What a powerful, research-backed statement from a study that incorporated all the prior pertinent questions that science has grappled with for some time.  This research is further believable, if very sad and tragic.  If one looks at anti-colonial/postcolonial scholarship by scholars like Quijano, Mignolo, or Lugones, it's not "weird" at all—as geography researcher and professor Mark Maslin expresses below—that "The depopulation of the Americas may have inadvertently allowed the Europeans to dominate the world." 

Albeit expressed differently from a critical geography and intersectional lens, this view of colonization is foundational to these scholars' thinking.  For starters, I encourage you to read Quijano's, Coloniality of Power and Eurocentrism in Latin America to discover that this isn't so "weird" after all.  It's simply insufficiently examined because of the profound Eurocentrism of our curriculum and teaching at all levels that is so diffuse, it's invisible, unseen.  It's the air that we breathe.

That's why I and others advocate not only for Ethnic Studies, but against continuing ongoing colonization and mindsets that lack curiosity or open-mindedness about such matters.
  
A good thing happening today as a possible counter-weight—although we truly cannot turn back the clock of time and set Earth on a dramatically different course—is indigenous revival, together with an awakening ecological consciousness among so many.  I know that my students are generally deeply concerned about the environment, particularly in light of so much recent devastation.

At play aren't simply these decisions, but a way of knowing that continues to be hostile to the Earth which in the long term spells death, destruction, and decay.  Hence, we educate.  We transform ourselves even as we transform our classrooms, teachers, and society, as a whole.

Angela Valenzuela
#decolonize #CriticalThinking

European colonizers killed so many Native Americans that it changed the global climate, researchers say

By Lauren Kent, CNN

Updated 1:37 AM ET, Sat February 2, 2019

(CNN) When Europeans arrived in the Americas, they caused so much death and disease that it changed the global climate, a new study finds.

European settlers killed 56 million indigenous people over about 100 years in South, Central and North America, causing large swaths of farmland to be abandoned and reforested, researchers at University College London, or UCL, estimate. The increase in trees and vegetation across an area the size of France resulted in a massive decrease in carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere, according to the study.

Carbon levels changed enough to cool the Earth by 1610, researchers found. Columbus arrived in 1492,

"CO2 and climate had been relatively stable until this point," said UCL Geography Professor Mark Maslin, one of the study's co-authors. "So, this is the first major change we see in the Earth's greenhouse gases."

Before this study, some scientists had argued the temperature change in the 1600s, called the Little Ice Age, was caused only by natural forces.

But by combining archaeological evidence, historical data and analysis of carbon found in Antarctic ice, the UCL researchers showed how the reforestation -- directly caused by the Europeans' arrival -- was a key component of the global chill, they said.

"For once, we've been able to balance all the boxes and realize that the only way the Little Ice Age was so intense is ... because of the genocide of millions of people," Maslin told CNN.

The methodology

Researchers analyzed Antarctic ice, which traps atmospheric gas and can reveal how much carbon dioxide was in the atmosphere centuries ago.

"The ice cores showed that there was a larger dip in CO2 (than usual) in 1610, which was caused by the land and not the oceans," said Alexander Koch, lead author of the study.

A small shift in temperatures -- about a 10th of a degree in the 17th century -- led to colder winters, frosty summers and failing harvests, Koch said.

The implications

The implications of the study go beyond climate science and also contribute to research in geography and history, Maslin said, noting that deaths of indigenous Americans directly contributed to the success of the European economy.

Natural resources and food shipped from the New World helped Europe's population to expand. It also allowed people to stop farming for sustenance and begin working in other industries for spare money.

"The really weird thing is, the depopulation of the Americas may have inadvertently allowed the Europeans to dominate the world," Maslin said. "It also allowed for the Industrial Revolution and for Europeans to continue that domination."

‘Incentive pay’ for teachers misses the point by Noel Candelaria

Related to today's earlier post on teachers, do also read this piece by Texas State Teachers Association (TSTA) President Noel Candelaria on incentive pay in the San Antonio Express News. 

-Angela

‘Incentive pay’ for teachers misses the point

By Noel Candelaria, For the Express-News Feb. 3, 2019

I don’t often agree with Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, but I applaud him for taking an important first step toward addressing the low pay of Texas public school teachers and keeping effective educators where they belong — in the classroom.

