Sociology 2111 Worksheet Chicano: Taking Back the Schools

1. What were the basic issues leading to the 1968 school boycott in East Los Angeles?

2. What was the role of the criminal justice system?

3. Why was Sal Castro taken out of his classroom teaching position, and how did the Chicano community react to the legal charges?

4. Among American minorities, Latinos have the highest rate of dropping out of high school. Why do you think this might be?

Sociology 2111 Group project "Chicano: Taking Back the Schools"

1. What are the major factors making high quality education more difficult in central cities? Do you have any reason to believe that schools in central cities are any better than at the time of this walk-out?

2. What do you see as the most appropriate and effective way for students and their parents to bring about change in such schools? Do you believe social movement tactics are justified in this situation? What are the pros and cons?

3. How would we as sociologists develop a theory that could explain and perhaps even predict the circumstances in which people are apt to use social movement tactics on a large scale?

4. How can you apply social reproduction theory to the situation of the Chicano students in the schools portrayed in this video?