XITO

is a sponsored program
of Prescott College

In LakEch: Teaching Justice and Decolonial

Pedagogy
June 26 June 28, 2015

Paulo Freire Freedom School

300 E. University Blvd., #10
Tucson, AZ 85705

The
V
ision:








the needs of
There is a lack of opportunities for teachers to improve their practices in meeting

ethodology.
students of color through
culturally responsive, a uthentic and research based m


institute that
The Xican@ Institute for Teaching and Organizing (XITO) is an urban educational


will fill the gap in Xican@/Latin@ schooling for students and practitioners with the goal of



impacting future education
policy.







The
M
ission:







XITO strives to support
t
he
X
ican@/Latin@
c
ommunity
t
hrough
t
eacher
p
articipation,
social



justice pedagogy, and
c
ommunity
o
rganizing.
X
ITOs
p
ractices
a
re
s
teeped
i
n
X
ican@



Indigenous epistemology,
which drives the intentions,
structures, and practices


of the institute.







The Rationale:




laws, policies and practices,
including HB
Arizona is a testing g round for anti-Xican@/Latin@



2281 (A.R.S. 15-112 & 15-112), the anti-Ethnic Studies law banning Mexican American
Studies



courses in public schools. Given that many such political experiments have been successfully



exported from Arizona
to the larger nation, XITO addresses the implications of this legislation
by offering workshops
in community organizing a nd critical teaching to counter
this trend. In
addition to teaching workshops, XITO supports the
continued teaching of XIcan@
Literature
and XIcan@ Studies in Tucson, Arizona. XITO thrives
other Ph
to support Mexican Americans
Anita aFnd
ernndez,
Latin@s, the largest and fastest growing minority
g
roup
i
n
t
he
n
ation,
b
y
c
oordinating
a


policy on the local, state, r egional, or national level.
viable way of affecting








XITO

Anita Fernndez, P h.D. - Director


Curtis Acosta, Ph.D.


Sean Arce,

M.Ed.
Jos Gonzlez,
M.A.


Norma
G
onzlez,
M.Ed.

XICAN@ INSTITUTE FOR TEACHING & ORGANIZING

XITO Facilitators

Anita Fernndez, Ph.D.

Director, XITO & Prescott
College Tucson

continue on in a non-
formal setting for college
credit from Prescott
College. Anita is also the
co-founder of La Tierra
Community School, a K-8
Expeditionary Learning
school in Prescott, AZ.

the documentary Precious

Knowledge, The Daily
Show with John Stewart,
and his classes were
subject of multiple
profiles by CNN, The New
York Times, and The Los
Angeles Times amongst
many other media outlets.
He received his Bachelor
of Arts from Willamette
University in Salem,
Oregon and a Masters of
Arts degree in Language,
Reading, and Culture
from the University of
Arizona in Tucson, where
he is currently pursuing
his doctorate degree in
Teaching, Learning and
Sociocultural Studies.

Curtis Acosta, M.A.

Acosta Latino Learning
Partnership & XITO

Anita Fernndez is
a scholar activist at
Prescott College (Arizona)
and teaches in both the
undergraduate Education
program and the
graduate program in
Social Justice and Human
Rights. Anitas work in
education began as a high
school English teacher,
which influenced her
graduate work to focus
on preparing activist
teachers who are both
compassionate and
critical. Anita is locally
and nationally involved
with organizations that
focus on Chican@ access
to education, social
justice activism, critical
pedagogy and
transformative teacher
education. Anita has
worked closely with the
now banned Mexican
American Studies
Department in Tucson,
and in that work she
created a structure for
the eliminated classes to
continue on in a non-
formal setting for the
eliminated classes to

Sean Arce, M.Ed.

Prescott College
Instructor & XITO

Curtis Acosta has

been a public high school
teacher in Tucson for
nearly 20 years where he
developed and taught
Chican@ / Latin@
Literature classes for the
renowned Mexican
American Studies (MAS)
program in Tucson - the
largest public school
ethnic studies program in
the nation before being
dismantled in January,
2012. MAS classes were
centered on student
empowerment and
agency through critical
pedagogy, as well as
culturally responsive and
socially relevant
curriculum. Curtis is an
award-winning educator
that has been featured in

