to him by the attorneys, the telephone call was mysteriously disconnected. The momentary levity provided by the conveniently dropped call broke the building tension in the courtroom. At least five minutes went by before the court could reach Arce again.

He was then asked about class materials including pictures of lynchings, an inflammatory quote by Sam Houston, a picture of Texas Rangers holding nooses connected to recently hung dead bodies, a lesson entitled Birth of a Mestizo, and a picture of an Aztec in a ceremonial headdress with the caption, “Who is the illegal, pilgrim?” Arce stated that the materials were simply historical facts or represented the sentiments of the times in which they occurred. He testified that they did not promote resentment.

Next to take the stand in the Phoenix courtroom was Abel Morado, the principal of Tucson High School and friend of Delores Huerta. Morado appeared eager to begin his testimony and his defense of the program. He testified that THS offers senior American Government from a Chicano Perspective, senior and junior English (Literature) from a Chicano Perspective, junior History from a Chicano Perspective, Art from a Chicano Perspective. He did not know the exact number of MAS class periods the school offers.

Enrollment in the MAS classes has drastically dropped since last year. District wide the total number of high school and middle school students taking the classes as dropped from approximately 1500 to 375. As a result MAS teachers have been assigned standard curriculum classes as well as a few MAS classes. Tucson High School continues to offer the most sections of the classes in the district.

He explained how the students were enrolled in the classes in the spring. He described freshman students as a “captive audience” and said that his teaching staff would “put the word out” or actively recruit students from the 8th grade for their classes. This practice is common in most schools around the country. Contrary to one student’s report that they were automatically enrolled in the MAS classes, he testified that the school does not even encourage Hispanic kids to take the MAS classes.

He stated that he had probably had more experience with the MAS students because their classes were the subject of controversy. “I have found myself asking the students how they are doing,” probably “more so than a biology student.” He described the classroom instruction in detail. He stated that the MAS students were no different than students in welding class.

Morado described the use of ritualistic clapping and chanting used in the MAS classes. He testified that he had seen the use of the “In Lak Ech” chant or pledge and the Caesar Chavez clap in all the MAS classrooms he had visited.

Morado’s testimony under questioning by the district’s attorney led the fact finder to get the impression that he had evaluated the classes in the past and he had seen nothing to indicate that the material or the classroom instruction created resentment or promoted ethnic solidarity, two of the violations of state law outlined in Superintendent of Public Instruction, John Huppenthal’s finding against the district. Morado explained the teacher evaluation process and the process used to determine which of the many school administrators would evaluate which teachers.

He testified at first, that he had not received any complaints from students, parents, or other educators about the classes. He said that he was unsure of the curriculum details, but that “I think there is a lot of relationship building in the classes -getting to know them as individuals.” Morado explained that the students are able to “identify with events in history based on ethnicity” and that the students’ education was enriched as a result.

Through cross examination, it was revealed that in recent years it was his duty to evaluate teachers of the Exceptional and Vocational Ed departments. Prior to the start of this school year, most MAS department teachers did not come under the supervision of school administrators but reported directly to and were only evaluated by Sean Arce.

Morado then admitted that in fact, he had not evaluated the MAS teachers, but had “dropped in” their classrooms on occasion. Morado wiped sweat from his face, and grew smaller in his chair, as his face became ashen during the Judge’s questioning.

Morado was asked by the state’s attorney about reports of complaints to him about the program. The state’s attorney presented Morado a piece of paper with a name written on it, due to the fact that the name could not be revealed to the public in order to protect the student’s identity. He was asked if he recognized the name. He denied that he did. Surprised by Morado’s response, the state’s attorney then asked if he had been advised by anyone about a student who had been called “white boy” by one of the MAS instructors and expelled from class. Morado responded, “no.”

Judge Kowal interrupted the testimony and suggested that Morado’s testimony seemed contradictory. He asked Morado to clarify his statements. Morado testified that his testimony was specifically referring to only the kinds of complaints the district’s attorney was referring to.

