We Won ! Chicano History Will be in the California Textbooks in 2017

Cesar Chavez & Duane Campbell -1972

By Duane Campbell

History and social science textbooks in public schools in California and most of the nation are racist, class-biased, and ignore LGBT history. This condition will change in California in 2017 when new textbooks are adopted.

It is over. We won !

 At 2:45 PM July 14, 2016,  the California State Board of Education unanimously endorsed a new History /Social Science Framework for California’s public schools that includes a substantial addition of Chicano/Latino history, improved history of LGBT people, and improvements in several other histories.

This completes a 6 year effort against substantial opposition to revise the Framework.  As a result textbooks in California in 2017 will be the most inclusive ever required, and all students will be taught an inclusive history. This has been the major campaign of this blog and the Mexican American Digital History project since 2009. 

Under this decision California students will finally be encouraged to know the history of Latino civil rights leaders like Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta and Filipino labor leaders like Larry Itliong, as well as an accurate and inclusive history of LGBT activists  as a part of the history of California and the nation. These topics are currently substantially absent from public school textbooks and curricula in California.

The Quality Instructional Materials Committee of the  California State Board of Education decided to include these long- ignored histories in their re-writing of the History/Social Science Framework for the state.  The Framework  document sets the parameters and the minimums required of textbooks used  in the schools.  Because of California’s large size and market, what goes into California textbooks  frequently also gets written into textbooks around the nation.

California to Rewrite History Textbooks - Include Mexican Americans

Cesar Chavez and Duane Campbell

California to adopt a new guide to Mexican American (Chicano) history, (and everyone else)

"Once social change begins, it cannot be reversed.  You can not un-educate the person who has learned to read.. You cannot oppress the people who are not afraid anymore.

Cesar Chávez. November 9, 1984.

by Duane Campbell

History will change in May of 2016 for the students of California, and in subsequent years students throughout the nation.

We have a unique opportunity to change the history books in California  K-12 to include Chicano/Mexican American history.

Mexican American/ Chicano history is currently substantially absent from public school textbooks and curriculum in California- and it has been since 1986.  Latino student political non participation and alienation from school is significantly caused by Latino absence from the K-12 textbooks and curriculum.

For the last two years the Mexican American Digital History Project and a broad group of allies have been working for to add Chicano history to the California History/Social Science Framework, the document that determines what goes into textbooks in California. See https://sites.google.com/site/chicanodigital/

We are pleased to inform you that the Quality Instructional Materials Commission an advisory committee of the  California State Board of Education have completed their proposed revised framework and it includes most of what we wanted on Mexican American history.  A significant dispute remains on how the document should cover Indian and Hindu history.  http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/06/us/debate-erupts-over-californias-india-history-curriculum.html

The final document will be approved by the QIC on May 19, and soon thereafter by the California State Board of Education.

The documents are here along with a link to the live webcast.

http://www.cde.ca.gov/be/cc/cd/iqcpubmeetings2016.asp

Chicano History in California Textbooks- Community Comment Welcome

By Duane Campbell

The Mexican American Digital History Project and a broad group of allies have been working for over a year to add Chicano history to the California History/Social Science Framework, the document that determines what goes into textbooks in California.

For  example see here. http://choosingdemocracy.blogspot.com/2015/04/teachers-we-need-your-letters-on.html  and numerous posts on this site. 

 The Quality Instructional Materials Commission of the California State Board of Education have posted their proposed revised framework and it includes most of what we proposed. 

Comments from teachers and community members is welcome.

The IQC approved the draft History–Social Science Framework for California Public Schools for its second review on November 20, 2015. The approved draft is posted on the History–Social Science Curriculum Frameworks Web page at

http://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/hs/cf/hssfw2ndreview.asp.

Going forward, any new public comments will be submitted as part of the second review process.

Members of the public are invited to submit comments on the draft History–Social Science Framework through February 29, 2016, via e-mail to HSSframework@cde.ca.gov. Comments may be submitted in any format, but if a commenter is seeking revisions to the draft it is recommended that the comment include the chapter, page, and line number(s), the text as it is currently written in the draft, and the exact language of the suggested change.