Another judge will decide the fate of Mexican American Studies (MAS). This Federal District Court judge will decide whether MAS is part of TUSD’s Desegregation.
What does Desegregation have to do with Mexican American Studies?
One is about the pride of individuals; the other is about a collective hatred.
One could be the American Revolution, the other the French Revolution.
On February 2nd, 2012 the Mexican American Legal Defense Fund (MALDEF) asked the federal judge overseeing TUSD’s forty-year-old Desegregation to order (MAS) be reinstated.
The petition was filed on behalf of Mexican American plaintiffs who filed the desegregation case in the early nineteen seventies to force TUSD into what they called “racial balance”. MALDEF argues the MAS courses suspended last month are a critical component of TUSD’s Post Unitary Status plan — a court-ordered document that established a good-faith commitment to the future desegregation of TUSD. http://www.scribd.com/doc/80373034/Doc-1354-Mendoza-Plaintiffs-Response-to-Notice-to-Court-Concerning-Suspension-of-MAS-Courses-and-Request-for-SM-to-Take-Action
MAS studies were suspended after review of Arizona Superintendent of Education’s decision to cut 15 million a year in state funding from the TUSD budget because of what was called the racially divisive nature of MAS.
So what is the connection? In 2009, on Dec. 18th, Judge David Bury approved what is called the “Post Unitary Status Plan” as adopted by the TUSD Governing Board on July 30, 2009. In this approval the court acknowledged the district will “operate for the advocacy and equal advantage of every child”.
To put the MALDEF petition into perspective, some of the goals of TUSD's Post-Unitary Status Plan as part of the Desegregation settlement are:
• Create a plan that focuses on gains for all students and increased equality in student performance using measurable goals and indicators.
• Increase diversity in the Gifted and Talented Education program, as well as in honors and Advanced Placement classes.
• Expand the Mexican-American studies department.
• Use the Mexican-American studies and African-American studies departments to contribute to the commitment of greater academic and social equality. (Huicochea, 2010)
Both the French and American Revolutions demanded Liberty and Equality; one resulted in the greatest individual freedom in human history, the other resulted in the chaos of class hatred and the guillotine.
Deseg and MAS? The connection is in the words, increase equality and increase diversity. The disconnect has become apparent over the years as MAS has devolved to promoting victimization and hatred.
Deseg or MAS? American or French Revolution? Details are important.
The difference is the way each revolution perceives the individual.
Huicochea, A. (2010). Arizona Daily Star. TUSD vows adherence to Plan amid skepticism. http://azstarnet.com/news/local/education/precollegiate/article_6ea46393-c145-5fca-af06-f1b070bb29f9.html
Comments