Many changes have occurred regarding education, altering what is taught, how material is taught, and what material is no longer available to be taught. The removal of course material that is offered to students is not uncommon in educational institutions, however, the material removed is that with usually very little educational or cultural significance. Seeing as Mexican-American Ethnic studies was not drawing enough student interest, some schools had begun to drop Mexican-American ethnic studies from their course catalogue. The results of this action came as a shock, as many individuals were outraged and took action in many different manners, barring the question: should educational institutions consider reinstating Mexican American Ethnic
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In an article in the LA Times written by Hector Tobar, an interview was conducted with a professor from Cal. State Northridge regarding a book he wrote and subject matter that he had taught that was banned for supposedly being separatist material. In the article, a law was passed in Arizona that "...all but equated ethnic studies with treason by making it illegal for any school program to advocate the overthrow of the government, 'promote resentment' toward a group of people or 'advocate ethnic solidarity.'(Tobar)." This law resulted in the ban and removal of Mexican-American Ethnic studies from schools in Arizona, and banning certain literary materials from being accessed. The subject matter has been dubbed treasonous and separatist, but rather this material was meant to inspire students of Ethnic backgrounds and illustrate the history of their culture that they did not understand. In the interview from Tobar's article, the interviewee also stated …show more content…
In a study performed by the University of Arizona, students that had been reported to have taken ethnic studies had displayed a higher interest in higher education, as well has having a higher graduation rate and an increase in college applications. Based on the results of the study, the authors had stated that "... MAS students being 46 percent more likely to graduate (2011) to 150 percent more likely than non-MAS students to graduate...(MAS Report, 7)" This evidence demonstrates that ethnic studies most definitely had a positive benefit on the students that had participated in the course, but the studies were still deemed as negative. The report also states that "… four different models (one for each cohort) were constructed to determine the relationship between MAS participation and subsequently passing all three AIMS tests. For three of the four cohorts (2008, 2010, and 2011), MAS students who failed at least one AIMS test initially were significantly more likely to ultimately pass all three AIMS tests...(MAS Report, 6)." The report shows that student participation in MAS led to a performance increase in AIMS tests, AIMS being math, reading, and writing. After acknowledging these results and outcomes, the fact that the state of Arizona banned MAS seems like
In an article in the LA Times written by Hector Tobar, an interview was conducted with a professor from Cal. State Northridge regarding a book he wrote and subject matter that he had taught that was banned for supposedly being separatist material. In the article, a law was passed in Arizona that "...all but equated ethnic studies with treason by making it illegal for any school program to advocate the overthrow of the government, 'promote resentment' toward a group of people or 'advocate ethnic solidarity.'(Tobar)." This law resulted in the ban and removal of Mexican-American Ethnic studies from schools in Arizona, and banning certain literary materials from being accessed. The subject matter has been dubbed treasonous and separatist, but rather this material was meant to inspire students of Ethnic backgrounds and illustrate the history of their culture that they did not understand. In the interview from Tobar's article, the interviewee also stated …show more content…
In a study performed by the University of Arizona, students that had been reported to have taken ethnic studies had displayed a higher interest in higher education, as well has having a higher graduation rate and an increase in college applications. Based on the results of the study, the authors had stated that "... MAS students being 46 percent more likely to graduate (2011) to 150 percent more likely than non-MAS students to graduate...(MAS Report, 7)" This evidence demonstrates that ethnic studies most definitely had a positive benefit on the students that had participated in the course, but the studies were still deemed as negative. The report also states that "… four different models (one for each cohort) were constructed to determine the relationship between MAS participation and subsequently passing all three AIMS tests. For three of the four cohorts (2008, 2010, and 2011), MAS students who failed at least one AIMS test initially were significantly more likely to ultimately pass all three AIMS tests...(MAS Report, 6)." The report shows that student participation in MAS led to a performance increase in AIMS tests, AIMS being math, reading, and writing. After acknowledging these results and outcomes, the fact that the state of Arizona banned MAS seems like