Sean Arce, co-

founder and former
director of the nationally
renowned and now
banned Mexican
American Studies
Department in Tucson, AZ,
received the Myles
Horton Award for
Teaching Peoples History
from the Zinn Education
Project (ZEP) in 2012. ZEP
honored Arce for his
instrumental role in
nurturing one of the most
significant and successful

public school initiatives

on the teaching of history
in the United States. His
work has been
highlighted on PBS,
Democracy Now and
National Public Radio. As
an activist urban educator
for nearly 20 years, Arce
and his colleagues
developed Barrio
Pedagogy - which
includes Xicano
Indigenous
epistemologies and social
justice principles as its
foundation - where
students and teachers co-
constructed an
educational experience
that fostered an academic
identity and the
development of a strong
cultural identity. Arce
received his Bachelor of
Arts in Mexican American
Studies from the
University of Arizona and
his Masters in
Educational Leadership
from Northern Arizona
University. He is currently
working towards his
doctorate in Teaching,
Learning and
Sociocultural Studies at
the University of Arizona.
What drives Arces work
are all Xicana/o children,
specifically his own two,
Maya and Emiliano, who
are plaintiffs in the Arce
et al. v State of Arizona
case that is currently in
the Ninth Circuit Court of
Appeals, challenging
Arizonas anti-Chicano
Studies law 15-111 & 15-
112 (formerly known as
Arizona HB 2281).

XICAN@ INSTITUTE FOR TEACHING & ORGANIZING

XITO Facilitators

Jos Gonzalez , M.A. -
XITO

Joseph Elias Gonzlez and

Tatzin to his
grandchildren, Ameyalli
Ballesteros, Citlanique
Ballesteros, Isita Felix,
and Santi Felix.

Norma Gonzalez, M.Ed. -

XITO

Jose Gonzlez is
in his twenty-second year
of teaching and currently
works for Tucson Unified
School District teaching
th
6 grade World History at
Roskruge Bilingual Middle
School in Tucson, Arizona.
As a student advocate,
Jose was one of thirteen
plaintiffs challenging the
constitutionality of HB
2281 (ARS 15-112), which
has made teaching
Chicana/o Studies illegal
in the State of Arizona. As
and educator and student
advocate, Jose anchors
his instruction by
implementing a Xican@
Critical Race Pedagogy,
simultaneously
interweaving a
humanizing pedagogy
which at its core is
grounded in Indigenous
epistemologies. He works
to foster and facilitate his
students academic
identity through a
philosophy, which is
centered on the students
self-actualization and self-
discipline. Jose is the
proud husband to Norma
Isela Gonzlez, Papa to

School in the Nation,

Manzo Elementary School
in Tucson, AZ. Normas
current curricular and
pedagogical focus centers
on ecology,
environmental justice and
Indigenous Traditional
Earth Knowledge.

Georgina Cecilia Prez,
M.A., Doctoral Candidate
UTEP: Teaching,
Learning and Culture

womens organization,
La Mujer Obrera and
Centro Sin Fronteras
Border Agricultural
Workers Project,
developing workshops,
organizing fund raising
events, poetry nights and
"Pelicula y Platica"
cultural film screenings in
order to keep the
message on the forefront.
One of her proudest
endeavors is "Tu Libro -
an initiative she
spearheaded to provide
Libros to students and
their families.

Norma Gonzlez
has been a Mexican
Indigenous Studies
Critical Educator for over
20 years. Her research
interest is centered on
culture and re-
introducing Xicana/o
youth to Indigenous
Mexican knowledge and
wisdom as a means to
solidify a positive identity.
She holds a M.Ed. in
Educational Leadership
and a B.A. in Elementary
Bilingual Education.
Professionally Norma was
a curriculum specialist
with the Mexican
American Studies
Department for ten years
where she developed
curriculum (K-12) that
was culturally responsive
and that implemented
critical pedagogy and
indigenous
epistemologies. Currently
she is a third grade
teacher at the Greenest

Born and raised

in El Chuco, Georgina is
engaged in educational
and community
development through
advocacy efforts, to
include organizing events,
presentation, rallies and
protests to address
political attacks on
education, to include:
Working with the Texas
School Board of
Education on the
Implementation of
Cultural Studies in Texas
Public Education,
protesting against Texas
House Bill 1938 and Texas
Senate Bill 1128 which
aimed at effectively
dismantling Ethnic
Studies and Women's
Studies in Texas
education. As an
advocate of grassroots
organizing, Georgina sits
on the Social Justice in
Education Task Force,
collaborates with local

