RACIAL VOLCANO EXPLODES IN LOS ANGELES.

RACIAL VOLCANO EXPLODES IN LOS ANGELES.

BILL FLETCHER AND BILL GALLEGOS.

 

LOS ANGELES—The site of huge urban uprisings in 1965 and 1992 is once again a city on fire. The current blaze was ignited by revelations about an October 2021 meeting between three Chican@ members of the Los Angeles City Council and the Chican@ head of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor regarding the redistricting of LA’s council districts. In a now-infamous conversation, as reported by the Los Angeles Times, racist remarks were directed against Blacks, Indigenous Oaxacans who live in the city’s Koreatown, Jews, and Armenians. 

 

One of the most outrageous utterances was council president Nury Martinez’s reference to the Black child of white LA councilor Mike Bonin as a “changuito” (monkey) who needed a “beat down.” The political thrust of the discussion was creating new Latin@ council districts—largely at the expense of existing districts that have Black representation. 

 

The three city council members, Martinez, Kevin de Léon, and Gil Cedillo have issued public apologies—and Martinez resigned from the city council on Wednesday. Ron Herrera, the fourth participant in the racist exchange, has resigned as head of the LA Federation of Labor.

 

 

Read more. 

https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/racism-los-angeles-city-council/

Democrats, Speak to Working-Class Discontent

Democrats, Speak to Working-Class Discontent: It’s the one way to mobilize Blacks, Hispanics, and Asians, not just white workers.

Ventura Fire - Disasters and Socialism

By Richard Neve

Fire, City and Demographics

Wild fires are seasonal phenomena here in California. From October through April "Santa Ana" winds blow hot dry air westward from the interior  towards the more populated coastal regions. These types of fires “burn fast and dangerous,” spreading almost as fast as the wind blows. Climate change is causing these fires to be more intense, more destructive.  The winter fire season is beginning to merge with the summer fire season. 

Here in Ventura County we know that it is only a matter of time before a wildfire will threaten one or more of our towns.  Most city’s boundaries sit in "wildland-urban-interfaces" areas. These are zones where communities and urban sprawl are directly adjacent to wildland areas that are at increased risk of wildfires.  While we know the dry, chaparral areas around our towns will eventually be engulfed in flames, we were not prepared to see the flames of the largest wildfire in California history, the “Thomas” fire, from our living rooms.

Letters on the inclusion of Mexican American History in the History/Social Science Framework

Cesar Chavez and Duane Campbell 1972

History /Social Science Framework Committee   (Sample letter)

Re: Inclusion of  Mexican American/ Latino history in draft Framework

I am a professor (emeritus) of  Education at CSU Sacramento.  For thirty-five years I prepared new teachers for California schools.  One of my particular emphasis was preparing future teachers to teach history and social studies.  You can find a record of this in my most recent book, Choosing Democracy: a practical guide to multicultural education. Allyn and Bacon  (4^th edit. 2010)

Based upon this experience I strongly urge you to revise the current draft of the History Framework to include a more adequate recording of the history of California and the nation by including the significant contributions of Mexicans and Mexican Americans to this history.  You really can’t have a fair and balanced history without extending more information on this topic.  Latinos comprise nearly 39% of the state population, and descendants of Mexican Americans and Latinos now constitute over 52% of the students in our schools.

As I have argued in my writings, and in testimony to the drafting committee during the 2009 attempt to revise the framework, 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.  civics messages in significant part because the government institution they encounter the most- the schools-  too often 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.

It is Time for Civic Education for All

by Duane Campbell
The Sacramento Bee editorial board was correct in their Friday Feb.6, 2015,  piece, “Civic Education is Essential to Democracy. congratulate them on their position. http://www.sacbee.com/opinion/editorials/article9373664.html

However, they missed the boat on how to get to improved civic education.

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.  Together they comprise over 60% of the students in our schools.  And, the textbooks have yet to acknowledge their presence.

