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ESN / STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION PETITION
Friends,
We ask that you please sign your name, below, in support of ESN’s recommendations to the CA State Board of Education (SBE) for the new CA History-Social Science Framework’s (HSSFW) Ethnic Studies elective course. The SBE’s next meeting is scheduled to be the last time to make any changes to this framework for at least another 8 years!
How can a general ES course description not have any mention of students learning about their ancestral roots, or about colonialism, or about self-determination for that matter? Community cultural wealth? Please see our recommended line edits to the SBE that will ensure that these main concepts are not left out.
Today, please sign and spread the word! This will only take a moment and with your support, we can affect the HSSFW’s official description of Ethnic Studies, and help make it more genuine, critical, and transformational for thousands of students across California – it is what they deserve. Please Sign and spread the word!
Add signature~~ETHNIC STUDIES NOW COALITION: IMPERATIVE RECOMMENDATIONS TO CA SBE FOR CA HSSFW~~
1. Our first recommendation is for Chapter 14, p.425, line 648, to explicitly include four core concepts and academic language of Ethnic Studies, after "...a more complex understanding of the human experience". ADDITION: "This understanding relates to student knowledge of the concepts of indigeneity, colonialism, cultural hegemony, and self-determination, as they have occurred throughout history and today”.
2. Our second recommendation is that these concepts be explicitly culturally relevant and responsive to students in Chapter 14, p.426, line 675, after "co-investigators in the inquiry process". ADDITION: "This reflection of instructors and students' own personal histories should be considerate of how the concepts of indigeneity, colonialism, cultural hegemony, and community cultural wealth, relate to their own ancestral legacies as historically situated human beings".
3. Our third recommendation, is to respect the Ethnic Studies tradition of explicitly acknowledging the Indigenous peoples of the land where any course is taking place. We recommend adding a sentence in Chapter 14, p.427, line 692, before the following sentence: “Students can investigate the history of the experience of various ethnic groups within the United States...”. ADDITION: “In studying various ethnic groups, the Indigenous peoples of any area under academic investigation and of any land where a course is taking place (e.g. Miwok in Sacramento, Chumash in Santa Barbara, Kumeyaay in San Diego), are respectfully acknowledged as the original peoples of the community”.
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San Diego USD - Ethnic Studies Petition
Add signaturePetition to Support Ethnic Studies in SDUSD
We, the undersigned, support the effort to establish a mandatory Ethnic Studies course as a graduation requirement in all high-schools in the San Diego Unified School District, as well as an Ethnic Studies Advisory Committee (ESAC) that will aide in the development and implementation of this curriculum.
San Diego is a world-class city that boasts over one hundred spoken languages and a great variety of ethnicities and cultures. Despite this diversity, at the moment there is just 1 Ethnic Studies course offered to the 100,000+ students throughout SDUSD. As over 75% of the students are people of color, it is imperative that the district offer courses that examine and honor the rich histories and lived experiences of our many youth.
In solidarity with California’s push to create a more equal school system, we support AB 101 that will resolve to make ethnic studies courses available to every student. Research has shown that students who have had access to Ethnic Studies courses do better in school and are more likely to go to college. It is important to have courses that speak to students who may feel invisible and marginalized, to inspire and motivate them in their education, so that they learn their own history, engage actively in their own learning, and connect in meaningful ways to the larger community. By providing Ethnic Studies courses in SDUSD, we are creating and expanding a world-class school system rooted in the unique perspectives of students in the San Diego community.
The Ethnic Studies Now Coalition
