Precious Knowledge Documentary Analysis

Throughout the US, millions of POC students exposed to the traditional, rather outdated version of US History. Never do the textbooks explicitly mention and/ or explain the terrorizing, constant stripping down of others’ cultures and appropriating it into the dominant group of predominantly white, Anglo-Saxon and protestant. For many Mexican American students, they can’t relate to anything in the text, nor do they share an interest in the coursework provided. The way US history sets up doesn't teach and somehow excludes Indigenous backgrounds or for the most part was never taught in the classroom but, rather briefly mentioned in one or two paragraphs. Immigrants from diverse groups built this country yet their culture is consistently shown

In the documentary, Precious Knowledge, it stated that M.A students weren’t allowed to speak their native tongue Spanish and administration were given the power to use corporal punishment ( POC are targeted more than their White counterparts). There was a purposeful segregation when it came to various ethnic groups, it was no surprise that Whites had the College Prep courses and all other minorities were given vocational courses since policy makers came under the false assumption that Whites were going to strive and POC were just going to end up being in agriculture. POC were given an unfair and unequal opportunities that not only underestimated their intellectual capabilities but also negated their chance at upward mobility in society and decreasing their likelihood of getting a stable, well-paying job in their lifetime. Under these harsh conditions, these M.A students and their allies sparked what is now considered the Chicano Movement. This powerful activism led Tucson city council to set up the Ethnic Studies department across their schools to boost Latinx achievement and cut their high school dropout rates. It’s important to note that these programs were born out of the same protests mentioned above and confrontation of the police (Movement

This claim, is not only false but also ignores the diversity among students that mirrors U.S. today. Ethnic Studies acknowledges that everyone is from various backgrounds, they tailor the curriculum as needed to make sure inclusiveness even with students who aren’t considered part of the Mexican American culture. In addition, those opposed hold the concept that all students will be treated equally and gives the dangerous, rather radical notion of color blindness,in treating all students the same and not accounting for their cultural backgrounds, language barriers, socioeconomic status etc. This is very harmful to their overall well-being because one is disregarding crucial aspects of one’s lives that negates opportunities for POC and goes along with the rhetoric of individualism. In the article “Edu as an Instrument”, illustrates how legislators such as Horne and Huppenthal thought about Ethnic Studies, their false assumptions and critiques of the program. Since their culture shown as dominant to what's considered “American”, these legislators have white privilege. This place of simply being the dominant culture, gives little leeway for them to understand what it means to become discriminated against based on the color of one’s skin and don’t