Jesus Chucho Ruiz -

Calpolli Teoxicalli

Over the past

decade, Chucho has
transformed the lives of
countless Raza youth
through a La Cultura Cura
approach as the Youth,
Services Director with
Chicanos Por La Causa.
Additionally, through his
affirmation and
maintenance of Nahua
cultural practices and way
of life, commitment to
social justice, and
obligation to the Tucson
community, Chucho has
served as a central
facilitator of la tradicon
Nahua within the Calpolli

Teoxicalli, a constellation
of Nahua familias in
Tlamanalco, Aztlan.
Chucho has always
answered the call to meet
the needs in of the
Chicano community as
spiritual advisor,
authentic community
leader, and barrio
intellectual - particularly
as the Chicana/o
community has been
under attack through
racist laws (HB 2281 & SB
1070) and dehumanizing
practices.

he co-founded the
Xican@ Pop-Up Book
Movement -unfolding in
Riverside, Texas,
Minnesota, Salt Lake,
South LA and all over
Aztlan - that promotes
Raza Studies arts and
science through pop up
books, in order to
proclaim that you can
ban Chican@ books, but
theyll still POP UP!

Johnavalos, M.A. UC
Riverside, Department of
Music

Elias Serna Doctoral

Candidate, UC Riverside

Elias is an English
doctoral student at UC
Riverside and currently
teaches Chicano Studies
at Cal State L.A. and
Dominguez Hills, and is
directing the PYFC
Summer Arts Program in
Santa Monica. In 2013 he
won the National
Collegiate Book Collecting
Contest hosted by the
Library of Congress for his
collection titled Chicano
Movement Banned
Books. He is co-
organizing the 3rd Raza
Studies Now Conference
(August 23 in Santa
Monica) which has
drafted El Plan de Los
Angeles envisioning
Ethnic Studies in high
schools. With Johnavalos

With a Masters
Degree in Ethnic Dance
Education from Stanford
University 1978, and a
B.A. in Sociology from UC
Santa Cruz, "Johnavalos"
(John Rios aka juan) has
been teaching
Mexican/Xican@ dance at
4 UC campuses for the
past 25 years. Currently a
lecturer/adjunct with the
Department of Music at
UC Riverside he serves as
premier director of the
UCR Studio for Mexican
Music and Dance (SMMD)
where he collaborates
with famed pioneer of
mariachi women Laura
Sobrino and they both
work with students to
produce a weeknight
annual concert for the
UCR campus community
During the 70's
and 80'sJohnavalos
performed and toured
with such companies as

Los Lupeos de SanJos,

Ballet Mexicapan de
Benjamin Hernandez, The
National Chicano Dance
Theater of Enrique
Montoya , Miguel
Delgado's Teatro
Mechicano de Danza and
during his college years
co-founded "Los Mejjcas
de UCSC. His most noted
credits include a featured
dancer role in the 1979
motion picture "Zoot
Suit" by Luis Valdez and
can be seen as a Mayan
Dancer at EPCOT Mexican
Pavillion in Disney World
Florida working under
famed Aztec dancer
Florencio Yescas.
With a lifetime
of Folklorico performance
and serving 12 years as an
elected board member of
the NationalAssociation
of Folklrico Groups
(ANGF) Johnavalos
continues to search for
ways to enhance the
understanding the people
we call Mexican. His work
as an artist is dedicated to
creating new
performances that tell the
story of his life as a gay
American, his mother's
life as a farmworker with
11 children, and the
enduring spirit of his
indigenous ancestors the
Avalos (hence his new
artist name"Johnavalos").
It is these recently found
"Purpecha" ancestors
who continue to take care
of the original cornfield
once owned by his
maternal grandfather
who had fled to Los
Angeles during the
Mexican Revolution.