 Rates of voting and voter registration provide a window into civic engagement.  The proportion of state voter  registration that is Latino and Asian has remained far below the proportions of these groups in the state’s overall population. In 2010, Latinos in the state made up 37.6% of the general population while they were on 21.2 % of the registered voters. The Asian population was 13.1 % of the state but  only 8.1 % of the registered voters.

The Bee recommendations , like the earlier report, Revitalizing K-12 Civic Learning in California, http://www.powerofdemocracy.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/CLTF-Final-Report.pdf

miss the single most direct and important  issue – include the children.  See http://choosingdemocracy.blogspot.com/2014/08/another-opportunity-missed-civic.html

 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.  civics 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.

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.

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  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. History and social science  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 stories to the history textbooks, add their literature to the literature textbooks. They are not migrants from some distant place. They are California's children. Include them.  

The hard work of teachers and advocates, Los Angeles and San Francisco Unified  School boards have added ethnic studies to their curriculum.  This is an important step toward the inclusion of these students in civic education.  http://choosingdemocracy.blogspot.com/2014/12/la-unified-san-francisco-unified-to.html

To include more, the  1987 History Social Science Framework for California’s Schools needs revision. See here. See https://sites.google.com/site/chicanodigital/home/why-california-students-do-not-know-chicano-history

And, yes, a revised civics course and appropriate support for teacher in-service preparation  is needed. The place to do that is in the History/ Social Science framework scheduled to be revised in 2015/2016.   It will require focused attention of many, including scholars, political leaders and editorial boards to overcome the inertia of the past frameworks. 

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 the state.  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.   

The Department of Education and the Board of Education can start by revising the California History/ Social Science Framework to include the history of the majority of students in the schools  and by  joining LA Unified in requiring Ethnic Studies Classes in high school.

The Framework determines what goes into the California  textbooks.  Having sought for decades to change this framework, I recognize how difficult it will be.  The next revision is up for consideration in 2015/2016.   If the CDE stacks the committee membership for writing a new framework, as they did last time, we can expect little change.  See https://sites.google.com/site/chicanodigital/home/why-california-students-do-not-know-chicano-history

There is a network of scholars and professionals interested in writing a more complete history of our state.  This has been said before and we will keep reminding these folks.

Duane Campbell,  Democracy and Education Institute.

Sacramento

Readers:  Please like this post on Facebook and forward it to your lists.

We encourage discussion of these issues. Please use the comments section of this blog.

The Los Angeles School Board votes to require Ethnic Studies

by Duane Campbell 

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.

Providing teachers that reflect the students

The Sacramento Bee published a good story on Saturday  by Lorett Kalb and Phillip Reese  on a group of teachers at McClatchy High working together in a colectivo to recruit students to get a college education and return to McClatchy as teachers.  Here. http://www.sacbee.com/2014/09/20/6712601/mcclatchy-high-wants-students.html

However, the story misses  an important issue. 

Mc Clatchy used to get many minority teachers, both Asian and Latino from the Bilingual Multicultural Education Department at Sac state, before that program  was eliminated in 2012.  The major minority teacher recruitment program in Northern California was quietly shut down.  I was the first Chair of that department.

By 2007, BMED was recruiting and placing minority teachers in the region such that between 30 and 36 % of all new teachers at Sac State were Latino. We did this for over 18 years.  We trained over 600 teachers, most of them minority and most of them local.

Now that has been re- organized out of existence under the disguise of low enrollment.  Current enrollment in teacher preparation at Sac State is about 6-8 % Latino.  This data is available in publicly available sources. 

Another Opportunity Missed - Civic Education Policy Proposals in California

California education policy makers have once again written and published a nice looking report on school curriculum – this one on the need for improved civic education.  As is the norm for these tasks, a group of “well respected” civic leaders have participated.

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

They call for a major revision of civic education.  That is fine. They also call for discussion of their proposals on social media.( p 42)   Well, here is some of the needed discussion. 

They even recognize 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 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.
 Rates of voting and voter registration provide a window into civic engagement.  The proportion of state voter  registration that is Latino and Asian has remained far below the proportions of these groups in the state’s overall population. In 2010, Latinos in the state made up 37.6% of the general population while they were on 21.2 % of the registered voters. The Asian population was 13.1 % of the state but  only 8.1 % of the registered voters.

