And what you
can do about it.
Textbooks for California schools
are selected by the State Board of Education based upon recommendations of
their Curriculum Committees and the state frameworks and standards.
The current Framework was written in 1987 – before the fall of the Soviet
Union. It is urgent that the History-Social Science Framework be revised to
provide an accurate history of the contributions of Mexicans, Mexican
Americans, Latinos and Asians to the history of the state and of the nation.
The current Framework reflects the historiography of the 1950’s. It was written
in 1986 by senior scholars, they in turn were educated in the early 1970’s or
before. It is substantially out of date. For a more detailed description
of this issue see https://sites.google.com/site/chicanodigital/home/why-california-students-do-not-know-chicano-history
Unfortunately this existing, outdated,
biased document could well become
the template for schools throughout the nation as a part of the Common Core
Standards efforts.
Here is the problem. The Democracy and Education Institute and
the Mexican American Digital History Project has been working for the last three years to change the California
History/Social Science Framework for California Public Schools to include the
significant contributions of Mexicans and Chicanos to the history of the
state.
At the same time, the U.S. is moving toward
Common Core standards for all schools in the nation. The Common Core is well along its way in math and
English (reading). History, Civics
and Social Studies will follow soon. The development of a common core usually proceeds from a state’s
existing standards. The existing
California standards are based upon the existing biased and insufficient 1987 History Social Science
Framework. Unless there is change,
California will be advocating for a set of Common Core standards that ignore
Chicano ( and Asian) history.
Other states including Texas and Arizona have similarly biased and
insufficient standards. Thus,
unless there is a change in the California standards, the Common Core effort could well lock in the 1987 standards
for another decade. An unnecessary
shame.
Standards and frameworks
are products of the people who make the decisions. Frameworks
like standards pick winners and losers; the choices which
committees make favor one group over another group- choices are based upon the
political power of those represented on the committees. The
Framework is supposed to be revised each 7 years but it has not been
revised. The current Framework reflects the historiography of
the 1970’s and the political balance of power of the 1980’s.
When
the 48.72 % of students who are Latino , and the 11.5 % who are Asian do not
see themselves as part of history, for many their sense of self is
marginalized. Marginalization negatively impacts their
connections with school and their success at school. It contributes
to an over 50% drop out rate for Latinos and some Asian students. An
accurate history would provide some students with a a
sense of self, of direction, of purpose. History and social science classes
should help young people acquire and learn to use the skills, knowledge, and
attitudes that will prepare them to be competent and responsible citizens
throughout their lives. Instead, the current history textbooks
tell a fairy tale of what happened here in the Southwest.
As a consequence of
the outdated Framework,
most schools in California fail to
teach an accurate, complete, history of the Chicano- Latino people and of Asian
Americans. This essentially means that the writers are choosing not
to recognize reality. – not to tell the full story. .
It is urgent that the California History-Social Science
Framework be revised to provide an accurate history of the contributions of
Mexicans, Mexican Americans, Latinos and Asians to the history of the state and
of the nation before it becomes incorporated into the Common Core standards
work.
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