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Educators, students examine recent marches

For Lorena Camarillo, 17, and her classmates, it’s been the first request of the day ever since immigration law proposals made headlines in recent months.

"We ask our teacher, ‘Can we have 10 minutes to read the paper?’ We want to be informed so we know what’s going on. Now, it’s a major focal point," says Camarillo, a senior at Phoenix Metro Tech High School, where more than 90 percent of students are Latino.

House Bill HR4437 has sparked controversy and also inspired Arizona’s educators to transform the historical moment into tangible lessons, while creating outlets that allow students to express themselves without skipping school.

Phoenix Union High School District schools have encouraged discussions and in-depth study into the lawmaking process and the role immigration has played in American history. One librarian even set up an after-school debate so students could argue the pros and cons of the issue.

"Many teachers are helping and are being cooperative" Camarillo says.

DIPLOMACY TO VENT VIEWS

Metro Tech senior and MEChA member Jorge Cruz, 18, says his group passed out flyers after school in an effort to educate fellow teens and even adults. Metro Tech students used a grant awarded last September to explore the DREAM Act and come up with logical and economical arguments to support it. In a time when most students are starting to learn about politics, these students are ahead of the curve.

"We took it on ourselves to get on the streets face-to-face with people. We get energy from that. It affects our friends, our community, our neighbors," says Cruz.

In the Tucson Unified School District, teachers encourage students to use diplomatic approaches. Principal Supervisor Maria Cuesta-Patterson says students are writing letters and signing petitions, practicing their persuasive communication skills to lawmakers, as well as pursuing other avenues to air their political views.

"It shows what democracy is all about in the eyes of kids. There is nothing like the moment in history to teach from. You can’t get that out of a book," Cuesta-Patterson says.

At Tucson Utterback Middle School, the recent events triggered by the proposed legislation were used to teach every subject from math to fine arts. Students learned the consequences between organized and disorganized protests.

Principal Debbie Summers says that teachers can be in a tricky position, putting their personal feelings aside in order to lead an objective lesson on an emotional subject.

"(Students) are asking, ‘How will this affect me personally?’ Who is first-generation?’ ‘How will this affect my grandparents, parents, my friend in social studies?’" Summers says. "Some of them are in tears, they don’t know what’s going to happen. It’s our job as educators to help them understand."

CHANGE MAKERS

According to Phoenix Union spokesman Craig Pletenik, students who had written permission from their parents were allowed to participate in the April 10 march.

"Our movement is education. It sends a negative message if they are walking out of the one institution that does not discriminate based on race, creed, religion or economics," he says.

"They are learning how to elicit change and they know they need to be respectful of property and other people’s rights."

Cruz says the recent events have been a wake-up call to everyone.

"It’s waking them up, in a sense, to what we’re interested in. This institution shows us what our rights are. We’re proud of what we’re doing, making history," he says.

"I think there is still fear within our parents to speak out. They see their children taking part of a fight that is supposed to be theirs. It’s about human rights."