Precious Knowledge (documentary film)

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When a highly successful Mexican American Studies program at a high school in Tucson comes under fire for teaching ethnic chauvinism, teachers and students fight back. This modern civil rights struggle is born at the epicenter of the immigration debate in the age of identity politics.

“Precious Knowledge” presented by Independent Lens (60 minutes)
(available for free viewing online until June 7)

Watch Precious Knowledge on PBS. See more from Independent Lens.

• Visit the Precious Knowledge webpage


At Tucson High School, ethnic studies programs have improved graduation rates among Latino students. But some state politicians think ethnic studies promote “racial solidarity” and anti-Americanism. When books are banned and the programs eliminated, teachers and students fight back in a modern civil rights struggle. At Tucson High School, ethnic studies programs have improved graduation rates among Latino students. But some state politicians think ethnic studies promote “racial solidarity” and anti-Americanism. When books are banned and the programs eliminated, teachers and students fight back in a modern civil rights struggle.

A male<br /><br /><br /> teacher and a female student from the Mexican Studies program<br /><br /><br /> stand on the steps in front of Tucson High School.” width=”229″ height=”129″ /><img src= Male student<br /><br /><br /> in orange jacket sits before a bulletin board covered with<br /><br /><br /> photos.” width=”229″ height=”152″ /></div> <p><strong><em>Precious Knowledge</em></strong> portrays the one of the final years of the highly successful but controversial Mexican American Studies Program at Tucson High School.</p> <p>The program was a national model of educational success — 93 percent of its enrolled students graduating from high school and 85 percent going on to attend college, bucking a statewide trend that saw only 48 percent of Latino students graduating at all. The program taught Mexican and American history, as well as Central and South American literature and culture.</p> <p>But the political tide shifted in Arizona in the 2000s. The state passed extremely controversial immigration laws, which some civil libertarians equated to racial profiling. Legislative sessions in the state became heated and rife with recriminations. And when lawmakers turned their attention to Tucson High’s ethnic studies program, it became a lightning rod in the public conversation about race. Opponents of the program launched a campaign to convince the public that ethnic studies teach everything from communism to terrorism to “reverse racism.”</p> <p>Students and their teachers fight hard to preserve their program, marching to the statehouse, holding vigils, and testifying before lawmakers. They invite their legislators to visit their classrooms, and all but one refuse. When he does visit, he criticizes the poster of Che Guevara on the wall, and suggests that a poster of Benjamin Franklin would be more appropriate.</p> <p>At the center of the debate was Paulo Freire’s textbook, <em>The Pedagogy of the Oppressed</em>, which the school’s instructors used for the ethnic studies classes. The book is a famous example of critical race theory, which looks at and acknowledges the influence of institutional racism in America on non-dominant groups. The theory has been criticized as Marxist.</p> <p>In 2011 Arizona lawmakers passed a bill giving unilateral power to the state superintendent of schools to abolish ethnic studies classes. The fight to restore ethnic studies continues in Arizona and in other states, as education continues to adapt to a changing population.</p> <h2>The Filmmakers</h2> <p style=Filmmaker Ari<br /><br /><br /> Palos” width=”120″ height=”103″ /><img src=Precious Knowledge: Arizona’s Battle Over Ethnic Studies [DVD] By Ari Luis Palos and Eren Isabel McGinnis: If you’re wondering why the Arizona legislature has appeared to turn into a Tea Party version of the Ku Klux Klan, the documentary “Precious Knowledge: Arizona’s Battle Over Ethnic Studies” provides invaluable insight. In “Precious Knowledge,” this battle for the nation’s future plays out in the state’s ban of Mexican-American studies, specifically in Tucson. Although Mexican-American young people comprise the vast majority of public school students in Tucson, a couple of opportunistic politicians decided that teaching Mexican-American heritage and culture was threatening the white power structure and banned a curriculum that had nearly doubled graduation rates among Latinos.

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