SENATE MEMORIAL 83

49th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2009

INTRODUCED BY

Linda M. Lopez

A MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THAT THE PUBLIC EDUCATION DEPARTMENT PROVIDE SCHOOL DISTRICTS A GUIDE FOR INTERWEAVING A TOLERANCE CURRICULUM INTO THE EXISTING CONTENT STANDARDS FOR KINDERGARTEN THROUGH TWELFTH GRADE WITH THE AIM OF CREATING SCHOOLS ACROSS NEW MEXICO IN WHICH CHILDREN CAN LEARN IN AN ENVIRONMENT OF RESPECT, SAFETY AND DIVERSITY.

     WHEREAS, children learn best in an environment in which they know they are safe from bullies and others, as they can open their minds to new information when they are not under attack; and

     WHEREAS, children who do not look or act like the majority of their peers often struggle to maintain an appearance of normalcy, denying that they need special attention, though they could more readily accept academic help in an atmosphere where the help itself does not cause ridicule; and

     WHEREAS, New Mexico prides itself on its diversity, but, even so, those who are a bit different are often under such social pressure that their learning suffers; and

     WHEREAS, a damaged learning environment can damage students; damaged students often lag behind their peers in academic performance; and damaged and ridiculed students often have more reason to drop out of school than to stay; and

     WHEREAS, school drop-outs suffer personal tragedy, the burden of inadequate skill sets and, ultimately, the burden of poverty; and

     WHEREAS, poverty is a plague that affects every New Mexican because taxpayers underwrite the children of those who are unable to earn a living, because state-funded prisons feed the poor who have turned to crime and because out-of-state businesses reject New Mexico workers again and again for their lack of academic achievement; and

     WHEREAS, the kindergarten-through-twelfth-grade curriculum that is already in place throughout New Mexico contains standards and benchmarks that define the academic content that every school child is responsible to know; and

     WHEREAS, that same curriculum could be enhanced by a companion curriculum that emphasizes diversity and tolerance within the content standards; and

     WHEREAS, schools could incorporate diversity exercises and lessons into their academic curricula, for instance, in math, there could be a discussion of minority representation; in English, a discussion of language acquisition such that English language learners are respectfully included in the discussion; in history, a lesson on the means of incorporating cultural differences across the world and within the history of the United States; and in health, a discussion of the challenges faced by those with physical, developmental and mental health disabilities;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the public education department be requested to provide suggestions for interweaving a tolerance and diversity curriculum into the existing content standards for kindergarten through twelfth grade; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the public education department be requested to prepare and disseminate to all New Mexico school districts a guide for inclusion of tolerance and diversity teaching; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the public education department include in its rules an expanded emphasis on tolerance and diversity as part of the standard curriculum, based on the guide it develops in response to this memorial; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the public education department present its report and guide to the legislative education study committee in the 2009 interim; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the secretary of public education and the governor.

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