TUSD’s MAS curriculum for kindergarten includes Aztec spirituality Part I

The lesson plan, Quetzalkoatl: Mi Cuate, Mi Otro Yo A Journey Towards Self Love and Towards Love For Others, is part of TUSD’s Mexican American Studies curriculum.

The plan is intended for grades K-5. The students will be “introduced or re-introduced (genetic memory) to an ancient way of knowing or being.”

The plan is based on the premise that the “Mexica (Aztec) people believed that to practice the energy of the Quetzalkoatl (your twin) in ones (sic) daily life, was to love not only yourself and your Hermano/Hermana as your sibling, but also to love the beautiful energy inherent within all living entities.”

Jose Gonzales, the lesson plan’s developer, instructs the instructor to, “Note: NO human should ever be labeled an “illegal” and/or “alien”. Throughout history, people in power who have intentionally (Hitler with the Jews) or unintentionally (The United States with Mexicans) aimed at dehumanizing a group of people; have used labels that strip the intended groups humanity. This is done in order to justify the people in powers actions. The end result is the death/murder of human beings.”

Gonzales claims that the lesson plan gives, “students a forum to discuss segments of our country’s history that exposes its dehumanization qualities and allows for a discussion for growth to occur.” The teacher who offers this lesson to their students is advised to center “the discussion on the notion of humanity, and should a human ever be called an “illegal. Furthermore tie in the founding principle of our Declaration of Independence: “ALL” men are created equal.”

This material was turned over by the district to the state, in a Discovery Request, as part of the district’s appeal of Huppenthal’s finding. It was found in a file marked, “elementary.” TUSD’s Superintendent Dr. John Pedicone testified that the district has not made any changes to the classes since before the finding by Superintendent Huppenthal that the classes violate state law.

In her testimony in the appeal, TUSD teacher Julie Elvick Mejia, discussed at some length the importance of Aztec spirituality in her classroom. She testified that her students began their current school year with the “Four Sacred Elements to Becoming Human” as outlined in this lesson.

The ongoing appeal has included testimony from another TUSD teacher and parent who described a rally organized by Gonzales which had initially been intended to show opposition to Arizona’s controversial immigration law SB1070; however the district would not allow this. As a result, the rally focused on the Aztec people. “It was not about participation in history” but about their “religious beliefs.”

Quetzalcoatl was “the creator god of humanity represented duality by nature. Half air and half earth, the feathered serpent was one of the most important pre-Hispanic deities, the main protagonist of many of the major Mesoamerican myths and his cult was very ancient,” according to the Museo del Templo Mayor, Instituto Nacional de Antropología e História, México.