California High School Dropout Rates

 SACRAMENTO—Graduation rates among California's public school students are climbing and dropout rates are falling, with the biggest gains being made among English learners and the state's largest minority groups, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson announced today. (at www.cde.ca.gov)

More than three quarters, or 76.3 percent, of students who started high school in 2007 graduated with their class in 2011. That is up 1.5 percentage points from the 2010 graduation rate. Larger gains were seen among Hispanic and African American students at 2.2 and 2.3 percentage points respectively, with the biggest increase being among English learners at 3.8 percentage points. The graduation rate for socioeconomically disadvantaged students climbed nearly 2 percentage points, from 68.1 to 70 percent.

"Every graduate represents a success story in one of the most effective job and anti-poverty programs ever conceived, our public schools," Torlakson said. "These numbers are a testament to the hard work of teachers and administrators, of parents and, most of all, of the students themselves. While they are a great illustration of all that is going right in California schools, they should also remind us that schools need our support to continue to improve so that every student graduates prepared for college, a career, and to contribute to our state's future."

Beyond the 76.3 percent graduation rate and the 14.4 percent dropout rate, the remaining 9.3 percent are students who are neither graduates nor dropouts. Some are still enrolled in school (8.6 percent). Others are non-diploma special education students (0.4 percent), and some elected to pass a high school equivalency exam.

http://www.cde.ca.gov/nr/ne/yr12/yr12rel65.asp

Celebrate Cesar Chavez Day - 50 th Anniversary

  Cesar Chavez Day is a state holiday in California – one of eight states to recognize the  date, and one of the few holidays  in the nation  dedicated  to a labor leader.   Sacramento and dozens of cities, counties and labor federations will celebrate the life of Cesar Chavez on March 31, 2012,

On March 26, U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis honored Cesar Chavez and the UFW founders by dedicating the auditorium at the Department of Labor in Chavez’s name.

Mexican labor leader Jose Humberto Montes de Oca of the SME, electrical workers union will lead the Sacramento  march on March 31.   Montes do Oca and the SME  in Mexico are fighting for survival against a repressive government.  In central Mexico 44,000 Electrical Power Workers (SME) were fired to  privatize the industry and destroy the union.

This year, 2012 is the 50^th. anniversary of the founding of the U.F.W.  The Cesar Chavez celebrations focus on  the struggle for union rights and justice in the fields of California.  Along with Dolores Huerta, Philip Vera Cruz, and others, César created the United Farm Workers  (UFW) the first successful union of farm workers in  U.S. history.  There had been more than ten prior attempts to build a farm workers union.

            Each of the prior attempts to organize farm worker unions were destroyed by racism and corporate power. Chávez chose to build a union that incorporated the strategies of social movements and community organizing  and allied itself  with the churches, students,  and organized labor.  The successful creation of the UFW changed the nature of labor organizing  in the Southwest  and contributed significantly to the birth of Latino politics in the U.S.

Office of Civil Rights report

Civil Rights Data Collection Minority students across the country face harsher discipline, have less access to rigorous coursework, and are more often taught by lower-paid and less-experienced teachers, according to new data from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR). A national survey of more than 72,000 schools serving 85 percent of the nation’s students illuminates gaping discrepancies among student groups related to college and career readiness, discipline, school finance, student retention, and teacher quality. The key findings include the following: Black students, particularly boys, are far more likely to be suspended or expelled from school than their peers. Black students represent 18 percent of the students in the survey sample, but constitute 35 percent of the students suspended once, 46 percent of those suspended multiple times, and 39 percent of those expelled. Sixty-five percent of high-minority high schools offer Algebra II, compared to 82 percent of high schools with the lowest black and Hispanic enrollment. Similarly, only 29 percent of high-minority high schools offer Calculus, compared to 55 percent of low-minority schools. Although black and Hispanic students make up 44 percent of the student population in districts offering gifted and talented programs, they represent only 26 percent of the students enrolled in those programs. Black students represent 16 percent of middle school students, but 42 percent of students in those grades who are held back a year. Teachers in high-minority schools are paid on average $2,251 less per year than their colleagues teaching in low-minority schools in the same district.

