The Academic and Social Value of Ethnic Studies & Class Dismissed clip
Both the excerpt from the reading The Academic and Social Value of Ethnic Studies and the video clip from the film Class Dismissed, A Short History of Public Schooling show that the education system has had flaws from the beginning and how important incorporating ethnic studies is to future generations. Growing up in a primarily Catholic surrounding neighborhood, we all celebrated Christmas, and I remember how interested I was to find out that not everyone celebrates Christmas. I know that is a simple example, but when you're a kid, that's how simple you see things. Looking at the situation, it was a lack of inclusivity and education for other students. As educators, it's our responsibility to ensure that all students feel heard and included, regardless of their background. This is the true ideal of education.
The video shows the very beginning of schools and the evolution of laws in public schooling. As a society, we can see that schools have been favored towards a particular group of people. Even today, we are still struggling to find a middle ground with education, representation, curriculum, and inclusion. It is never-ending, and no amount of laws can fix the irreplaceable amounts of suffering marginalized groups have had to go through to get a free public education that they claim everyone is entitled to. Still, it makes you wonder if they mean what they say.
The reading emphasizes how surface-level the mainstream curriculum is. It ultimately shows how narrowminded these experiences are often portrayed to the youth while learning. Marginalized groups of people and their culture are frequently left out of the picture. This reading is to advocate for the inclusion of ethnic studies as part of the curriculum. The story that was shared about Carlos is an example of how ethics studies can interest students and raise interest in furthering learning and understanding the deep historical roots. Ultimately, at the end of the day, there is a call for action, the action to change our education system and focus on inclusivity and adding more ethnic studies and different cultural classes to be added to the curriculum.
Hi Jordan! I really liked your reflection! I find it interesting how you brought up the Christmas example in the beginning of your blog. I also found it really interesting when I found out that not everyone celebrates Christmas when I was younger. This simple observation turned into a strong reflection when I reached high school about how Christian-centered society truly is. Most, if not all, schools in the US have Christian holidays such as Christmas and Easter off, yet they don't have school off for other religious holidays. When I was younger, I was naive and didn't really see a problem with it until I reached high school and personally saw its impacts. My ex-boyfriend was a Muslim, so he had his own religious holidays to celebrate. If these holidays ever fell on a school day, he and his sister would have to take time away from school to celebrate. After experiencing this for the first time, I really thought it was unfair that I, a Christian girl, was able to get an education and still celebrate my religious holidays, but my ex-boyfriend had to pick and choose (either he miss school to celebrate or miss celebrating an important part of his religion). I think that this is something that really needs to change in society, and it all starts with that simple observation you have made.
ReplyDeleteI really liked your example of Christmas and finding out as a kid there is more than one holiday to celebrate. I had a similar experience, but mine was finding out about "Christmas around the World" and learning that not ever country had Santa Clause or if they did he might be known as St. Nick or Father Christmas. It truly is eye opening, especially for a kid, to learn that there is more than just you in the world.
ReplyDeleteHi Jordan! This is a little different to comment on but, I really like image you chose to include in your blog. I feel as if it is very meaningful to the topic of the readings and videos we have been focusing on. Each student has differences yet, they are all reading, which shows that every student should have equal rights to the proper education.
ReplyDeleteFrom Jess: Jordan: I like how you've highlighted how growing up in a primarily Catholic neighborhood shaped your early perceptions and how discovering that not everyone celebrates Christmas was an eye opener for you. This simple realization underscores the need for inclusivity and education about diverse cultures from a young age. Your point about the mainstream curriculum being surface-level and often excluding the experiences of marginalized groups is crucial.
ReplyDeleteI loved your reflection and I strongly agree with the call to action. I believe these classes enhances a students ability and want to learn and when the system takes it away due to privilege, it shows the marginalized group that they don't matter.
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