tucson schools

Ethnic studies ban leads to depression, low self-esteem, UA study says

Low self-esteem series

Woe is everyone.

Just when we were recovering from research that said some of Arizona’s English language classes riddled students with low self-esteem, we now learn banning ethnic studies could also – guess what? – riddle students with low self-esteem.

We wonder how any student can even get through the day without curling into the fetal position on the floor of the nearest restroom stall.

Perhaps all these students are suffering from low self-esteem because the researchers say they should be, kind of like the reverse law of positive thinking.

In any event, this time around a couple of University of Arizona faculty members gauged student responses to the state’s 2008 proposed legislation that would have taken ethnic studies out of schools.

This legislation never went through, but the more recent HB 2281 did pass. The latter says schools cannot hold classes or programs that “are designed for a particular ethnic group; advocate solidarity rather than treatment of students as individuals; or promote resentment toward a race or class of people or the overthrow of the U.S. government.”

That doesn’t sound too ridiculous. In fact, it sounds somewhat common sensical. What is ridiculous is polling students about legislation that never came to fruition or insisting that everything and anything leads to low self-esteem.

From the UA news article regarding 2008 legislation that banned ethnic studies:

The researchers surveyed 99 undergraduates who self-identified as Mexican National, Mexican American/Chicano and measured their responses to the proposed law by noting various factors including civic engagement, stress from discrimination, extent of ethnic or cultural exploration and affirmation, as well as measuring levels of self-esteem and depressive symptoms.

Their results showed that students who had explored their cultural and ethnic identity reported fewer negative health behaviors such as depression or low self-esteem.

OK, that’s fine and dandy. Students can explore “cultural and ethnic identity” all they want. Just because classes are not being offered, and finely funded by the state, doesn’t mean folks can’t learn things on their own.

Perhaps they can learn to combat all this low self-esteem while they’re at it.

Low self-esteem is the new catchword making the rounds. After all, any wrong turn can lead to it, especially in schools. Educators have to be incredibly careful these days or face the wrath of the students, their parents – or even a lawsuit.

A day in court, of course, would just lead to more low self-esteem, as would giving a kid a C instead of an A, even if he really deserves the C.

We are also sure several studies will be coming soon on a host of ridiculous scenarios that could induce low self-esteem, if they have not been done already:

* Banning chewing gum, texting or other forms of “self-expression”

* Quashing the individuality of raunchy or obscene T-shirts

* Dictating draconian rules like no running in the hall or wearing hats in the classroom

Joking aside, we do wonder if other school practices, which really could mess with a student’s confidence, have yet been explored. These include:

* Lining up students from shortest to tallest

* Making girls jump rope while boys play soccer in gym class

* Cheerleader and sports team tryouts

* Getting picked last for the class softball team

* Homecoming court and other such popularity contests

* Pairing hardworking students with lazy sloths in science labs and other projects

* Feeding kids country fried steak in the school cafeteria

The ethnic studies research was headed by Anna Ochoa O’Leary, a UA assistant professor of practice with the department of Mexican American and Raza studies, and Andrea Romero, associate professor in Mexican American and Raza studies and family studies and human development.

[tnipoll]

What do you think?

Has this low self-esteem stuff gotten out of hand?

Do you suffer from low self-esteem? Why? Was it because you were not allowed to chew gum in class? Please explain.

What other practices at work or school can lead to low self-esteem?

Tucson mom makes difference in education, wins trip to Mom Congress in D.C.

Tucson mom Christina Hernandez has watched her daughter’s school slowly decline. First it lost its music classes. Then it lost its librarian. Now parents are working on fundraisers to help pay a few of the teacher’s salaries.

Christina Hernandez with daughter Natalie/submitted photo

Yes, you heard that right: Parents are working on fundraisers to help pay a few teacher salaries.

Rather than sit back and bemoan the state’s decrepit state of education, Hernandez took action.

Her efforts not only helped raise money and morale – including more than $40,000 in the school’s annual Spellathon – but it also earned her a trip to Washington, D.C., to represent Arizona in Parenting magazine’s inaugural Mom Congress on Education and Learning Conference.

Parenting created Mom Congress in March 2009 to connect moms who are education advocates for their kids’ schools. More than 16,000 moms across the nation are part of Mom Congress, with new members always welcome.

Hernandez will join 50 of those members, one chosen to represent each state and Washington, D.C., at the May 2 to 4 conference.

Hernandez has three children, 7-year-old Natalie, 26-year-old Lorenzo, and 28-year-old Missy; two dogs, ChaCha and Rosina; husband Lorenzo who doubles as her best friend – and a drive that makes Arizona proud.

Here’s her story:

I graduated from Sunnyside High School, attended Los Ranchitos Elementary School and have wonderful memories of my years in school.

My teachers were passionate about their careers and that passion caused the students to have a desire to learn. They encouraged us and helped us to believe that we could one day become whatever we dreamed. I enjoyed learning all types of sports in physical education, the result of mixing two colors together in art class, and how to read and sing music with others in music class. All of these extracurricular classes helped me grow and become the individual that I am today.

