MAS Texas Talk

Dual Credit programs are huge in Houston, Texas, as they are in many cities across the nation. However, Texas is poised to turn the Dual Credit System into a Graduation Factory for Mexican American youth.

To make this happen, the Texas State Board of Education (SBOE) will have to implement Critical Thinking at a Critical Time.

Texas State Board of Education MUST include Introduction to Mexican American History and Introduction to Mexican American Literature for endorsement as Advanced Courses and Dual Credit Course in 9th grade thru 12th grade. There will be hearings on this in November, and then a vote a few weeks after.

This is a major issue because Dual Credit is big business in Texas. On any given day, on any given community college, there are hundreds of high school students satisfying Senior and even junior year high school requirements by taking college courses at Community Colleges.

Most of these students are Latino. However, right now, Mexican American Studies courses are not on the menu of what they can study.

MAS courses would provide our young with the Critical Thinking skills they need to thrive on the college campus, and they will also be inspired to strive to graduate.

I'm going to say something very radical here for professors.

Introduction to Mexican American Literature should replace English Composition II in high school dual credit programs.

Right now in Texas there are huge pipelines from high schools to community colleges. The problems is that the pipelines are not complete and do not deliver our young to transfer to 4 year Universities and bachelor's degrees.

I have taught English at the high school-level. I have taught Composition I, Composition II, and Introduction to Mexican American Literature for students in Dual Credit programs.

So here are a few facts most people don't talk about:

The student learning outcomes for Comp II and Intro to Mexican American Literature are similar. (You can compare them here: Comp II student outcomes. Introduction to Mexican American Literature student learning outcomes.)

Educational institutions must remember that we are talking about very young students who are still in still in high school.

High schools generally utilize "The Banking Method" where patterns are presented to students, who then memorize them, and then students are tested on mastery of the patterns. MAS Courses foster Critical Thinking by showing the limitations of patterns, the evolution of new patterns, the identification of new ways to devise patterns. MA’s courses provide a culturally relevant context that helps Mexican American and Latino Students more fully grasp these intellectual skills. Those traits are vital for succeeding in college. Furthermore, our young are also excited and inspired by these courses, which is another reason that all the research shows that graduation rates increase when students take MAS courses.

MAS prepares Latino youth for success in college more than Comp II does.


It really is very basic. We must demand Critical Thinking at a Critical Time for our youth.

www.MAStexas.org

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Oppression never sleeps. Lucky we don't either.

But it's hard to give a wake up call to a people who never sleep.

So let's call it a work break before work breaks us.

Because I'm going to have to ask you to work hard, but not with your back. We're going to need you to work hard making calls, visiting representatives, and standing up for our historia and cultura.

We need our History in Texas class rooms now.

We have worked hard to achieve the American Dream for our families, our youth.

Well, that's in danger.

We know how Mexican Americans were one of the most highly decorated groups during World War II. But the rest of America doesn't know that.

And maybe I can cut Alaska a little slack for that, but I'm writing this from Texas. And as my Tejano friends like to say, "We didn't cross the border. We moved that s***."

The Texas State Board of Education is about to vote on which courses will be taught in high schools throughout Texas. Neither Mexican American History or Mexican American Literature is on that list.

Now there are some folks who will tell you that's ok because we are included in lessons throughout the Texas curriculum. That's just not true.

The Texas Book Festival scheduled for this weekend in Austin is a good example of how that has worked.  Gregg Barrios wrote an editorial about. He points out, "The festival’s definition of “Texas authors,” then and now, meant mostly white writers. . . This year’s lineup features only 15 Latina and Latino writers out of 250 invited writers." 

That's means only 6% of the line up at the TEXAS book festival is Latino. That means the status quo, the system as it stands, can only imagine 6% of us. When we know we are way more important to Texas history, literature, business than 6%!

Our children fare a lot worse in Texas class rooms. Our history, our literature make up less than 6% of Texas school curriculums.

This means that although you  tell your kids about our sacrifices for this country, their classmates look at us and still see only the stereotypes fed to them by T.V.

We know that Tejano and WWII veterano Dr. Hector Garcia founded the G.I. Forum which inspired the Viva Kennedy Clubs across Tejas and across the nation and got Kennedy elected. Your grand kids' classmates don't know that.

I know we would never let anyone ban the story of war hero Roy Benavidez, but his story will go untold if we don't stand up now and demand that his story be shared in classrooms?

People mistakenly refer to us as the sleeping giant.

We are not the sleeping giant. We are the working giant, and we are reporting for work for our History right now.

Do not let politics shut down Mexican American History.

We want MAS Texas in the classrooms now!

Now, let's get to work and make history.

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