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Social Studies Curricula Changes, a New Approach to Water Management & Departures From the Governor’s Administration

This week on New Mexico in Focus, as COVID-19 cases continue to soar in New Mexico, Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham has announced plans to make vaccine boosters available to all adults. The Line opinion panel weighs in on whether the aggressive approach will help turn the tide. The panelists also explore a slew of recent high-profile departures in Governor Lujan Grisham’s administration, including State Engineer John D’Antonio. What will his departure mean for our ongoing water woes, and are these departures a sign of any underlying issues?

The state Department of Education is looking to update social studies curricula statewide, which has sparked a lot of public input and outcry. Host Gene Grant talks to a representative from the PED to find out what’s behind the changes, and why critics claim they’re a thinly-veiled approach to sneak Critical Race Theory tenets into New Mexico schools. We’ll also hear from a sample of people who took part in a recent public comment hearing on those changes and The Line opinion panel also offer their thoughts on the intersection of politics and education.

This month on Our Land, a discussion about our rivers and how we manage them, from a feminine perspective. Sitting down with correspondent Laura Paskus, Julia Bernal of the Pueblo Action Alliance also talks about what ‘Land Back’ and ‘Water Back’ mean, not just to indigenous communities, but to everyone.

Host: Gene Grant 

The Line opinion panel:
Dede Feldman, former state senator
Tom Garrity, The Garrity Group PR
Dave Mulryan, founder, Everybody Votes

Segment(s):

Education Department Updates Social Studies Curricula
Correspondent: Gene Grant
Guest(s): Jacqueline Costales, curriculum and instruction division director, New Mexico Department of Education

Our Land: Rivers Through the Lens of Pueblo Feminism
Correspondent: Laura Paskus
Guest(s): Julia Bernal (Sandia Pueblo, Yuchi-Creek Nation), executive director, Pueblo Action Alliance