On today's Your Call we’ll talk about how schools decide what students can read in their libraries and classrooms and what happens when books are prohibited. In Arizona, the Tucson Unified School District recently banned a long list of books in the Mexican American Studies program from their schools including Howard Zinn’s People’s History of the United States. So what are the criteria for school reading? And who should make these decisions? And how does this affect freedom in public education? Join us at 10 or email feedback@yourcallradio.org. It’s Your Call with Rose Aguilar, and you.
Guests:
Olive Mitra, teacher at June Jordan School for Equity in San Francisco
Yolanda Sotelo, teacher at Pueblo Magnet High School in Tucson, Arizona
Luis Garcia, senior at Pueblo Magnet High School
Elisa Meza, youth organizer with Unidos in Tucson, Arizona
Resources:
List of banned books in Tucson
TUSD vs The Tempest: To teach or not to teach
In Tucson, Immigrant Rights Fight Moves to the Classroom
Tucson Students Occupy School Board Meeting to Defend Ethnic Studies
Banned Books Week: Still Needed in the U.S.
Debating Tucson School District’s Book Ban After Suspension of Mexican American Studies Program