Associate Editor Pia Lopez of the Sacramento Bee wrote an interesting essay, “Can
we find common ground on schools?” on the ideas of Diane Ravitch in the Bee this morning- except
for one paragraph where Lopez is substantially wrong. She says,
“ In the 1980’s she (Ravitch) helped write a history curriculum
framework for California that still today is considered among the best in the
country.”
Lets see. She
must mean the California History Social Science Framework of 1987 – still in
use today- that almost completely ignores Mexican American History.
From my essay , “Why California Students Do not know
Chicano/ Mexican American History. “
“The 1987 Framework still in use
today 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 of history 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, a unity
from the point of view of the dominant class. 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.
