The Ethnic Studies Curriculum
Graphic of ethnic studies on the MCHS campus (Silvio Potosme/ The Puma Prensa)
Written By: Silvio Potosme, staff writter
The Ethnic Studies curriculum in Maria Carrillo High School offers different perspectives and stories about multiple ethnic groups in the US across many courses. These courses focus on experiences, history, culture, as well as past issues surrounding ethnic and racial groups in the United States. This course and are beneficial for students as they learn more about the underlying issues in America.
Ethnic studies classes originated in California due to the 1960s student strikes at the University of California, Berkeley, and San Francisco State University. Soon enough, UC Berkeley established an Ethnic Studies department. In 2021, California became the first state to mandate Ethnic Studies courses for the graduating class of 2029-2030, and require these courses to be offered starting in the 2025-2026 school year. Since then, hundreds of high schools have begun offering Ethnic Studies courses.
This curriculum differs from other US or World History courses offered in school as it focuses more on the issues of racial groups in America rather than other historical events. Maria Carrillo High School requires students to take one year of Ethnic Studies class, they are all integrated into other classes such as dance and English classes.
Prior to the new implementation of Ethnic Studies, California is one of the numerous states that does not require history teachers to teach about certain ethnic groups across public schools. Because of this, students often don’t learn valuable information about the history of different racial groups such as Native Americans, Hispanics, Asians, or African Americans. In addition to this, history classes typically do not talk about events that have impacted racial groups, as well as disregarding the positive aspects of culture such as the cultivation of Jazz within the Black community or the LA Walkouts which resulted in an improvement in the LA education system for Latino and Hispanic students. History also often leaves out essential figures like Shirley Chisholm, the first Black woman elected to the United States Congress, or Cesar Chavez who helped farm workers gain the right for better wages and safer working conditions. Many more essential figures deserve to be studied and credited for what they have accomplished or developed.
Jake Friske, a Social Sciences teacher here at Maria Carrillo, shares that Ethnic Studies classes tend to “focus less on historical events,” and instead aim their focus on the social issues that have had an immense impact on racial groups in America. Prominent topics such as redlining and the war on drugs are talked about and studied by Ethnic Studies students. Friske tends to focus more on “research-based assignments” to allow students to learn about what interests them and expand their knowledge of various racial groups in the U.S. This course doesn’t just cover all the negative things that have impacted racial groups in the United States, the curriculum also covers developments and creations made by minorities such as traffic lights, minicomputers, and the first open heart surgery, all accomplishments that have impacted our daily lives and, in some cases, helped millions of lives.
Ethnic Studies courses focus on these positive aspects because they offer more perspectives on the numerous racial and minority groups in the US. It is important that we recognize the difference between History and Ethnic Studies classes as they each focus more in depth into different aspects of history. Ethnic Studies is very important for all students as it teaches the underlying issues in America that have oppressed racial groups, if more people can learn about this than people can help make changes towards solving these issues. Students should take an Ethnic Studies class if they are available to them. These classes have impacted students as they learn the history and reasoning behind the significant issues that have been inflicted upon racial groups in the US. In the next few years we will possibly see states implement more Ethnic Studies classes that will benefit all students across the nation.