Children and young
adults need to see themselves in the curriculum. Students, particularly
students of color, have low levels of attachment to our communities, 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. This is
not an accident- it was a choice.
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.
You can help us change
this situation. See here
What are they missing? The history of the Chicano
movement.
For example:
The Chicano Movement began in 1965 in Delano, California
when Dolores Huerta and Cesar E. Chávez, founders of the National Farm Workers
Association (later it became the United Farm Workers union), led a national
boycott against table grape growers in the region because they failed to
recognize their collective bargaining rights. Chávez, the president of the farm
workers union, and the farm worker struggle, became the face of Chicano protest
and struggles. While the United Farm Workers union brought national and even
international recognition to the plight of Chicanos for labor rights, it had
overarching consequences. Many young Chicanas and Chicanos felt connected to
the farm worker struggle even though the majority resided in urban areas and
had never themselves worked in the California agricultural industry.
By 1968, the Chicano Movement had evolved from the
countryside to the cities. The first to demonstrate in mass were Chicana and
Chicano high school students who walked out of their schools in protest of poor
and inadequate educational conditions. On March 1, 1968, students from Wilson,
Lincoln, Garfield, Belmont, and Roosevelt High Schools in East Los Angeles
walked out of their high school as they grew frustrated with the
administration’s inability to understand their cultural and educational needs.
These were largely segregated Mexican high schools and had been neglected by
the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) for some time. By week’s end,
10,000 high school and even middle school students had joined the Walkouts. The
students outlined a list of 36 demands which they presented to the LAUSD Board
of Directors. Some of these demands included: the hiring of Chicana/o teachers and
administrators, formation of Chicano Studies courses, culturally sensitive
teachers, and bilingual education. Unfortunately, these students were met by a
brutal police backlash.
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, the Quality Instructional Materials Committee 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 this summer. 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,
Mexican American Digital
History project.
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