On Tuesday, the LAUSD board
voted to require courses to offer ethnic studies classes at all of the district
high schools. A few courses had already
been offered, but this provides a substantial increase in offering.
San Francisco Unified will
consider a similar decision at their December meeting.
Children and young adults need to see
themselves in the curriculum. Students, particularly students of color,
have low levels of attachment to California and U.S. civil society messages in significant part because the
government institution they encounter the most- the schools- ignore the
students own history, cultures and experiences.
A fundamental way to engage students in
civic culture is to engage them in their own schools and communities.
That is where the students most encounter civic opportunities.
When the 51 % of the California students
who are Latino , and the 9 % 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 up to 50% drop out rate for Latinos and some Asian
students. A more accurate, more complete history
provided in Ethnic studies courses would provide some students with
a a sense of self, of direction, of purpose, even a sense
that they should stay in school and learn more. And, ethnic studies
would provide Anglo students with an
informed, accurate history of the political and cultural development of our
society. Ethnic studies classes should help young people acquire and learn to
use the civics skills, knowledge, and attitudes that will prepare them to
be competent and responsible citizens throughout their lives.
Add their history to the textbooks.
Add their literature to the literature books. Include all students in
Ethnic Studies classes. These students
are are California’s children. You can start by revising the California
History/ Social Science Framework to include their history.
In 2014 some California policy “leaders”
called for a renewal of civic learning in order to promote civic
education. Unfortunately, but
predictably, they have not proposed increasing ethnic studies. Instead, they have written a report, Revitalizing
K-12 Civic Learning in California, and they call it a Blue Print for
Action. http://www.powerofdemocracy.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/CLTF-Final-Report.pdf
The report even recognizes the diversity of California students.
They say,
“Civic learning is also vital for our increasingly
diverse California society. In 2012-2013, our 6.2 million K-12 students were 53
percent Latino, 26 percent white, 9 percent Asian and 6 percent African American, with the remaining 6
percent comprised of other
ethnicities. In addition, an increasing number of our students are not native speakers of
English. Almost 4 in 10 kindergarteners are English language learners. This
diversity, and the attention it requires, is now acknowledged in our school funding
model. The Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) recognizes
the necessity of investing in the reduction
and ultimate removal of inequitable outcomes in California public schools. Revitalizing civic learning
opportunities, in an
equitable manner, can contribute to meeting these goals.”
While it is beneficial to
recognize the need to “revitalize civic learning opportunities, in an equitable
manner,” it is not equitable to continue to impose an inaccurate and deceptive
view of history on the students.
While it is accurate that we
have a general problem of civic engagement of the young, it is also true
that we have a very specific problem with the rate of Latino and Asian voter
participation and civic engagement.
The report, as is common, is well
illustrated with compelling photos of very pleasant multi racial and
multiethnic student faces. They even note that the current
History Social Science Framework and Standards are over 15 years out of date- a
reminder that the State Board of Education and the California Legislature
should heed.
Regretfully the curricular directions they
propose take little or no account of the diversity of the students in our
schools.
What happens when students
and teachers are not considered- just policy insiders?
Two recently passed legislative bills
in California provide avenues through which communities and advocates can
work with schools to increase youth voter participation:
Assembly Bill 700 (2013) requires the
Instructional Quality Curriculum in all California high schools. This bill was
developed to increase civic participation and education
Assembly Bill 1817 (2014) encourages voter
participation among high school students, allowing students to register or pre-
register qualified classmates on high school campuses to vote in upcoming
elections. This bill amends current Education Code §49040 which established
“High School Voter Education Weeks” during the last two weeks in April and
September of a school year.
The report and these new laws miss the
single most direct and clear issue. The 1987 California History Social
Science Framework still in use today to guide the selection of
California textbooks expanded African American, Native American, and
women’s history coverage but remains totally inadequate in the coverage of
Latinos and Asians. The only significant change between the 1985 and the 2005
adopted Framework was the addition of a new cover, a cover letter, and a photo
of Cesar Chavez.
The current Framework permits the development of such courses as an elective in the 9th. grade. Locally, in Sacramento, a number of Chicano teachers have altered their instruction to make the 9th. grade class more of an Ethnic Studies class. However, they received no support, or actual pressure from their site administrators to teach "to the standards". As a consequence these teachers have left teaching in the public schools.
The current Framework permits the development of such courses as an elective in the 9th. grade. Locally, in Sacramento, a number of Chicano teachers have altered their instruction to make the 9th. grade class more of an Ethnic Studies class. However, they received no support, or actual pressure from their site administrators to teach "to the standards". As a consequence these teachers have left teaching in the public schools.
When the 51 % of students who
are Latino , and the 9 % 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 up to 50% drop out rate for Latinos and some Asian
students. A more accurate, more complete history
provided in Ethnic studies courses would provide some students with
a a sense of self, of direction, of purpose, even a sense
that they should stay in school and learn more. And, ethnic studies
would provide Anglo students with an
informed, accurate history of the political and cultural development of our
society. Ethnic studies classes should help young people acquire and learn to
use the civics skills, knowledge, and attitudes that will prepare them to
be competent and responsible citizens throughout their lives.
Add their history to the textbooks.
Add their literature to the literature books. Include all students in
Ethnic Studies classes. These students
are are California’s children. You can start by revising the California
History/ Social Science Framework to include their history.
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