It’s frightening how uninformed some of the people who are responsible for making education policy in the U.S. appear to be.

Take Tucson Unified School District Governing Board member Michael Hicks, who faces criticism following his appearance on Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show With Jon Stewart” on April 2.

Hicks was featured in a segment on the show discussing TUSD’s Mexican American Studies program, which was dismantled in January amid a threat of losing millions in state aid.

The clip, which was 5 minutes, 25 seconds long, features The Daily Show’s Al Madrigal interviewing Hicks and Mexican American Studies educator Curtis Acosta.

“My concern was a lot of the radical ideas that they were teaching in these classes,” Hicks told Madrigal. “Telling these kids that this is their land, the whites took it over, and the only way to get out from beneath the gringo—which is the white man—is by bloodshed.”

It was Hicks’ comments that followed on the nationally broadcast show that drew the most criticism, as he told Madrigal that he chose not to attend any of the classes and that he based his thoughts on “hearsay from others.”

Read the full story at eClassroom News