Mexican Americans and the 2012 elections

Republican myopia regarding Latino voters is turning out to be a huge blessing bestowed on Democrats, as some recent statistics indicate:

Most repeated word in the GOP debate last night: "border" (followed by "illegal" and "fence")Percentage increase in the Phoenix Latino turnount from 2010 to 2011: 480%
Percentage of likely Republican primary voters in Arizona who "said they'd be more inclined to vote for a presidential candidate who backs SB 1070, according to the NBC News/Marist Poll": 67+%
Percentage of Latino respondents saying the GOP 'did not care about their support or was hostile to their commmunity' in a recent Latino Decisions poll conducted for Univision: 72%
Number of GOP presidential candidates who have "voiced support for a broad amnesty that would allow younger illegal immigrants to become permanent legal residents": Zero
Number of Times Rick Santorum said "Jobs" in the debate last night:Zero

From. J. Green. On the Democratic Strategist. blog

Latino Voter Registration Drive in Sacramento

Service Employees International  Vice President, Eliseo Medina, speaks to  a crowd of over 100 on the Capitol Steps in Sacramento  on August 17, 2010, as they complete phase I of the campaign,  For our Families: Todas A Votar.

The campaign organized by several unions including SEIU, the California Teachers Association, and others  traveled to by bus to some 9 cities in the state,  from San Diego to Sacramento to initiate a the voter registration  campaign in each of these areas.    

   In Sacramento Assembly Speaker Perez and some 8 members of the Latino caucus joined labor and religious groups to welcome the caravan to the state capitol. 

 In cooperation with unions and community groups, the campaign will be  providing offices and registration efforts  in each of the 9 cities in targeting thousands of new Latino voters.

"For Latinos, the election of 2010 is more than just  choose one candidate or another, it's about taking a role  active, more than ever, in decisions that affect  our families and create a better future for our

children and grandchildren, "said Eliseo Medina, vice president

of SEIU. "We have the potential to influence the elections and  Now this is where our voices must be heard.”

Latino Voter Registration Drive

 Sacramento LATINO VOTER REGISTRATION RALLY 

Tuesday, August 17^th at 5 PM
State Capitol, West Steps All are invited. Bring a friend !

The goals of the Cambiando California…un voto a la vez are:

·         To bring people together and focus on the necessity that all eligible Latinos are registered and, where possible, are absentee voters

·         To generate enthusiasm among Latino voters, instilling confidence that they have the power to change California by voting in November.

Participants in the Sacramento event include labor and faith-based community organizations and elected officials; CTA, SEIU, CSEA, Progressive Alliance, and more 

Fiorina campaign seeks to segment the Latino vote

Carly Fiorina is running for Senate in California  against Barbara Boxer. I came across an ad on La Jornada ( a Mexico City left newspaper). It linked to a Latino focused web pages  for Fiorina.

The campaign must recognize the significant new energy and unity  in voting among Latinos is California produced by the Republican bruha  in Arizona over SB 1070, the Arizona equivalent of California’s Proposition 187 of 1994.  Seeking to segment the vote is a good idea if you are a Republican campaign manager.

The campaign page features lots of smiling family members, presumably Latinos.  It is light on responding to key issues.

There is among Latino voters a traditional split, liberal on economic issues but more conservative on social issues. The  polling differences on these issues are cited on the web pages.   The Fiorina web page works this split with skill.  It focuses on  traditional marriage, anti abortion, and is linked to a severe assault on LGTB issues.

Here is the web page: Carly Fiorina campaign video; targeted at Latinos.

http://www.tusvalores.com/

She wants you to vote your values.

Note, it is put up by AmericanPrinciplesinaction.org a very conservative group.  This raises an interesting question. 

Why is Latino and Asian History left out of California History Textbooks?

