Wednesday, July 2, 2008

The issue of Race in Arizona schools

This is not a math posting but given my interest in helping all children succeed academically through appropriate curricula I found this fascinating.

Given that a lot of dollars go into administrative positions about "ethnic awareness" etc. but that many employed in those positions rarely act to ensure that curricula are adopted that produce increased academic content achievement in the minority students for which they supposedly advocate, I find most of these positions of little value.

HERE is an article from the National Review.

This article really makes me wonder who runs our schools?

For that matter who runs our supposed democracy these days?

Looking at education in WA State, it is little wonder I do this wondering.

Looking at national energy policy, immigration policy, economic policy, education policy etc. you should wonder also. Clearly we are a nation in decline and our ineffective politicians explain a good deal of our difficulty.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

The author, Liam Julian is from the conservative Hoover Institute. This is not to defend La Raza, because it is what it is.

The Raza studies department has allies in TUSD, on its governing board and in the U.S. House of Representatives.

How about corporate sponsorship?

The National Council of La Raza (NCLR) recognizes those corporations that have invested in NCLR’s long-term strategic efforts with multiyear, multimillion-dollar commitments, including NCLR’s Empowering An American Community Campaign.

The Allstate Corporation
Bank of America
The Coca-Cola Company
Citigroup

Fannie Mae
Freddie Mac
Ford Motor Company
General Motors Corporation
MBNA Corporation
PepsiCo Foundation
The PMI Group, Inc.
State Farm Insurance Companies
UPS

Univision
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

Corporate Partners Program

The National Council of La Raza invites corporations large and small and Hispanic entrepreneurs to join in its mission to empower current and future generations of Hispanic Americans. To review the benefits offered to Corporate America for supporting NCLR’s critical work, please click here.

We encourage individual Hispanic entrepreneurs to become an NCLR partner as well. Partners like you have firsthand knowledge of the hard work and dedication it takes to achieve the American Dream. We would deeply appreciate your involvement in our institution and welcome your membership participation.

Amerada Hess Corporation
American Airlines
Anheuser-Busch Companies

AstraZeneca International
AT&T
Azteca Foods, Inc.
Bridgestone/Firestone Trust Fund
Caterpillar Foundation
Chevron Corporation
ConAgra Foods, Inc.
Coors Brewing Company

The Cummins Foundation
DaimlerChrysler Corporation Fund
Eastman Kodak Company
ExxonMobil Corporation
Greenberg Traurig, LLP
Guaranty Bank
Hallmark Cards, Inc.
Johnson & Johnson

The Kroger Co.
McDonald’s Corporation
MetLife Foundation
Mortgage Insurance Company
Sallie Mae
Schneider National, Inc.
Sears, Roebuck and Co.
Sodexho
Starbucks Corporation

Time Warner
Washington Mutual, Inc.
Wilmer Cutler Pickering, LLP
Xerox Corporation

Corporate Programmatic Supporters

NCLR depends on our corporate partners for a variety of programmatic support in areas such as Education, Community Development, Health, Youth Leadership Development, Civil Rights and Advocacy, Workforce Development, and Affiliate Member Services.

Education
Chevron Corporation

Lockheed Martin
Lucent Technologies Foundation
Marathon Oil Corporation

Rockwell Automation
State Farm Insurance Companies
Toyota Motor Corporation
Verizon Communications, Inc.

>Housing and Wealth Building
The Allstate Corporation

Chase Home Finance
Countrywide Home Loans, Inc.

E*TRADE Financial
Fannie Mae
Freddie Mac
JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corporation
Wells Fargo & Company

Washington Mutual, Inc.

Health
Belrex Inc.
Eli Lilly and Company
Metropolitan Life
Novo Nordisk
Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide
Pfizer Global Pharmaceuticals
PepsiCo Foundation

Workforce Development
American Express Company
Ford Motor Company
The Home Depot, Inc.
PepsiCo Foundation

Youth Leadership Development
The Allstate Corporation

Exxon Mobil Corporation
GEICO

Marriott International, Inc.
MBNA Corporation
Sallie Mae
Sodexho, Inc.
Sprint Nextel Corporation
U.S. Marine Corps

Civil Rights and Advocacy

The Allstate Corporation
American Honda Finance Corporation
Bank of America
Chevron Corporation
Freddie Mac
The UPS Foundation

WFS Financial Inc.

Affiliate Member Services
Ford Motor Company (NCLR Affiliate of the Year Award)

Microsoft Corporation

So why would you put a divisive, inflammatory curriculum into a school district and then have conservative media turn on an anti-ethnic xenophobic campaign against all latino organizations?