Texas teachers, on average, are paid $7,300 a year less than the national average, and I hope Patrick’s endorsement of a $5,000 across-the-board pay raise will help convince legislators to begin closing that gap.

But the second part of the lieutenant governor’s proposal — rewarding a handful of teachers with extra “incentive” or “merit” pay — misses the point. The point is that all of Texas’ 5.4 million schoolchildren deserve adequately compensated, effective teachers in their classrooms, and we don’t accomplish that goal by being selective.

A permanent $5,000 pay raise for all teachers is only a start in the right direction. Whatever else the state may spend on improved teacher salaries should be spread across the board, not reserved for teachers who can squeeze out higher scores on narrowly focused STAAR tests or jump through some other data-driven hoop that usually is required for extra pay.

Here is the real problem, and it has several, interrelated parts:

Virtually all of Texas’ 350,000 schoolteachers are underpaid, and thousands of effective teachers are leaving the classroom every year for more financially rewarding professions.

Their modest salaries are further eroded by rising health insurance premiums, now averaging $359 a month, based on a TSTA survey of its members.

These same teachers, on average, spend $738 a year on classroom supplies for which they are not reimbursed, according to the same survey.

Anywhere from 30 percent to 50 percent of Texas teachers have quit or will quit the profession by the time they finish their fifth year in the classroom. Singling out a handful of these teachers for “incentive” pay is not going to solve this problem or improve the learning prospects for the vast majority of Texas schoolchildren.

Latinos on track to be largest share of nonwhite voters in 2020, Pew says

In the next presidential election, 32 million Hispanics will be eligible to vote, just slightly more than the 30 million voters who are black.

https://tinyurl.com/ycdwp7y7

Jan. 30, 2019, 10:50 AM CST

By Suzanne Gamboa

For the first time, Hispanics are on track to be the largest racial or ethnic group to be eligible to vote in a presidential election, according to data on the 2020 electorate released Wednesday by the Pew Research Center.

By 2020, 32 million Hispanics will be eligible to vote, just slightly more than the 30 million voters who are black. For Asians, the population is expected to be about 11 million, more than double what it was in 2000.

According to Pew, Hispanics are projected to be about 13.3 percent of the electorate in 2020, which would make them the largest racial or ethnic minority of the electorate for the first time. In 2016, Hispanics were 11.9 percent of the electorate; African-Americans were 12.5 percent and are projected to remain the same in 2020.

Voters who are of Asian descent are projected to be about 4.7 percent of the electorate.

White voters will continue to make up the largest share of the electorate, 66.7 percent, but the Latino and Asian growth mean that in 2020 about a third of eligible voters will be nonwhite.

Immigration is playing a role, although it is a small one. One-in-10 eligible voters will be foreign-born in 2020, the highest share since 1970.

The share that is eligible to vote does not necessarily transfer to turnout. In recent elections, black voters were “substantially more likely” than Hispanics to vote, Pew stated.

The number of Latinos who don’t vote, in fact, has been greater than the number who do in every presidential election since 1996, according to Pew.

Tom Brokaw's Comments about Hispanics feed fear of change and diversity

Excellent commentary this past week by Austin American-Statesman editor Juan Castillo on recent, hurtful and factually incorrect, comments made by NBC's Special Correspondent Tom Brokaw on "the problem" with Hispanics in the U.S. being that they're not assimilating.  You can see his commentary for yourself here.  

Juan Castillo counters this effectively, citing an epic statement on this by Selena (played by actress Jennifer Lopez) in the film, "Selena."  Talk about a redemptive statement that sheds light on the matter.  For many of us, this one interchange between Selena and her father (played by Edward James Olmos) made the whole movie memorable and exceptional.

Brokaw did ultimately apologize for offending Hispanics.  Thanks to Juan Castillo for similarly challenging Brokaw's misinformed opinion that actually speaks more to fears of a loss of white centrality due to changing demographics, than to any valid characterization of Hispanics.

I wrote a whole book about this so-called problem with Hispanic assimilation, by the way, titled Subtractive Schooling: U.S.-Mexican Youth and the Politics of Caring that, even if there are glimmers of light—like Julián Castro's 2020 presidential bid—similarly helps to debunk tired, self-serving myths by an establishment that doesn't want to empower Hispanics or Latinos.