"Once social change begins, it cannot be reversed. You cannot un-educate the person who has learned to read. You cannot humiliate the person who feels pride. You cannot oppress the people who are not afraid anymore. "
Cesar Chavez. Nov.9, 1984.

Textbooks in California are selected by the State Board of Education based upon recommendations of their Curriculum Committees and the state frameworks and standards, in this case the History /Social Science Framework for California Public Schools.
The framework is revised each 7 years. The framework, along with the standards, provides the guidelines for what is to be taught and what is to be included in the history and social science textbooks in California. In 2009, the History /Social Science Framework is up for re consideration.
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.
The view of history that won out in California was crafted by neoconservative historian Diane Ravitch and supported by Paul Gagnon and former California State Superintendent of Public Instruction Bill Honig, among others (Cornbleth & Waugh, 1995). Gary Nash of UCLA was a participant in the later effort to establish national history standards.
The 1987- 2005 Framework 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 additions of photos such as of Cesar Chavez . Latinos currently make up 48.1 percent of California’s student population and Asians make up 8.1 %.

The dominant neo conservative view argues that textbooks and a common history should provide the glue that unites our society. Historical themes and interpretations are selected in books to create unity in a diverse and divided society. This viewpoint assigns to schools the task of creating a common culture. In reality, television and military service may do more to create a common culture than do schools and books.
Conservatives assign the task of cultural assimilation to schools, with particular emphasis on the history, social science, and literature curricula. Historians advocating consensus write textbooks that downplay the roles of slavery, class, racism, genocide, and imperialism in our history. They focus on ethnicity and assimilation rather than race, on the success of achieving political reform, representative government, and economic opportunity for European American workers and immigrants. They decline to notice the high poverty rate of U.S. children, the crisis of urban schooling, and the continuation of racial divisions in housing and the labor force. In California they decline to notice that Mexicans, Mexican-Americans and Latinos as well as Asians contributed to the development of this society.
This consensus conservative viewpoint history dominates textbook publishing in California , but these partial and incomplete histories do not empower students from our diverse cultural communities. By recounting primarily a consensual, European American view, history and literature extend and reconstruct current White supremacy, sexism, and class biases in our society. When texts or teachers tell only part of the story, schools foster intellectual colonialism and ideological domination (Cornbleth & Waugh, 1995).
As citizens of California we have an opportunity to insist that California history, and the nation’s history, be accurately taught in the schools. The process begins with revisions to the History/Social Science Framework for California Schools. The other way to achieve this long overdue revision is to pass legislation requiring revision. We should not be writing history by passing legislation. Rather, the History/Social Science Framework Committee should perform the tasks of revision with care. Their first meeting is Thursday, Feb. 5, 2009, in Sacramento.
More to come on this topic.
Duane Campbell

Latino History left out: Testimony

Testimony; May 9, 2008.
Focus Group on the History-Social Science Framework for California Schools.

Dr. Duane Campbell, Professor of Education. Cal. State University –Sacramento.
I have been teaching Methods of Teaching History and Social Sciences for 35 years, and supervising student teachers using the Framework.

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 is substantially out of date.
The 1987- 2005 document expanded African American, Native American, and women’s history coverage but remains totally inadequate in the coverage of Latinos and Asians—both significant population groups in the development of history of the West. The only significant change between the 1985 and the 2005 adopted Framework was the addition of a new cover, a cover letter, and additions of photos such as of Cesar Chavez (For a detailed analysis of this curriculum conflict, see Cornbleth & Waugh, 1995, and Campbell, 2004) . Latinos currently make up 48.1 percent of California’s student population and Asians make up 8.1 %.
By 2003, major national organizations and legislatures have recognized a need to substantially revise preparation of young people for citizenship. The Civic Missions of Schools project said:

History 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. Competent and responsible citizens:

1) Are informed and thoughtful; have a grasp and an appreciation of history and the fundamental processes of American democracy; have an understanding and awareness of public and community issues; and have the ability to obtain information, think critically, and enter into dialogue among others with different perspectives. “
The Civic Mission of Schools. (http://www.civicmissionofschools.org) The Carnegie Corporation.