Unfortunately, extracurricular classes are a no longer in most public, private or charter schools due to the increasing budget cuts in the state of Arizona. Parents must seek out other means to give their child the opportunities to learn and grow in sports, music, art, computers, etc.

Extracurricular classes are a win-win for students, teachers, and parents. They allow students to grow in creative ways, teachers have the much needed preparation time, and parents don’t have to come out of pocket to provide these experiences for their child.

Arizona, as well as most states, has been in a huge budget crisis for a few years, and no one is able to see the light at the end of the tunnel now, or in the near future.

Unfortunately, our children are getting the brunt of this. We live in the Tucson Unified School District, the largest school district in the state. My daughter, Natalie, attends Soleng Tom Elementary School, 10520 E. Camino Quince, and is in second grade.

Natalie loves Soleng Tom and we chose it because it was an Excelling School, it had a continuity of high testing scores, it offered many extra curricular classes, and after meeting the principal and teachers, knew it was where Natalie belonged.

When Natalie began kindergarten her school offered music (for fourth and fifth grades), computers with a computer tech teacher, PE, and library with a librarian.

In first grade they lost the music/band teacher, due to the budget cuts. Their librarian was cut to part time, and even though they had computer class, there was with no tech to teach it.

This, her third year, they’ve lost their librarian and could not afford to replace her. The students now depend on parent volunteers to come each day so they may be able to check out books. Music/band classes have not returned. Soleng Tom is very close to its maximum capacity with 500-plus students and does not get any extra funding from Title 1 or government monies.

TUSD and other districts are having to, once again, fine tune their school budget with less and less monies for this upcoming school year. Schools operating at half capacity are being offered extra curricular classes if they merge with another under capacity school. They are being offered PE, music, art, a fully staffed library, counselor and some will even have two principals.

This isn’t the solution; this is opening a bigger can of worms. It’s not caring for all the students in the district, especially those in the excelling, over capacity schools.

They have to “share” the monies throughout the district, especially with those schools that get no aid from the state or the government. If the budget crisis continues over a long duration, these once excelling schools will no longer be. Arizona schools are already ranked 50th in the country, our state can’t allow us to drop any lower.

Last school year, when I saw what was happening in my daughter’s school I knew I had to get involved and help wherever I was needed. I jumped in with all fours and joined their awesome PTSA. I have worked with other parents who take pride in, and have passion for our children’s school. Together we’ve been able to raise a substantial amount of money to help teachers with supplies throughout the school year, paper for the copy room, and now with the announcement of more teachers being let go, we are working hard to raise enough money to pay for a few of the teacher’s salaries.

Did anyone ever think the day would come when parents and students would have to figure out how to pay the salaries of their teachers in a PUBLIC school?

We do not want our children’s class sizes to grow – that is not what is best for our students. We want our students to have the same opportunities as those students living in states that are ranked at the top, the states that believe in best education practices for their children.

I’m a passionate people person and I try to learn something from everyone I meet. Over the years I’ve admired moms who’ve worked hard to help make their children’s school the best it can be. I’ve learned from them and have been fortunate to bring what I’ve learned to Natalie’s school. I’m always thinking about what we can do next or I ask parents I meet what they’re doing at their school to make their schools a better place for our children in these hard economic times.

As parents, we all want what is best for our child and the only way to achieve this is by remembering it does “take a village.”

I want to encourage all parents to get involved in their child’s school. We have a voice. We can make a difference in our child’s education.

Natalie loves that I’m a member of her schools PTSA. I try to include her in everything I do to teach her compassion for others, to learn from others and to have pride in her school. I encourage all parents working or not to get involved with your child’s school, not only will it benefit your child’s school, but you and your child will be working together to make school a better place.

When the Haiti disaster happened, it really touched Natalie and she wanted to know how she could help. I told her that her cousin was trying to raise money at his school. The next day Natalie came home and told me that she had talked to her teacher and counselor and she was going to collect change for Haiti for one week.

Together we put hearts on bins that read “Help 4 Haiti” and the counselor distributed one to every classroom for her. Natalie was very proud when, at the end of the week, together with her peers, they had brought in just under $600.

That was a very proud Mom moment!

This trip to Washington, D.C. is exciting and I’m honored to be a part of the first annual Moms Congress Convention. I knew nothing about it. My husband read it in a Parenting magazine and wrote in without my knowledge.

I’m hoping to learn more on how to better our schools from other states that rank at the top. I’m eager to learn what they’re doing for fundraising and keeping up the morale of the school in these hard economic times. We have family and friends in D.C., so I’m excited to visit with them.

Natalie and my husband will be joining me after the convention is over. What a perfect way for her to learn all about our nation’s Capital.

Way to go, Christina! Thanks for sharing your story – and providing inspiration for other parents and hope for Arizona schools. Enjoy D.C.

To learn more about the Mom Congress Conference or to join Mom Congress, visit Parenting.com/MomCongress.

[tnipoll]

What do you think?

Are you active in your children’s education? How so?

What’s the biggest decline you’ve seen in the school system?

What’s the biggest success story you’ve heard?

Is Christina a major inspiration or what?

Tucson, Yuma, Casas Adobes best places to raise kids in AZ, survey says

Got kids? Bring them on down to Tucson.

