VivirLatino

I had to go outside my school system to learn about Puerto Rican history, activism and coalition building when I was about 17 years old. Now a Los Angeles English teacher is being told that her contract will not be renewed (aka “you’re fired”) not because she is a bad teacher but rather because she’s attempting to make the lessons relevant to her students. From a letter by the teacher Karen Salazar:

I am being fired because I am trying to ensure that my curriculum is relevant to my students’ daily lived experiences, and in the process, create a space for them to be critical of Eurocentric society and curricula that only serve to reinforce their dehumanization, subjugation, and oppression. Many of you have been forwarding messages about the Arizona bill that seeks to end Raza Studies and MEChA, and while my situation is not as large scale, it is still an attack on the quality, culturally-relevant education Students of Color deserve.

I have been harassed by administration since last school year for my alleged encouragement of “militancy” among students. Last year there was a group of students, called the Watts Student Union, who began organizing themselves and created a list of demands they presented to the school and district. The administration did not think students were capable (smart enough?) of organizing themselves and articulating their demands on their own, so another colleague and I were accused of being the real “masterminds” behind their work.

This year, administration has continued their vendetta against me. I have been observed in the classroom and evaluated by administration over a dozen times (almost twice a month) this school year, whereas in comparison, most teachers are observed and evaluated 1-3 times per school year. The evaluations claim that I am creating “militancy” within students, promoting my personal political beliefs, and presenting a biased view of the curriculum. It has also been implied that I have been teaching students “how to protest.”

Three weeks ago, things began escalating when I was again observed, and in his evaluation, the administrator accused me of “brainwashing” my students and “forcing extremist views” on them. The class had been reading a 3-page excerpt of the Autobiography of Malcolm X (an LAUSD-approved text, of which we have several class sets in our school bookroom), in which Malcolm describes the first time he conked his hair…My contract is being terminated because according to the principal, I am “indoctrinating students with anti-Semitism and Afrocentrism.” The anti-Semitism accusation comes solely from the fact that I have an Intifada poster hanging in my classroom (a symbol of support for a free Palestine), and the Afrocentrism accusation comes from the fact my culturally-relevant curriculum reflects the demographics of my students, though I am surprised I am not being accused of Raza-centrism as well.

What do student’s think of Ms. Salazar? See after the jump.

Read more…