You are an instructional coordinator for Carson Junior High, a school located in a community with a growing population of Mexican and Mexican American students. There is also a growing Guatemalan population. Cinco de Mayo is coming
up, and your colleague, eighth-grade teacher Ms. Mulaney, wants to take the opportunity to make her Latino/Hispanic
students feel welcome.
On May 5th, she calls each student of Latino/Hispanic heritage to the front of the class and gives each a fun mariachi ha
to wear, then serves the whole class tacos. She told you she was very excited to give the kids a chance to take this little
break in their studies while teaching the non-Latino/Hispanic students in class about a different culture. But, the next
day, she gets several concerned, even angry e-mails, phone calls, and visits from offended parents. The parents tell her
their children felt embarrassed and singled out, and that the lesson had no academic content and indicated a total lack
of knowledge about the commemorative day. Ms. Mulaney is crestfallen. She doesn't know what she did wrong. You, as
the instructional coordinator, were prepared for this fallout.
Give her some hints on fairer and more knowledgeable treatment of students, and perhaps a suggestion on a more
academically appropriate lesson.