Old Pueblo is the top place in Arizona for families to thrive, according to BusinessWeek’s annual “Best Places to Raise Your Kids” rankings.

Tucson hit Arizona’s top spot, with the runners up being Yuma and Casas Adobes.

We have a feeling the ranking committee has never been to Yuma.

We also have a feeling they may not have come to Tucson, either – or at least tried to get anywhere on a bus if they did.

“It’s (also) a relatively affordable place to live,” the report said of Tucson, “with more than 100 parks, a good public transportation system, and many public and private golf courses.”

Tucson school yards are counted as parks, by the way.

But the golf courses are important. We know how much kids love to golf away their Saturday mornings.

The ranking focused on towns that have a population of at least 45,000 and a median income of $40,000 to $125,000. BusinessWeek picked one top spot from each state, and two runners up, if applicable. Alaska’s Anchorage had no runners up.

Towns were then judged on their air quality; family income; job growth; theaters; diversity; household expenditures; crime rate; number of schools and their performance; museums and those school yard parks.

Based on those categories, it’s obvious why Tucson made the cut. Our air quality definitely beats out places like Los Angeles. We only get air quality warnings when there is a blinding, dusty wind or massive brush fires in the distance spewing ashes into our atmosphere.

Families usually make enough to live on – as long as they still have their jobs. But we are not sure why the job growth category didn’t kick us out of the mix altogether, as it seems Tucson jobs are shrinking.

The report mentioned University of Arizona as being one of the biggest employers, but it failed to mention the school’s hiring freezes.

For theaters, we got the Fox, The Loft and that cheapie place with $2 tickets at Grant and Swan roads.

Household expenditures often lack snow pants, furry boots and ski masks.

Pima Air and Space Museum probably got us hovering near the top in the museum category, and bless those school yards, as they helped us kick butt in the parks category. Tucson also has six dog parks, eight if you count the two in the county.

Not bad.

The rankings also left out some other reasons why Tucson is a great place to raise kids:

Bilingual studies. Children will automatically be immersed in the study of the Spanish language, hopefully learning key phrases, like “Your mother wears combat boots,” from their classmates.

Natural sandbox. Never mind those chintzy plastic backyard boxes, Tucson has a glorious sandbox created by God. Kids can find hours of pleasure in the dry riverbeds and washes, like the diapered child I once saw frolicking in the sands of the Rillito. All the rocks, glass shards, coyote feces and horse manure makes for some very interesting mud pies.

Less environmental dangers. Sure, we have prickly, eye-poking cactus and those pesky killer rattlesnakes, but there is absolutely no chance a kid will drown in the ocean or be swept out to sea. Few Tucson children are injured from slipping on ice or getting lost and buried in the snow.

Even though I am poking fun, I think Tucson can rock for anyone.

What do you think?

Is Tucson an awesome place to raise kids? Why or why not?

What about Yuma or Casas

What criteria would you use for ranking a place good for kids?

Where were you raised? Was it good for kids?

Illegal immigrant impact on Arizona public schools – Forum Sept. 17

Public schools in Tucson and beyond may be overcrowded, understaffed and being stripped of cash, staff and programs.

But those crowded and under-funded schools need to be open to everyone, including illegal immigrant children.

Why?

The U.S. Supreme Court says.

Education is a necessity for creating a somewhat coherent society. Perhaps this Supreme Court decision of 1982 has been a wholly beneficial move – or maybe it’s making a mess.

Find out at a free community forum on Thursday, Sept. 17 entitled: “Education for All; Reflections on the Impact of Plyler v. Doe on Arizona’s Public Schools.” The forum runs from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the James E. Rogers College of Law, 1201 E. Speedway Blvd. in room 164.

In December 1982, the US Supreme Court ruled that the State of Texas had unlawfully withheld state funds for educating children who had not been legally admitted to the United States, thus preventing those children from enrolling.

A 5 to 4 majority of the Supreme Court found, in Plyler v. Doe, that this policy was in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment, as illegal immigrant children are people “in any ordinary sense of the term” and are therefore entitled not to suffer discrimination with regard to school enrollment, according to a news release from Arizona’s Children Association/KARE Family Center, one of the forum’s sponsors.

Judge Linda Reyna Yañez, of the Thirteenth District Court of Appeals in Edinburg, Texas, will be the main speaker and joined by local panelists who include Dr. Celestino Fernandez from the University of Arizona Sociology Department; Lupita Cavazos-Garcia, assistant superintendent for Government Programs and Community Outreach; and U.S. Marine and college student Juan R. Yañez (no relation to speaker).

Other sponsors include Primavera Foundation for the Homeless, the James E. Rogers College of Law, Bacon Immigration Law and Policy Program, and Goldman and Goldman PC.

For more information, contact the KARE Family Center at 323-4476, ext. 102.

I’m mixed on this one. My initial reaction is to say that American children, with parents who pay taxes, should come first. But I can also see disaster on the horizon if people who end up living in America, regardless of how they got here, end up living here with no education.

What do you think?

Public education for all?

Or public education for all, as long as the parents pay taxes?

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