-Angela Valenzuela

Castillo: Comments about Hispanics feed fear of change and diversity

Former San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro waves as he arrives
to his family to an event where he announced that he will seek
the 2020 Democratic Party presidential nomination, January
12, 2019 in San Antonio, Texas (AP PHOTO Eric Gay)

By Juan Castillo, February 1, 2019

I don’t know if Tom Brokaw has seen the biopic about the Tejano music idol Selena Quintanilla. If he hasn’t, I recommend he at least watch an indelible two-minute scene that might enrich his understanding of what it means to be a Mexican American.

In it, Selena’s father, speaking to his on-the-cusp-of-stardom daughter and her brother, launches into a monologue about the dualities of their culture. His emotions burn slowly at first. Soon, they are fanned by a force of their own until he’s downright combustible.

“And we gotta prove to the Mexicans how Mexican we are,” he says, “and we gotta prove to the Americans how American we are. We gotta be more Mexican than the Mexicans and more American than the Americans, both at the same time.

“It’s exhausting,” he says with such emphasis and exasperation it’s as if he’s flattening a nail head with a hundred-pound hammer. “Damn. Nobody knows how tough it is to be a Mexican American.”

The moment is visceral, a rare mainstream affirmation of the Mexican American experience.

Brokaw, as we know, told a national television audience that in his opinion, Hispanics need to be more, well, they need to be more American.

“Hispanics should work harder at assimilation,” Brokaw said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

“They ought not to be just codified in their communities but make sure that all of their kids are learning to speak English, and that they feel comfortable in the communities, and that’s going to take outreach on both sides, frankly,” he said.

I’m not here to get into Brokaw’s head and speculate on his intent, or surmise why one moment he was talking generally about some Americans’ fear “of brown grandbabies” and in the next breath, unprompted, offering his own opinion suggesting — at least to some — that he too is uncomfortable with this country’s demographic transformation.

The backlash among Latinos was swift, and Brokaw, in a series of tweets, seemed to walk back his comments, adding that “from my days reporting on cesar chavez to documenting the many contributions of hispanics in all parts of our culture ... i’ve worked hard to knock down false stereo types.”

Maybe so, but Brokaw had already perpetuated the biggest and most tired myth of all: that Hispanics don’t assimilate into American society.

Please, spare us the lecture that Latinos need to work harder at anything. Latinos — and Mexican Americans in particular — have fought over generations to be treated as equals, even in the face of historical bigotry against them. They have served proudly in America’s wars and conflicts, for example, often in numbers bigger than their percentage of the American population. The Voces Oral History Project at the University of Texas is dedicated to preserving these patriots’ stories and honoring their service.

And just look around. Latinos figure prominently in every realm of American society, from politics to culture, from business to entertainment, from newsmakers to the people in the media who cover them. People like Julián Castro, the former San Antonio mayor and former HUD secretary under President Barack Obama. He and twin brother, Joaquin, are the grandsons of a Mexican immigrant. After graduating from Stanford, they got law degrees from Harvard. Joaquin is a U.S. congressman. Julián is vying to become the first Latino president of the United States. Is that assimilating enough for you?

The idea that Hispanic children aren’t learning English is laughable, easily disproved by research showing that, as with other racial and ethnic groups, Spanish use declines as English becomes the dominant language among later immigrant generations. By the third generation — the U.S.-born children of U.S.-born parents and immigrant grandparents — 75 percent of Hispanics are English-dominant and 24 percent are bilingual, according to the Pew Research Center. Maybe Brokaw hasn’t heard that being bilingual is a game-changer in today’s workforce.

Brokaw’s ideas aren’t new. That Selena movie is nearly 22 years old, and as history tells us, slurs and stereotypes against Mexican Americans have been weaponized for well more than a century.

So why the uproar? Because Brokaw isn’t just anybody. A highly respected journalist, his comments feed a growing fear and resentment of change and diversity in America at a time when Hispanics are leading the change. They are the nation’s largest minority and are poised to become the largest racial or ethnic group to be eligible to vote in the 2020 presidential election. In Texas a growing Hispanic voting population is seen as key to turning the state blue. All this as Latinos unwittingly are swept into a caustic immigration debate that with a broad brush recklessly brands them as criminals and rapists.

