America: A place where freedom rings, a nation for huddled masses yearning to breathe free, a land of opportunity.
Well, for white people at least.
Senate Bill 1069, sponsored by Sen. Jonathan Paton, R-Tucson, is the latest in a long line of legislation intended to supposedly promote “American” ideals in our state’s schools.
Under the bill, any state-funded K-12 school that continues to offer ethnic-studies courses (designated as classes that are “designed primarily for pupils of a particular ethic group” or that “advocate ethnic solidarity”) would stand to lose a crippling 10 percent of its state money each month the courses remain.
The primary target of the bill is to strong-arm the Tucson Unified School District into dropping its Ethnic Studies program, which teaches about 1,200 students in courses like African-American literature and Mexican-American/Raza studies.
The law’s guidelines would also be vague, allowing the superintendent of state schools to decide what ethnic-studies courses are acceptable in Arizona. Or, as it seems in Superintendent Tom Horne’s case, deciding what classes — from the aforementioned courses to Asian-American studies and European history — are “American” enough.
“The job of the public schools is to develop the student’s identity as Americans and as strong individuals,” Horne said in a Friday news release supporting the passage of the bill.
“It’s not the job of the public schools to promote ethnic chauvinism,” he said.
And amazingly, just like that, Horne, showed in 30 words how we have remained among the nation’s worst in education rankings during his 7-year tenure.
Not only is SB 1069 a colossal waste of time during a critical, tumultuous period in the state’s history, it is also a plainly idiotic, counterproductive, contradictory and, ironically, un-American proposition.
First and foremost, Horne’s comment reflects a delusional view of an American identity. This is a nation built by immigrants and based on a melting pot of ethnicities, cultures and religions. Ethnic-studies courses are vital in learning how to be an American, especially in a state like Arizona. According to 2007 census numbers, ethnic minority groups made up 43 percent of the Grand Canyon state’s population.
Furthermore, SB 1069 would damage our already-failing state schools. The Tucson district’s ethnic-studies courses are so popular with students that there are waiting lists to get into some of them, which should be great news.
Classes that students can relate to and use to gain a better understanding of theirs’ and/or their peers’ backgrounds are excellent learning tools on many different levels, from adding historical perspective to promoting tolerance.
Also, by actively engaging students, the classes can be helpful in combating high school dropout rates, which would be especially nice given that Arizona recently had the deplorable distinction of possessing the nation’s highest dropout rate.
If anything, it seems that there should be more of these programs statewide.
And one person who should understand the importance of a culturally sound education is Horne. He was born in Canada to Jewish immigrants who fled from Poland to Montreal in advance of the 1930s Nazi invasion.
Then, in accordance with the “American dream,” Horne became a successful Harvard-educated attorney and a two-term-winning politician.
A man of his pedigree must realize the consequences of the bill that he is openly supporting. The concept of embracing diversity — one of America’s finest hallmarks and one that made it possible for him to be in his position today — would be desecrated by this white-washing bill.
Yet, here we are. Horne claims ethnic-studies programs are “harmful and dysfunctional,” and Paton’s piece of legislation is set for a hearing this week.
Soon, Arizona could go from having poorly educated students to having poorly educated and ignorant students, all the while imposing its own brand of “ethnic chauvinism” by continuing its persistent attempts to force a contrived version of America on its schoolchildren.
Senate Bill 1069 is educationally irresponsible and narrow minded, but most of all, it’s an embarrassment that will keep Arizona even further behind the learning curve.
Reach Ben at bberkley@asu.edu
