Mark Stegeman constituent letter needs some clarification

January 22, 2012

by David Safier

Mark Stegeman sent a letter to constituents discussing his views on what has been called by many, including me, a "book ban" at TUSD. You can read the entire letter after the jump.

A few things in the letter jumped out at me. One is the statement,

When the TUSD board voted (4-1) to end the Mexican-American Studies (MAS) curriculum, ending use of the books had to be part of that package.

No, ending the use of the books did not have to be part of that package. Is Stegeman unaware TUSD's communication director said the books were still OK'd for use by teachers who had not formerly taught MAS courses? For those teachers, some of the 7 books can still be used in the same courses where they are forbidden for use by former MAS teachers. It is not a course-specific ban. It is a teacher-specific ban. That makes a huge difference, and it contradicts what Stegeman wrote.

Then, after Stegeman lists the books, he writes this:

I am not aware of any other school district in Arizona which has approved these books for use in instruction.  If anyone knows of such approvals, then I would be interested to hear about them. 

The key word in the statement is "other," because it looks like one district approved 3 of the books: TUSD. According to a June 12, 20078, document posted on Three Sonorans, TUSD approved the use of "Critical Race Theory," "Occupied America" and "Pedagogy of the Oppressed."

The document looks legit, so I'll assume it is unless someone from TUSD says otherwise. If Stegeman knows the three texts had TUSD approval, he should have made that clear in his letter, then said he believes TUSD is the only district to approve the texts. Possibly he isn't aware of the prior approvals.

Read Mark Stegeman's constituent letter after the jump.

Mexican-American Studies story on CNN

January 22, 2012

by David Safier CNN has a video and story up about Mexican-American Studies. They make the MAS teachers and students look pretty good, and while Horne, Huppenthal and Stegeman get their say, they don't come out nearly as well. [Note: Just to be clear, I'm not one to link Stegeman with Horne and Huppenthal. I

You never know when, or what, the teachable moment will be

January 22, 2012

by David Safier Nicholas Kristof's column in today's NY Times has one of the ultimate stories of the effect a teacher can have on a kid. Even if you only kinda like this stuff, read this one, all the way to the end. Then ask yourself, if that teacher hadn't been there at that moment,