“Our family has been here for centuries and yet they treat us as if you’ve just swam across the Río Grande,” Selena’s father says in that blistering movie dialogue. Brokaw’s comments remind Hispanics of their historical struggles as marginalized people. So you’ll understand if they are sensitive about accusations that they’re not American enough. After all this time, it’s exhausting.

Castillo is the Statesman’s Opinion page editor.

Civil rights groups warn that Texas voter citizenship check could violate federal law

Voter purging announcement in Texas.  If Republicans really believe in their platform and its appeal to the public, then they should be able to stand on their own two feet and not have to resort to voter purges.  It manufactures unfounded fears that illegal voting is a widespread phenomenon in Texas.  For instance, see today's opinion by the editors of the Austin American-Statesman (print edition) titled, "Botched handling of voter rolls does Texas a disservice," that says as much. 

The advisory that went out on January 25, 2019 Texas Secretary of State David Whitley is provided below.  This January 28, 2019 Texas Tribune piece titled, "Civil rights groups warn that Texas voter citizenship check could violate federal law," shows that our state's civil rights community is responding, alleging possible violations of state law.

We must call out official for making voting that much more difficult.  We must protect democracy and protect the vote.  Glad to see the civil rights community responding.

-Angela Valenzuela

Secretary Whitley Issues Advisory On Voter Registration List Maintenance Activity

"Integrity and efficiency of elections in Texas require accuracy of our state's voter rolls"

Share33

Janauary 25, 2019
Contact: Sam Taylor
512-463-6116

AUSTIN – Texas Secretary of State David Whitley today issued an advisory to county voter registrars regarding voter registration list maintenance activities, which include identifying any non-U.S. citizens registered to vote in the State of Texas. For the past year, the Texas Secretary of State's office has worked closely with the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) to evaluate information regarding persons identified to not be citizens of the United States. This voter registration list maintenance activity is being conducted in accordance with federal and state law to ensure that only qualified voters - who must first and foremost be U.S. citizens - are registered to vote in Texas elections.

Through this evaluation, the Texas Secretary of State's office discovered that a total of approximately 95,000 individuals identified by DPS as non-U.S. citizens have a matching voter registration record in Texas, approximately 58,000 of whom have voted in one or more Texas elections. Voting in an election in which the person knows he or she is not eligible to vote is a second-degree felony in the State of Texas. Upon receipt of this information, the Texas Secretary of State's office immediately provided the data in its possession to the Texas Attorney General's office, as the Secretary of State has no statutory enforcement authority to investigate or prosecute alleged illegal activity in connection with an election.

Secretary Whitley issued the following statement:

"Integrity and efficiency of elections in Texas require accuracy of our state's voter rolls, and my office is committed to using all available tools under the law to maintain an accurate list of registered voters. Our agency has provided extensive training opportunities to county voter registrars so that they can properly perform list maintenance activities in accordance with federal and state law, which affords every registered voter the chance to submit proof of eligibility. I would like to thank the Department of Public Safety for providing us with this valuable information so that we can continue to guarantee the right to vote for all eligible Texas voters, who should not have their voices muted by those who abuse the system."

Going forward, the Texas Secretary of State's office will use information it obtains from DPS on a monthly basis to cross-reference with Texas' statewide voter registration database and match potential non-U.S. citizens who have registered to vote. Once a voter registration is identified as a match, the Texas Secretary of State's office will notify the county in which the person is registered so that the county voter registrar can take action.

The following combinations of matches between information in DPS-provided data and the statewide voter registration database are used to identify possible non-U.S. citizens registered to vote:

• Last Name, First Name, and Full Social Security Number;
• Last Name, First Name, and DPS-issued Driver License, Personal Identification Card, or Election Identification Certificate Number; or
• Last Name, First Name, Last Four Digits of Social Security Number, and Date of Birth

If a registered voter is identified as a non-U.S. citizen, he or she should receive a Notice of Examination (PDF) from the county voter registrar indicating that his or her registration status is being examined on the grounds that he or she is not a U.S. citizen. The registered voter will then be required to provide proof of citizenship in order to stay registered, which may be done by submitting to the voter registrar a copy of one of the following documents:

• A certified copy of the voter's birth certificate
• United States passport; or
• Certificate of naturalization (Citizenship certificate)

If the person responds indicating he or she is not a U.S. citizen, or fails to respond to the Notice within 30 days, then the voter registration will be cancelled by the county voter registrar. County voter registrars have been provided with numerous training opportunities to ensure that list maintenance activities are conducted in accordance with state and federal law so as to not affect eligible voters.

