http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100512/ap_on_re_us/us_arizona_ethnic_studies



In today's society white only clubs are impossible. Where as other ethinic clubs are encouraged. So what do you think?

I think that I've been to weddings at the Polish-American Club and the Elks. I think I've marched in a St. Patrick's Day parade and gotten scholarships from the Daughters of the American Revolution. I think that my Cub Scout meetings were held in the Masonic Lodge and that I went to Vacation Bible School at a Baptist Church. I think that I celebrated multiple Saints Days with my Portuguese neighbors growing up, eaten awesome street food during Puerto Rican Pride, Chinese New Year, Fiesta, and Oktoberfest, watched some great drag shows during Gay Pride, sold Toblerone and Gummie Bearchen at the Holiday Crafts Fair to raise money for the German Club, and happily volunteered at Special Olympics and a variety of Walks for various diseases. I think that I've played dreidl and eaten potato pancakes and lit a Menorah.

I think that people form tribes across a variety of aspects of life, and that it is a totally natural thing. And that with 300 million plus residents, there's possibility for infinite tribes in this country. And that trying to keep people from finding positive ways to experience theirs is not only an exercise in futility, it makes you a small nasty person who refuses to see the beauty of seeing the world through another lens.

_________________
Hope is the new black.

Sorry I used the wrong wording. Clique was the word, not club.
I understand the celebration of diversity of the world we live. These classes are in public high schools not privately funded. Fueling segregation. Not fueling tolerance.

First, I think we should apparently worry more about English classes rather than what kind of clubs exist out there.

Second, can you tell me about these classes that fuel intolerance that are apparently encouraged in my public schools? Could we get some examples? I went through our class list and couldn't find anything but maybe there's something else you are talking about.

How exactly does a class on Native American Lit fuel segregation? The only plays that we read in my Lit classes in high school were written by Shakespeare and Henrick Ibsen. "A Doll's House" and "Macbeth" are great dramas, but it would have been interesting to get other perspectives.

Look at the craziness foisted on everyone by the TX Dept of Education textbook committee. The "standard" history being taught already promotes a particular agenda. I don't see anything wrong with understanding the Mexican-American war from multiple perspectives, or a social science lesson block that fosters understanding of life on a reservation, or reading "Farewell to Manzanar."

_________________
Hope is the new black.

I don't know Fribur. What school district do you live in? Did you read the article? It explained that the law was targeted towards a district in Tuson.

Because one teacher said that Republicans hate Latinos, which while a fucked up thing to say, isn't a reason to try to come down on ethnic classes.

And it's open to all races. What's wrong with this? It's an elective, and is a subject that our normal history classes routinely ignore other than the obligatory one month a year recitation of the same material over and over.

If schools can't be bothered to provide a comprehensive history class that doesn't neglect the huge impact that women and non-whites have had, then we need these ethnic classes (as well as female-centric classes) to pick up the slack.

Read my previous quote above. The measure is to stop the way the classes are arranged as they are now. They are segregated. Not by rule but by design.
It fosters racial highschool cliques.

Could get fixed? Wish someone would find out how to solve root issue to...



and make everyone happy.

I read it, I just don't understand it. How are they segregated? Do they have separate Latino ethnic classes for whites and Latinos? Or is it that white kids prefer to not take a class centered on Latino, African-American or Native American culture if they don't have to? Self-segregation, while not typically viewed as ideal, is perfectly normal behavior for humans.

Make the classes mandatory, and the problem of segregation is solved while still teaching students about major cultures that have and will continue to shape this nation.


Fuck happy. History isn't about glossing over major contributions or grievous wrongs because it makes people feel good or bad. It should be as fact-based as possible, and not this fluffy bunny stuff designed to make students buy in to some fictional idea of how this nation was born.

You know what the biggest bullshit lie that was forced upon us as children, besides the horseshit of Thanksgiving?

Cursive writing, and the constant need for it throughout life.

And will classes on English Lit be banned as well?

I'm not even sure I could write in cursive if I tried.

The way I am reading Garborg's response is yes. You would eliminate all prefixes and just have Lit. Lit would have a variety of many important sources, covering many backrounds. This would expose students to a wide variety of influences and not focus on on source, while also encourage students to experience this wide variety instead of labeling each as "xyz" Lit.

If that is indeed how he meant it, I think it's not such a bad idea. We could just name it Influential Lit and call it a day.

I have a bad feeling that's not what's really going to happen though.

What should be the rule usually isn't, and on the off chance that you finally have a fair and equitable rule, it is rarely followed to it's intent.

In other words, you're probably right Leo.

Not sure now is the best time to throw napalm on the nuclear blast.