Voices Archives - Page 2 of 3 - Casa Maria Soup Kitchen

MY BEEF WITH TESTING

Casa Maria April 11, 2015

6 min read by Cesar Aguirre Last night I was organizing things in my room when I ran across an article I was quoted in regarding standardized testing and parents’ right to opt-out http://tucson.com/news/local/education/more-parents-see-standardized-tests-as-harmful/article_489549a5-5dfa-5a7b-9324-1065d37866bc.html. The one thing I must say before I go on is that, despite what the title says, I am not against testing. I only have beef with standardized testing! Now, I can go on a rant and write a novel talking about all the reasons I am against standardized testing, but I’ll spare you the whole profit driven corporate machine using our kids as guinea pigs to “reform” our

MY WEEKEND AT CASA MARIA

Casa Maria March 27, 2015

2 min read by Cesar (Big Cesar) Aguirre My usual weekend, going to Tucson from Ajo and helping out at Casa Maria when I can. This past weekend my son unexpectedly asked me to join him for a book study gathering at Brian’s. I was hesitant to go but I did anyway (my best move of the day). I found myself among some of the people I had met at Casa Maria last winter while volunteering in the soup kitchen. The topic was a book titled ¡Hugo! As I listened in (keep in mind I had never read the book or heard of

THE REGGIO EMILIA APPROACH AND WHAT THE RESEARCH SUPPORTS

Casa Maria February 16, 2015

3 min read Special thanks to the Tucson Children’s Project, Mimi Gray, Pauline Baker, Ben Mardel, Teresa Acevedo, and especially Lella Gandini of Reggio Emilia, Italy for making this all possible. by Cesar Aguirre As an avid supporter of public education and an extremely involved parent at Ochoa Elementary, I have done a lot of research and studied best practices of early childhood education. Over the weekend the Tucson Children’s Project held a conference titled “What the Research Supports”. I was in attendance, along with many dedicated teachers from Ochoa. Ochoa is a Reggio Inspired Magnet school. It’s the only public school of

WELCOME OCHOA ELEMENTARY’S NEW PRINCIPAL JULIO MORENO

Casa Maria January 20, 2015

< 1 min read The South Tucson and Ochoa community have organized over the years to improve the the community and keep the schools in our barrio open. We continue to organize today to improve the quality of education for our barrio youth. Due to this work the parents have been successful in working with Tucson Unified School District to find the right leader to take Ochoa’s magnet program (Reggio Emilia) to the next level. Join us on Thursday, January 22nd, 2015 at 6pm at the John Valenzuela Youth Center, 1550 S. 6th Ave. to welcome our new principal, Julio Moreno, to the community.

IN DEFENSE OF AUGIE ROMERO

Casa Maria December 4, 2014

2 min read by Cesar Aguirre On the second page of today’s Daily Star (12/2/14) the headline reads, “State reviewing TUSD on Mexican American Studies”. This is because Augustine Romero was baited into an argument over whether or not Mexican American Studies had returned to TUSD in the form of a federally required Culturally Relevant Curriculum (CRC) that is being implemented because of a 40 year old desegregation lawsuit. Augustine Romero is the new principal at Pueblo High school and from where we sit, on the south side of Tucson, we see a man who is passionate about educational justice, who fights for

STRATEGIC PLAN FOR TUSD AND THE ROLE OF LOW-INCOME PARENTS

Casa Maria July 23, 2014

2 min read by Cesar Aguirre It is just after 9pm, the girls are finally settled in bed and my eyes are heavy from a long day. I know I should have gone to the board meeting but after cleaning, finishing the laundry and cooking dinner, the last thing I want to do is drag my girls to a board meeting. Once there I would have to deal with their moaning and complaining about how boring it is and then carry one while dragging the other to the car afterwards, getting home way past their bedtime. I yawn deep and long as I

Thoughts of a TBRU Supporter

Casa Maria July 1, 2014

2 min read This piece was sent in by a friend and supporter of the Bus Riders Union. Thanks for your thoughts M! By M. The City of Tucson has been irresponsible throughout the entire Streetcar project. Initial negotiations regarding the Streetcar included major contributions from the University of Arizona, yet when the UofA changed their mind the City plowed on with little regard for the impact the streetcar would have on the budget or the community. The primary purpose of the Streetcar, which has a price tag of over $190 million, will be to take intoxicated college students from bar to bar

Daily Star says “Bus riders can rest easy now,” Tucson Bus Riders Union says “no, not yet!”

Casa Maria April 23, 2014

2 min read by Cesar Aguirre Thanks to the Tucson Bus Riders Union there will be no fare increase, but the City is looking at other ways to balance their budget on the backs of poor bus riders. In order to keep our city’s transit system strong the City must increase ridership. That means that they can’t cut routes or reduce service because doing so would decrease ridership. Right now the City is considering cutting, or reducing service to about a dozen or so routes, so we, the BRU, are on those routes informing riders of the changes and signing them up for the union. In

Remembering Archbishop Oscar A. Romero

Casa Maria March 28, 2014

2 min read by Anita Timpani Bubany “Let my blood be a seed of freedom.” -Romero Monday, March 24th marks the 34th Anniversary of the death of Archbishop Oscar A. Romero. As Catholics and workers for justice – we should be mindful of those that have walked before us who worked to bring the kingdom of God here on earth. What we can accomplish in our lifetime is only a piece of building the kingdom of God. But when our pieces are combined with others visions and we work together to fight against the injustices – we are that much stronger. And when

JOIN THE BUS RIDERS UNION AT THE RTA BOARD MEETING AND THE CESAR CHAVEZ MARCH

Casa Maria March 24, 2014

< 1 min read

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