Texas voters who wish to check their registration status can visit the Texas Secretary of State's "Am I Registered?" tool online or contact the voter registrar in their county of registration.

Although some detail is provided here about Houston Independent School Board dysfunction, there's clearly this deeper context that has contributed to the current situation in which trustees find themselves.  It's concerning that, as mentioned, the Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath "has had legal authority to replace the district’s school board since September 2017."  Possible violations of the Open Meetings Act that resulted in the abrupt termination of former interim Superintendent Grenita Lathan are also at play. 

In the background are concerns about a projected $76 million budget deficit in 2019-20.  that equates to around 4 percent of the district’s total spending.

How toxic. This is why board development is so essential. These folks either need to get voted out and/or need serious mediation or I fear that the state will step in and take them over.  Ideally, leadership would be a united front in the other direction of advocating for greater funding support and equity in school finance.  

They should be allied, for example, with the the Texas State Teachers Association (TSTA) and the Houston Federation of Teachers (HFT) and advocate for higher teacher salaries while shunning the widely-discredited policy agenda for standardized-test-based, merit-based pay system (see Loeb, et al. [2009], The State Role in Teacher Compensation). This latter proposal, supported by Gov. Greg Abbott and House Speaker Dennis Bonnen, is not only flawed, riddled with issues of measurement while pitting teachers against each other and incentivizing teaching to the test, it also represents a band aid and about face to what all Texas teachers deserve just to make a decent living.  Plus, ample research supports the idea that paying teachers well is key to districts being able to recruit and retain high-quality staff (e.g., Loeb, et al., 2009; Murnane & Olsen 1989).

What an incredible opportunity cost for the HISD board—or any board, for that matter, to not run with the data and advocate for our schools and children.

And the schools, parents and most especially, the children, pay the price for all of this dysfunction.  And the neoliberal agenda to privatize schooling waits in the wings with bated breath, poised to capitalize on this situation and win.  Let's not let this happen to one of the largest school districts in the nation.

-Angela Valenzuela

‘A step below hell’: Video gives inside look at HISD board’s dysfunction

Jacob Carpenter Feb. 2, 2019 Updated: Feb. 2, 2019 6:30 p.m.

Three days after the stunning ouster of Houston ISD Interim Superintendent Grenita Lathan in mid-October, an unexpected move that further divided the already-fractured school board, district leaders gathered for training on how to govern.

Instead, HISD leaders spent four straight hours lobbing blistering accusations of disingenuous, duplicitous and dismissive behavior by their colleagues. Through raised voices and tears, they bemoaned the disintegration of trust and productivity on the board, with one trustee describing his service as “a step below hell” and another likening her experience to “an abusive relationship.”

FULL VIDEO: Click here to see the entire Houston ISD board meeting

The intervention-style airing of grievances, captured on video and reported here for the first time, culminated with Trustee Wanda Adams standing up and yelling at Trustee Elizabeth Santos, angry that board members did not defend her after she received threats while serving as board president in 2017.

“Did y’all come to my defense? Hell no,” Adams shouted as she slowly walked toward Santos, prompting a top Texas Education Agency official in the room to position himself between the two trustees. “So, you want to know how I felt last year? I was quiet the whole year. So, don’t come up here crying ‘woe is me’ when people came to my house, attacked me.” Continue reading here.

Houston ISD Trustee Adams ‘Don’t go there with me’

Volume 90%

Houston ISD Trustee Wanda Adams shouted at fellow board member Elizabeth Santos for about 90 seconds during a mid-October board meeting, slowly walking toward her until Texas Education Agency Deputy Commissioner of Governance AJ Crabill stepped between them. The exchange marked the highest point of tension during a heated meeting in the aftermath of Interim Superintendent Grenita Lathan’s unexpected ouster, which was later reversed.

Video: Source: Houston ISD

Continue reading here.

It's time to Reinvest in Texas Teachers

Investing in our state's teachers is long overdue as stated in today's Austin American-Statesman posted below.  Also, consider attending the March 11, 2019 Texas state teachers rally to the Capitol in Austin, Texas.  While we are at it, school district leaders, lest make it a point to hire a more culturally diverse faculty.  It'll make a positive difference in your school for everyone.

-Angela Valenzuela