Friday, June 26, 2015

Time

8:30 am - 9:00 am

Institute Workshop Sessions

Check in and light breakfast
Freire School

9:00 am - 9:30 am
Welcome: Anita Fernndez
Freire School
Opening Ceremonia: Calpolli Teoxicalli

9:30 am - 10:00 am Introductions & Self-Assessments
Freire School

10:00 am 11:00 am In LakEch: Framing the Political Landscape and the Need for Activist Oriented Pedagogy -
Freire School
Anita Fernndez

11:00 am 11:15 am Break


11:15 am -12:15 am The Nahui Ollin as a Pedagogical Framework
Freire School
Jose Gonzlez & Norma Gonzlez

12:15 am- 1:15 pm
Lunch
Freire School



1:15 pm -2:15 pm
The Nahui Ollin as a Content Framework
Freire School
Jose Gonzlez & Norma Gonzlez

2:15 pm 2:30pm
Break




2:30 pm 4:30 pm Tezcatlipoca, Quetzalcoatl, Huitzilopochtli, and Xipe Totec in the Social Studies Classroom:
Freire School

Knowing Ourselves, Our Students, and Our Community - Sean Arce




4:30 pm 4:45 pm Day One Summary & Workshop Evaluations Anita Fernndez
Freire School

6-26-15 - Institute Workshop Descriptions
Title
Description
In LakEch: Framing the Political In this opening workshop, XITO Director Anita Fernndez will describe Arizonas current political
Landscape and the Need for
landscape, how it necessitates culturally responsive and activist oriented pedagogy as well as its
Activist Oriented Pedagogy
impact on national educational policy. An overview of the battle to preserve Mexican American

Studies will set the framework for the institute bringing focus to the mission and vision of XITO.

The Nahui Ollin as a Pedagogical The Nahui Ollin, was developed and utilized by the former Mexican American Studies teachers as
Framework
a pedagogical framework that fosters culturally sustaining teaching. The framework will be
unpacked by participants as they will delve into the critical components. This pedagogical
framework fosters an academic identity in students and is a humanistic approach to creating
respectful relationships with students.

The Nahui Ollin as a Content
The Nahui Ollin is a multifaceted philosophy that also functions as a content framework.
Framework
Participants will learn about this content framework and how they can apply it as they introduce
concepts to their students. As a content framework it is centered in an inquiry-based approach to
learning through action research.






Time
8:30 am - 9:00 am
9:00 am - 9:15 am
9:15 am - 10:15 am

Saturday, June 27, 2015

Institute Workshop Sessions
Check in and light breakfast

Welcome: Norma Gonzlez
Opening Ceremonia: Calpolli Teoxicalli

Barrio Libre Mural Tour - Sean Arce

Room
Freire School

Freire School

Barrio Libre

Freire School

10:30 am - 12:00 pm Culturally Responsive Pedagogy Presentation in Action: Amoxtli Yayauhqui Tezcatlipoca:
El Camino Hacia Nuestro Ser Interno Norma Gonzlez

12:00 pm -1:00 pm
Lunch
Freire School



1:00 pm -2:00 pm
Literacy, Libraries & Liberation: Mujerisma in the Classroom Georgina Cecilia Prez
Freire School


2:00 pm -2:15 pm
Break




2:15 pm 4:15 pm Si Se Puede! Chican@/Latin@ Literature and Culturally Responsive Pedagogy In Action
Freire School

Curtis Acosta




4:15 pm 4:30 pm Day Two Summary & Workshop Evaluations
Freire School



4:30 pm 6:00 pm Break
Freire School



6:00 pm 8:00 pm XITO Dinner Hosted for Conference Participants
TBD


6-27-15 - Institute Workshop Descriptions
Title
Description
Culturally Responsive Pedagogy This session will offer teachers who work with Raza students with an indigenous rooted process
Presentation in Action: Amoxtli of attaining self-love centered on the Tlamanalcayotl philosophy of life (Nahui Ollin- four
Yayauhqui Tezcatlipoca: El
movement). Given that, an underlying goal guiding this presentation is to begin to transform the
Camino Hacia Nuestro Ser
negative impact of colonization and the tragic effects it has had on indigenous Raza people of
Interno
this continent for the past five hundred years. Poetry will be utilized for that reflection and

introspection in such a manner whereby participants can profoundly interact with their inner-self
as they create their beautiful story in the tangible form of an amoxtli (a codex).


An interactive session of machiliztli, tlazohtla, mahuitzli (knowledge, love, respect) offering
Literacy, Libraries & Liberation:
mujerisma ~ the pedagogy of brown and black womyn in classroom communities. A reading and
Mujerisma in the Classroom
discussion of culturally and herstorically responsive literature will be offered with the purpose of

developing personal frameworks for implementation in knowledge sharing environments.