The judge changed his line of inquiry and asked whether Morado had seen the chant use in classes other than MAS, he responded that he had not. The judge then asked whether he had seen the chant use in classes other than MAS, he responded that he had not.

When asked if he would have a problem if the kids were told that they had been dehumanized by the system he replied, “Yes.”

Next on the stand was the district’s expert witness, Professor Jeffrey F. Milem, the department head of Policy Studies and Practice in the College of Education at the University of Arizona. Milem stated that some might consider him to be an expert in Critical Race Theory (CRT). He testified that he was brought in as an expert once for two days, but the case did not go to court.

Although the district seemed to present him to the court as an expert witness, usually someone not associated with a party in a legal matter except to offer an outside opinion on an issue in the disputed matter; the professor explained his ties to the district and the MAS program. He testified that he and other “colleagues” from the university called on Dr. Pedicone, who had been an adjunct professor at the university, to offer their support for his support of the MAS program. They also offered to review the statistical data of the program, and act as an intermediary of sorts between Dr. Pedicone and the Save Ethnic Studies plaintiffs. Milem testified that Pedicone did not accept their offers.

Milem also testified that he is Facebook friends with both Arce and Romero and has worked with them on the Institute for Transformative Education. He explained that of course he and his employer, the University of Arizona, have benefited from their association with the MAS program and its Institute for Transformative Education.

The MAS classes have operated for years as a pipeline for students going into the university’s Ethnic Studies Department and the College of Education. The district then employs some of the graduates of the Ethnic Studies Department or contracts with its staff.

He spoke of his role in the district’s Institute for Transformative Education. The Institute was a joint event by the district and the University. Up until this year, the district carried most of the cost of the Institute of upwards of $200,000 including using desegregation funds which were intended for underserved classrooms, to instead purchase speakers’ books for distribution to attendees for free. He stated that the greatest minds in CRT come together at the Institute.

He testified regarding the academic value of Ethnic Studies for students in TUSD and elsewhere. He sat upright, leaning forward in his chair while he proudly discussed the legal history of CRT, despite the fact that it has been not been accepted by the mainstream legal community and its proponents have been called the “lunatic fringe” by Judge Posner. However, it has been widely embraced by the education community due to the efforts of activist educator William Ayers.

The courts have criticized CRT as anti-Semitic and anti-Asian. TUSD commissioned a study in 2006, by two of TUSD’s Director of Equity Auggie Romero’s friends, CRT experts Andrade and Duncan. The study was kept from the public, in part because of its harsh criticism of TUSD’s Pan Asian department.

He seemed slightly amused when he testified that he was unfamiliar with two words found in the writings of Arce and Romero. A slight smile and a shake of his head accented his testimony about the word racisimize. The word appears to have been coined by Arce and Romero. A Google search of the word only reveals one entry. According to Arce and Romero, racisimize is to “insert race and racism variables.”

Red faced, he slumped when he then admitted that he had never been in a TUSD MAS classroom and had only talked to students who attended the Institute for Transformative Education. He also admitted that he had never reviewed the MAS curriculum. He admitted that he had mostly attended the Institute’s early Keynote Speaker sessions, and only few of the Institute’s afternoon “break out” sessions at which much of the curriculum was developed. Despite this, he discussed the classes and their effect on Hispanic and Anglos children.

The most common criticism of Attorney General Tom Horne is the fact that he has never attended a MAS class. One could conclude from Professor Milem’s testimony that a classroom visit is unnecessary in the development of an opinion or judgment about the classes.

Presumably Hispanic children will find their true identity through exposure to the truth about their oppression. Anglo children will experience “disequilibrium” when exposed to the truths presented through Ethnic Studies. Milem testified that through “disequilibrium” we develop better cognitive skills and when they are confronted by the truths presented through Ethnic Studies.

He testified that the students then work through the “disequilibrium” with the assistance of caring adults. He could not and did not testify with specificity about TUSD’s Anglo students’ “disequilibrium” and the actions of their educators.

Coming next:TUSD’s Ethnics Studies appeal district’s defense developing precious knowledge