Isn't it strange that Brian Bonner a Time Warner affiliate is reporting against the NCLR which happens to be sponsored by Time Warner?

Who is the NCLR?
http://bsimmons.wordpress.com/2006/11/11/national-council-of-la-raza/

In 2005 received $15 million in federal grants and is the largest Hispanic organization in the US.


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This is very similiar to the math reform debate, because you have two extreme points of view being represented while the majority of people are not being directly affected, except for citizens in Tuscon. The result is that some change is induced when the population reaches some consensus - in this case the issue is related to NAFTA. So you have two interesting bedfellows - bush conservatives and La Raza members and both sides favor open borders between nations.

Anonymous said...

How does La Raza curriculum help support NAFTA goals? One being privatization of public education. Second, opening borders between Mexico and the US. By adding non-academic curriculum to lower student achievement. Creating ethnic divisions within the community in order to resegregate neighborhoods.

Anonymous said...

Here is a reference to the problem that provides some explanation for la Raza's activities - it doesn't address the bigger picture.

You have started me researching because it really does seem pertinent, and for another, this is a sophisticated attack and as I think this article shows there's a movement afoot we don't even know about - the Open Borders Movement that has been funded by the Ford Foundation. I think it has to do with NAFTA which I'm now convinced is why our public schools are at all time lows in terms of academic enterprise. Somewhere, there ought to be a quota on stupidity.

http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/guides/Open%20Borders%20Lobby.pdf

The National Council of La Raza

"Lobbies for racial preferences, bilingual education, stricter hate crimes laws, mass immigration, and amnesty for illegal aliens (wasn't Bush at one time advocating pretty much the same thing?)

Named as a key member of the Open Borders Lobby in the pamphlet The Open Borders Lobby and the Nation’s Security After 9/11, written by William Hawkins and Erin Anderson -

Principally funded by the Ford Foundation"


Much like Iraq, environment, education, welfare, the US doesn't have a handle on immigration. I think one of the obvious problems is an economic one - the US currency is overvalued and so it attracts illegal underpaid workers. Also, companies hire illegals who claim the US does't have national identity cards - most country's in this world do - I don't see how a country can offer welfare benefits without a national identity system.

Most Hispanic Americans I know are against opening our borders up to Mexico because they left Mexico for very good reasons - mostly its chaotic down there (Juarez and TJ) - but US maquiladoras are partly responsible (the reverse of illegal immigration). Mexicans gain a relative wage advantage in their own country without leaving Mexico. It doesn't take a genius to realize that the economics at the border is what is driving the current wave of criminal violence.

Anonymous said...

In my opinion, Obama represents that extreme left (look at the members of La Raza) and then McCain is the conservative right. They stand on the same side of issues (same lobbyists) while publicly pointing fingers at each other and I think that's why our party politics doesn't work anymore. Both points of view offer nothing for American taxpayers because of their extreme points of view and it creates a huge expenditure of resources.

dan dempsey said...

Interesting point about Obama and McCain.

Our current political system has failed us seriously on:
1.. Energy policy
2.. Immigration policy
3.. Supervision on lending institutions and rating agencies like Moody's ... did we learn nothing from the original Savings and loan fiasco .. guess not
4.. Education
5.. Providing any semblance of Fiscal Responsibility

Anonymous said...

Seriously, when you research the Chicago Seven (I'll choose three of those characters- Tom Hayden, William Kunstler and Leonard Weinglass) and it doesn't take a genius to connect two of them directly to La Raza and its amazing that in only a few years they have turned this organization on its head, reversing policies such as cultural assimilation and bilingual education (e.g. dual language immersion charters). Hispanic parents (traditional, conservative values) are very concerned. And this is pro-NAFTA reform. Immigrants left Mexico because of economic turbulence. US policy makers are undercutting the US economy so corporations can be globally competitive. But in order to do that, you have to undermine your own institutions - by keeping the dollar strong relative to other currencies. The dollar is losing value, but so are all the other currencies in order to stay competitive with the US.

Its this sort of destructive imbalance that needs to be solved in order to make NAFTA workable. Currently, the Canadian dollar and Peso are growing stronger - $s are leaving the US heading South and buying Pesos - this is going to grow Mexico's current unemployment problem and boost US immigration. So the only way you can stabilize a trade imbalance if you are a net importer is export more or increase tariffs to decrease spending and make domestic products more competitive. Mexico is a net importer of food. It is on the verge of a revolution, because of shortages and food prices.

If I had a choice of starving or going to school, I would choose the latter. Only don't make me use an American textbook - I'd starve anyway.