Si Se Puede! Chican@/Latin@
This session is an interactive teaching model of the acclaimed Mexican American Studies
Literature and Culturally
program in Tucson led by Chican@/Latin@ Literature teacher, Curtis Acosta. Participants will
Responsive Pedagogy In Action have an opportunity to experience a sampling of the pedagogy and curriculum through a
simulated classroom experience that focuses specifically on Chican@/Latin@ literature. After
building a sense of community through the experiences as a class, participants will have an
opportunity to engage in a frank and candid discussion about the benefits of culturally
responsive pedagogy and curricula, as well as how to assist teachers in the implementation of
such techniques in their classroom.







Time

8:30 am - 9:00 am
9:00 am - 9:15 am
9:15 am - 10:30 am

10:30 am -10:45 am
10:45am - 12:00 pm

Sunday, June 28, 2015

Institute Workshop Sessions

Check in and light breakfast

Welcome: Jose Gonzlez
Opening Ceremonial: Calpolli Teoxicalli

Re-Defining and Re-Creating Xicano Manhood: Towards Counter Hegemonic
Masculinities with and for Xicano Male Youth Sean Arce

Break

Room

Freire School

Freire School

Freire School



Freire School

Xican@ Pop-Up Books: Pedagogies and Allegories Against Book Burning and the Ban on
Xican@ Literature Elias Serna & Johnavalos Rios

12:00 pm 1:00 pm
Lunch
Freire School



1:00 pm 2:00 pm Pulling It All Together: Theoretical Frameworks for Decolonial Projects Anita Fernndez
Freire School



2:00 pm 2:15 pm Break



2:15 pm 3:45 pm Small Group Work - share community goals & report to larger group for input
Freire School



3:45 pm - 4:00 pm Day Three Summary & Workshop Evaluations
Freire School



4:00 pm 4:30 pm Closing Circle
Freire School


6-28-15 - Institute Workshop Descriptions
Title
Description

In this workshop, Sean Arce will facilitate a critical examination of the formations, origins and
Re-Defining and Re-Creating
current manifestations of Xicano masculinities. Moreover, the current manifestations of Xicano
Xicano Manhood: Towards
hegemonic masculinities will be analyzed and pathways as possibilities (utilizing La Cultura Cura
Counter Hegemonic Masculinities as a practical framework) to counter these hegemonic masculinities with and for Xicano male
with and for Xicano Male Youth youth, both inside and outside of the classroom, will be presented. As historical subjects that

have agency, the Xicano male has the capacity to act upon his reality in positive and
transformative ways to re-define and re-create positive and healthy masculinities for the
strengthening of himself, his female equivalent, and his community.

Xican@ Pop-Up Books:
Adapting MAS' Xican@ Paradigm, and in the context of attacks on Xican@ indigenous
Pedagogies and Allegories Against epistemologies - from colonial book burning to the banning of Chican@ Studies books in
Book Burning and the Ban on
Arizona - we will walk participants through Xican@ Pop-Up Book lesson plans, including the role
Xican@ Literature
of allegory and pop-up techniques. We use the concepts of self-reflection, precious knowledge,

the will to act, and transformation to explain classroom lessons and experiences, as we

proclaim that "you can ban Chican@ books, but they'll still POP UP!"


Pulling It All Together: Theoretical In advance of participants working on their community goals and projects, this final workshop
Frameworks for Decolonial
will offer a framework of decolonizing education to consider when applying the institutes
Projects
epistemology to community work. A pedagogy of hope and love along with liberatory practices
that focus on healing will be presented and participants will be encouraged to engage in a
dialogue on how their specific work relates to these frameworks.

Special Thanks to:

Paulo Freire Freedom School

Calpolli Teoxicalli Tlamenalco, Aztlan

Xican@ Pop-Up Books* - CalifAztlan

The Xican@ Pop-Up Book Movement was founded September 2013, promoting awareness of the Tucson MAS struggle and particularly the
banning of Chican@ Literature. By proclaiming that "You can ban Chican@ books, but they'll still pop up!" we spread awareness and
promote the advantages of learning hidden histories, Ethnic Studies, and defending Chican@ Literature in Arizona. We have been recently
featured on NPR radio's "Latino USA" and a fabulous Ted talk by Ron Espiritu. XPUB Pedagogy has popped up at UC Riverside, CSU

9 Dominguez Hills, Animo South LA High School and Univ. Minnesota St. Cloud.