A Teach-in on Tucson

Thank you for visiting our new blog. This will be our companion site to our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/georgiansforfreadom or search on FB: Georgians for Freadom).

Our first event is "Teach, Think, Do: A Teach-in on Tucson" on Saturday, February 4th from 11am-2pm at the Georgia State University College of Education. This event is designed to educate teachers, students, professors, and community members in Georgia about the AZ ban and about how Georgians can respond.

Overview of Issue:
As you have probably seen, the Tucson Unified School District in Arizona recently banned Mexican American studies from their curriculum. They also censored several books from the curriculum, including Paulo Freire's Pedagogy of the Oppressed, major contributions to the Chicano(a) studies movement, and Rethinking Columbus by Rethinking Schools. Teachers may now not teach anything where "race, ethnicity and oppression are central themes." If you haven't heard about it yet, check out these responses from writer Jeff Biggers, Rethinking Schools editor Bob Peterson, and Tucson teacher Curtis Acosta. Also see this coverage from Democracy Now and the resolution from the American Library Association.

The Teach-in:

See the attached flyer for exciting information about our event. Lunch, parking, materials, and education are all FREE! We will also be recording the event AND streaming it live, so anyone can watch from anywhere. We'll post the live stream link here and on Facebook as soon as we have it confirmed. Read more in Jeff Biggers' article in The Huffington Post. Jeff will be one of our "virtual keynote speakers" at Saturday's event.

We are grateful for the support of: Georgia State University College of Education, the Alonzo A. Crim Center for Urban Educational Excellence, Emory University Division of Educational Studies, GSU Department of Middle-Secondary Education and Instructional Technology, GSU Department of Early Childhood Education, GSU COE/PEF Diversity Committee, Georgia Chapter of the National Multicultural Education Association (GA NAME), and Metro Atlantans for Public Schools (MAPS), as well as all of the individuals who have contributed to our effort so far with time, money, resources, and in-kind donations.

If you are interested in helping with this event, please let us know. We are still in need of donations for materials and would appreciate any support you can provide. Email Dr. Alyssa Hadley Dunn at adunn12@gsu.edu for questions, suggestions, or support offers.