Why we need Ethnic Studies

by David Safier
Tom Horne's statement should be required reading in ethnic studies classes — in TUSD schools and at universities. It's a classic.

And we should be teaching people without jobs there are plenty of jobs out there if they would just look for them. If they can't find the jobs, it's their own faults. Stop whining!

Let those minorities know there are no impediments in their way. If they can't take advantage of the opportunities in front of them, like their anglo counterparts do, it must be their own faults. Stop whining!

Horne also said he has tried to convince TUSD

You might not like the program, Tom, but it's not dysfunctional. It's highly functional. It functions to engage students in their educations, based on your favorite measure, higher scores on standardized tests.

I know I should stop here, but I have to add Pearce's observation, that Ethnic Studies teaches "sedition." Wrong, Russ. Tea Parties teach sedition. The governor of Texas teaches sedition. Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh teach sedition. Dick Cheney doesn't teach sedition, but he promotes it. Right wing shooters are taking these lessons in sedition to heart.

Ethnic Studies programs teach students the history of ethnic groups in this country, which gives them the knowledge they need to take their destinies into their own hands and succeed rather than having their destinies controlled by people who hate them.