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Ethnic studies draws mixed views, debate Horne out of touch, program backers say TUSD Ethnic Studies targeted

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A tired political drama played out Thursday morning in front of the Tucson Unified School District headquarters.

On Wednesday, state schools superintendent Tom Horne announced that he would hold a press conference at 10 a.m. Thursday across the street from the building to talk about "reasons TUSD should abolish its ethnic studies department."

TUSD responded with its own press conference at 9:30 a.m. inside the building "to provide clarity about the positive benefits of the district's ethnic studies department."

Horne has been on a crusade for several years against TUSD's ethnic studies program, specifically its Mexican American/Raza Studies courses. He wraps his complaints in the flag and offers rhetoric about judging people as individuals and not by what race or ethnicity they happen to be born into.

These statements hide the political opportunism. He's singing a sadly familiar song.

In the small crowd of supporters gathered around Horne to hear him speak Thursday morning were people holding signs that read: "Operation Wetback" and "Mexico Out of U.S." and a man who yelled "This is treason! This is treason!" during the TUSD press conference. Horne's supporters also repeatedly yelled at the Hispanic TUSD students and graduates who had come to support the ethnic studies program to "Go home."

These Horne boosters are not concerned about improving education. They are not concerned with judging individuals on the content of their character, not the color of their skin.

This is not a debate about education. Horne is indulging in obvious political grandstanding and co-opting the authority of his office to incite controversy about a program that has been in TUSD for a decade.

Horne said he was prompted to act by complaints he received from people who, he said, told him that they'd been intimidated after criticizing the ethnic studies and Raza programs.

Without question, if this kind of atmosphere exists TUSD immediately must address it and fix it.

Although he has never been to an ethnic studies class or spoken with students about it, Horne also finds fault with the content of the program, saying it makes "rebels" out of students and "separates" them by race or ethnicity. In fact, the ethnic studies classes, including Raza Studies, are electives open to all students.

Only the TUSD Governing Board has the authority to close the ethnic studies program. The board has expressed support for the program because it has produced positive academic results.

In the 2006-07 school year, only 18 percent of high school juniors who weren't enrolled in Raza Studies classes at the four high schools that offer them passed the math portion of the AIMS test. Compare that with the 55 percent of Raza Studies juniors at those same schools who passed that test. Graduation rates for Raza students are also better than students not in the program.

The Raza Studies program clearly has elements that engage students and get them excited about education. These are the qualities that, as the state's top education official, Horne should be seeking out and helping to replicate.

It would be different, students said Thursday, if required classes explored in-depth different perspectives and examined the contributions different groups have made to the American story — but they don't. In ethnic studies courses, students do.

"You learn about the impact you and your people have made," said Jesus Romero, a Tucson High Magnet School 2007 graduate. "I want to expand my learning beyond my heritage. It's like a ripple effect — everyone contributed. We learn to look at everyone as human beings."

Romero said he doesn't understand why some see the Raza program as threatening. "The only thing to fear is critical-thinking students."

Horne dismissed such positive results as, perhaps, being a "sugar-coated version" of what's going on.

A person's race or ethnic background is "not something as Americans we should consider important," he told us Thursday afternoon.

Race, ethnicity, religion, gender, disability or intelligence do not define a person. But it is ridiculous to pretend that these characteristics play no part in a person's life, how they're treated by others or in our community.

Talking about reality isn't "radical." Not talking about these truths is shameful.

As Arizona's top education official, Horne has plenty to keep him busy: improving graduation rates, academic achievement, funding and teacher quality.

Horne is entitled to his opinion, of course. But Horne shouldn't neglect educational needs as he stirs up a misinformed frenzy against a program he has no direct knowledge about and no authority to change.