User:Abrisaenz2/sandbox

Article Evaluation on "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian"
I would begin by correcting the mechanics of the first sentence; capitalizing the first letter of the first word, and also adding more to the beginning of the first sentence so it reads, "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is a novel by Sherman Alexie and illustrated by Ellen Forney."

I would also add the words "who is" in the second sentence after the first comma.

I would switch the positioning of the second and third paragraph so that the introduction can flow from discussing the novel's acclaim to discussing it's controversies and objections, and then go into a brief summary. I would also add a transistion sentence to the beginning of the second paragraph that reads something along the lines of, "Despite the novel's high acclaim and several achievements, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian has also received a lot of objections and consistently appears on the annual list of frequently challenged books since 2008. "

Under the "controversy" section I would add the word racism to the list of reasons why it is often objected to.

Under the "censorship" section I would add a quote that speaks in favor of the novel, or highlights the value of it in some way, in order to balance out the negative aspect that is explained.

Possible quote to add: "Sherman Alexie has explored the struggle to survive between the grinding plates of the Indian and white worlds. He’s done it through various characters and genres, but “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” may be his best work yet. "

Premiere
The film first premiered on Friday March 18th, 2011 at The San Diego Latino Film Festival. Film producer Eren Isabel McGinnis grew up in this area and graduated from college at San Diego State University with a major in cultural anthropology. Aside from her background in San Diego, however, McGinnis said it was the perfect place to premiere the documentary due to the fact that “it’s (San Diego) a real important base for Chicano culture.”

Plot
The film provides insight into the controversy in Tucson Arizona over the Mexican-American Studies (MAS), or Raza studies, program that occured in 2008-2009. Beginning scenes take an inside look into the personal lives of 3 students enrolled in Tucson High’s MAS program- Crystal Terriquez, Priscila Rodriguez and Gilbert Esparza. These inside looks reveal the struggles these students and their families face due to setbacks stemming from their minority background. Each student goes on to share how the MAS education program has positively influenced their educational experience and their lives at home.

In 1997, the Tucson school board unanimously voted to create a Hispanic Studies Department in all six of their schools, with the goal to lower the Latino dropout rate. The department was renamed the Mexican American/ Raza studies program in 2002, and saw high levels of success in improving the achievement rates of Latinos. Tucson Unified School District reported that the students taking ethnic studies classes showed significant improvements on standardized tests and the graduation rate among these students averaged 93%.

The main framework of the classes taught in the Raza studies program is based off of a social justice pedagogy that centers around searching for the truth and the concept of love. The film takes a look inside the classroom of two Raza studies program teachers, Curtis Acosta who teaches literature, and Jose Gonzalez who teaches American Government. In their classes, they teach students about the history of their culture and then challenge them to reflect, realize and reconcile with their culture’s past. The classes also challenge students to become “warriors for their gente,” and to take action on issues they become aware of through the learning in their classes. Gilbert Esparza shares how the MAS classes made him a more engaged student and he started getting better grades in all his classes. Crystal shares how she never spoke up in any of her classes, but now she is more vocal due to the confidence she gained from her teachers in the Raza studies program. Crystal’s mom also expresses how great of a change she saw in her daughter once she bagan classes in the MAS program. Priscila says she views her Raza studies classes as a second home and hates missing those classes.

Controversy arose surrounding the Raza studies program when Superintendent of schools, Tom Horne, announced that he would introduce a bill that would ban ethnic studies program in the state of Arizona. Horne and other opponents of ethnic studies, argue that these programs promote racial divide amongst students in schools and it is “in conflict with the values of American Citizenship.” Hornes bill (SB1108) initially passed through Arizona’s House Appropriations Committee but didn’t make it to the floor after Governor Janet Napolitano threatened to veto it, so a new bill (SB1069) to ban ethnic studies was introduced in the next legislative session. After a series of debates from both sides at the committee hearing, SB1069 passed and became scheduled for a vote before the full legislature.

Film Reception
Since its premiere on Independent Lens on May 17, 2012, the documentary is often screened at colleges across the country. The screening is also sometimes accompanied by a discussion on the film with Curtis Acosta, former teacher of the MAS program in Tucson Unified School District.


 * University of Pittsburgh (2018)
 * Regis University (2014)


 * Ferris State University (2015)
 * Western Illinois University (2012)
 * Texas A&M (2017)