In a society as diverse as California, the need for history and an understanding of public issues must be inclusive rather than exclusive. We should re write the History-Social Science Framework so that all of our students - members of the California’s diverse communities- recognize their own role in building our society and economy.

The just published Democracy at Risk by the Forum for Education and Democracy says it well, “ The welfare of our nation rests heavily upon our system of public education. We strive to provide all of our children with equal access to a high-quality, free education because we know that without it, our democractic way of life will be at peril. As Thomas Jefferson once said, “ If Americans desire to be both ignorant and free, they want what never has been and whill never be. “ Indeed, it is our democratic system of governing, based upon the twin pillars of equal rights and responsibilities , which requires we have a system of public education” ( Darling-Hammond and Wood, 2008). (http://www.forumforeducation.org/)
The California History-Social Science curriculum is not sufficient unless it prepares all students for democracy. Current efforts in history and in civics education are not sufficient because they do not include the substantive necessity of bringing all of our young people to the table of democracy. (Parker, 2003)
California should be leading the way in preparing our young people for civic life. We are not. Instead, we are currently restricted by the out of date and substantially limited History-Social Science Framework. The Framework should be updated to include scholarship developed since 1980.

Media and Technology
In the 9th. grade electives, a course should be added on the creation, development and use of media and technology as communication tools and as political instruments. California, the home of Silicone Valley, is not bringing our students into the current era.
Every California student, every school, should have access to the skills to use technology and to access the vast media world around us, from libraries, to data bases, including Youtube and others. Henry Jenkins of MIT in an important paper written for the MacArthur Foundation in 2006 says,

“Educators must work together to ensure that every American young person has access to the skills and experiences need to become a full participant ( in our democracy), can articulate their understanding of how media shapes perceptions, and has been socialized into the emerging ethical standards that should shape their practices as media makers and participants in online communities….
Fostering such social skills and cultural competencies requires a more systemic approach to media education in the United states. Everyone involved in preparing young people to go out into the world has contributions to make in helping students to acquire the skills they need to become full participants in our society.” (Jenkins, 2006)
Technology is already changing our world and our schools. A revised History-Social Science Framework provides an opportunity for all California students to join in this development rather than be left behind by a new form of tracking where the middle class and the elite students have technology, and the students of color and language minority students have electronic worksheets and test preparation drill material. All students need to learn the skills of locating relevant information and evaluating information and media resources .

Dr. Duane Campbell,
campd@csus.edu

Author, Choosing Democracy: A practical guide to multicultural education. ( 3rd. edition. Merrill, Prentice Hall. 2004)

Project on Democracy and Political Participation.
Cross Cultural Resource Center.
Department of Bilingual/Multicultural Education.

Large Latino Vote gave Clinton the victory

Clinton Win in California Larger Than Polls Predicted Because of Huge Latino Turnout

By Frank D. Russo
The California Field Poll released on Super Bowl Sunday before Super Tuesday’s presidential primary had a 2 point spread between Hillary Clinton at 38% of the vote and Barack Obama at 36%, with a pretty large 18% of likely voters being undecided. The actual results being tabulated right now, with 96.7% of the precinct votes counted and perhaps as many as 2 million vote by mail votes and other not yet tabulated, have a 9.5% spread with Clinton getting 51.9% of the vote and 42.4% voting for Barack Obama.
...The single biggest difference in the makeup of the electorate was the 20% share of voters Field expected to be Latino and the 29% share reflected in exit polls. Major news organizations use the same data in these exit polls on California and you can read them on CNN’s site.
Latinos in California voted overwhelmingly for Clinton and accounted for a greater segment of the vote. Also, if you look at the exit poll data and compare it with the Field Poll, blacks which were expected to be 12% of the vote in the Democratic primary (a reasonable assumption since although they are 6% of the state’s population, they are mostly Democrat) only turned out at a 6% share of the vote.
Read the entire article at California Progress Report.