Curtis Acosta/ dangerous minds in Tucson

            Mexican American Studies program was established in the year 1998 in Tucson, Arizona. It started as few courses with few schools and students but with time it grew to around six high schools with the same program in both the middle and elementary schools. The main objective of the establishment of this program was to reverse some allocating academic trends especially for the Chicano students in the Tucson area. With time this program was viewed as a youth empowerment program that enabled them to attain both academic and human potential (Echeverría et al 5). In 2010, during the political campaigns, a law was established so as to ban the MAS program and from the teachings in the ethical classes. These ethical studies were regarded as courses that advocated for the overthrow of the state government and advocated for ethnic solidarity instead of individual treatment of students. Banning of the MAS program was not the sole solution to all the fears that the government had on banning the program. From the historical perspective it is quite true to state that classrooms can be politically neutral and thus there was no need for the worry of overthrowing of the government. Public schools are solely established to transfer knowledge to students as well as empower them to work hard in order to succeed in life. It is through these programs that the youths are empowered, strengthened and encouraged to excel in all than they are doing. Solidarity is paramount in these public schools and this is similar to what was offered in the MAS program in Tucson, Arizona.  Therefore, this paper will base its argument on why I am against the ban with supportive examples from Acosta and other authors.

 

            One of the main reason as to why I am strongly against the ban is the fact that the program taught things that every youth could relate real life situations.  For instance, in the closure of the program, some of the student’s youths and Acosta himself refused to be overcome by the difficult situations that did face them at the time.

Thus instead of being victimized and giving up they decided to be meeting on Sundays so as to learn and keep the MAS program active. It is a result of their resiliency and dedication that enabled some of the scholars to be sponsored to collage. This experience relates to the youth and thus enables them to not give up at achieving what they really desire because in the end there is a greater reward. Courage plus determination will ultimately result to success. These are some of the important lessons and experiences that MAS program offered to the youth and we can agree that they are quite essential in the life of a youth (Echeverría et al 96).

            Collaboration of the youths in the MAS system is another quality transformation and nurturing process that ought not to be interfered with by closing down the MAS program. Instead we should all adhere towards supporting the program as in collaborating, there is cohesiveness and people are able to connect with the situation and be able to face reality as well as overcome the stress more diversely. Critical thinking is not dangerous but rather so important and it requires no surveillance as the individuals mind is the one that is involved. Hence the state should be proud at supporting those critical minds that are able to do greater things that can really help the government once supported (Ross 104). According to Dr. Sanchez, it seems that the education system in Arizona is basically political. However this should not be the case as education is not about politics but rather about being informed. In this case, the program ought to be supported as it does not violate anyone’s dignity but rather helps on developing the dignity of these students from the quality of education that they are getting from the program.

            The type of education that was taking place in MAS was basically a liberator education system that “empowered the youth to think more critically and to add on that to act upon their convictions through civic engagement, activism and non-violent civil disobedience are the core illegitimacies” that disrupted the minds of politicians (Acosta 7). This kind of an education system posed a threat to the state and this resulted to the attempts of closing the program. However this is the highest form of injustice in Arizona and those reacting in the way that they reacted showed that, “politics will traverse in order to stop pockets of liberation and springs of hope for the students and other silenced youths” which is rather cruel (Acosta 7). Political selfishness should not be the guiding principle of any states action and this is the reason as to why the MAS program should continue so as to eliminate those old perspectives of the political system.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

            Acosta, Curtis, and Asiya Mir. "Empowering young people to be critical thinkers: The Mexican American Studies Program in Tucson." Voices in Urban Education 34.Summer (2012): 15-26.

            Acosta, Curtis. "Dangerous minds in Tucson: The banning of Mexican American Studies and critical thinking in Arizona." Journal of Educational Controversy 8.1 (2014): 9.

            Echeverría, Darius V. Aztlán Arizona: Mexican American Educational Empowerment, 1968-1978. , 2014. Print.

            Ross, E W. The Social Studies Curriculum: Purposes, Problems, and Possibilities. , 2014. Print.