Santa Ana Councilman Ben Vazquez is a committed left-wing activist who teaches Ethnic Studies to high school students in the Santa Ana Unified School District. And to no one’s surprise, he brings his politics into the classroom for his impressionable teenage students to imbibe.
Vazquez doesn’t really attempt to conceal it. Here are images he posted on his Instagram account:
Judging from the simplistic structure of the poster boards, Vazquez presumably assigned them to peruse the Instagram accounts of local politicians, and then write down conclusions they draw from their posts.
Note that every person profiled is a left-wing elected official and political ally: Councilmembers Jessie Lopez and Johnathan Hernandez. Santa Ana Unified School District Board of Education members Hector Bustos, Katelyn Brazer and Alfonso Alvarez, and OC Supervisor Vince Sarmiento – plus Sarmiento’s son Diego.
Mayor Valerie Amezcua or Councilmembers David Penaloza or Phil Bacerra, or conservative SAUSD Board member Brenda Lebsack? Ignored.
Vazquez captioned one of the photo “I teach kids how to write.”
One doesn’t know whether to laugh or cry at that absurd claim. The “writing” on the poster boards is grade school level. These kids are going to be out of high school and in the real world in a few short years. Why is Vazquez wasting their time with projects more appropriate for 10 year olds?
If Vazquez thinks this is an example of teaching students how to write, not only is he delusional, but his students are being shortchanged and will be in a for a rude awakening in a few short years.
What a useless exercise. What are these kids supposed to learn from the self-promoting social media posts of local politicians? Vazquez merely validates criticisms that Ethnic Studies isn’t a serious academic discipline. What does Ethnic Studies have to do with Katelyn Brazer or Diego Sarmiento?
The answer, of course, is nothing. Vazquez is lazily exploiting his teaching position to propagandize these kids on behalf of his ideological chums. Don’t be surprised if these students windup walking precincts for Johnathan Hernandez or Jessie Lopez…or Ben Vazquez. It’s an abuse of a position of trust for crass political purposes.
At least Vazquez’s post serves to illustrate how frivolous Ethnic Studies is. In the SAUSD, at least, these classes are often taught by teachers who are progressive-left ideologues. While Vazquez is such an ideologue, it also seems clear the curriculum in his class boils down to whatever he feels like doing – or not doing.
