By: Jackie Hardy, NDG Contributing Writer
In a recent legislative session, the Texas Education Agency approved offering a one-credit elective course in ethnic studies, and one of those courses includes African American studies. Dallas ISD and Garland ISD are two of the school districts offering various ethnic study courses this current school year.
“I think it’s a great opportunity for African American students to learn more about their heritage and history. To understand who they are and where they came from and to get a good feel for all the contributions that have been made by African Americans,” explains Joyce Foreman, Dallas ISD Board of Trustee for District 6.
The Texas State Board of Education (SBOE) outlined the Innovative Course Model for Ethnic Studies. Schools will offer ethnic studies focused not only on African American but also Mexican American and Asian American studies.
“In addition to our required social studies course offerings, students in Garland ISD are fortunate to have an array of social studies elective courses to choose from when filling out their schedules. Among those are African American Studies, Mexican American Studies, Asian American Studies, and Women’s Studies,” explains John Hatch, Garland ISD PK-12 Social Studies Coordinator.
Based on the Innovative Course Model for Ethnic Studies, students will broaden their knowledge and skills in the following subjects:
- History;
- Citizenship;
- Government;
- Economics;
- Culture;
- Social Studies;
- Science,
- Technology, and
- Society.
Hatch explained the Innovative Course Model provides a roadmap for districts to develop standards for courses proposed over many years. This will thereby give them the option to continue implementing measures while in the innovative stage.
In the future, the State Board of Education may move to adopt it as a standard course. At that point, it will become a mandated course, as according to Hatch, this occurred with the SBOE recent decision to implement the Mexican American Studies course.
According to the Texas SBOE, the African American Studies course will teach students about the history and cultural contributions of African Americans. The objective is to help the students gain a broader perspective and understanding of local and national issues and events.
The focus of the Essential Knowledge and Skills will include the significant eras, civilizations, and contributions of African American history and culture foundational to humanity. The materials will predate American slavery while exploring its role in our country. The impact of slavery on the development and progression of nationalism and sectionalism dating back to the early 19th century.
Dallas ISD’s Deputy Chief of Racial Equity Leslie Williams intends to start with a solid foundation. He sought leading experts in African American studies to help form the course for its schools, according to Foreman.
California was one of the first states to offer ethnic study courses. According to a 2016 article in The Atlantic, Ethnic Studies in American public schools have slowly evolved and grown in the last 20 plus years.
Research, such as the one done by the Stanford Graduate School of Education, has shown the benefits schools have experienced when offering ethnic studies. High school ethnic studies course examining the roles of race, nationality, and culture on identity and experience; improved attendance and academic performance of students who were at high risk of not graduating. The study reported students making gains in attendance and grades also increased the number of earned course credits to graduate.
Opponents have argued courses like these are anti-American and teach divisiveness as mentioned in the Stanford study, but Foreman sees quite the opposite as she sees it as an opportunity to bridge that divide.
“There is a lot of negative stereotypes regarding African American people. This gives us an opportunity to have that discussion in a holistic way that hopefully will bridge the understanding,” Foreman shared. Possibly they will gain an understanding of how the African American picture really looks like in this country, and throughout the world, she added.
Hatch shares Foreman’s sentiment regarding the benefits of having these courses as part of their elective program offerings.
“Any opportunity we have to focus the attention of our students on the plights and accomplishments of various ethnic groups in the American story helps our students to develop a deeper understanding of the full scope of that story,” states Hatch.
Hatch hopes the courses will offer students of all racial backgrounds a perspective of American history that challenges them. He is hopeful students will see beyond the traditional narrative and recognize the struggles and victories influencing and shaping current events.
“Kids now have a choice to further their understanding of different cultures and ethnicities…so they can better understand the contributions of that particular culture {has made} to our city and our nation,” adds Linda Griffin, Garland ISD Trustee for Place 3.
Another critical aspect of the course is highlighting national, and local historical figures within those respective ethnic groups have played a significant role in the fight for equality and justice. Native Texan, Juanita Jewel Craft’s tireless efforts and commitment to the Civil Rights Movement are deemed as equally notable. Her achievements and impact match some of the national historical figures also being recognized within the course.
“I believe that students need to understand the big stories, but they also need to understand how those stories, like the Civil Rights Movement, played out here in our state and community. Ideally, we would want students to identify with others in our community who stood for their rights and for the rights of others,” exclaims Hatch.
Foreman is a firm believer in incorporating local history. By doing so, it provides students a clearer understanding of individuals locally who contributed significantly in moving driving our local accomplishments forward.
Craft dedicated her life and service up until her death in 1985 to fighting for equal rights for African Americans locally. She was pivotal in leading the efforts of the Desegregation of the State Fair of Texas in 1955. Much later, Craft was elected to represent Place 6 seat on the Dallas City Council at the age of 73. She campaigned promising to address the clean-up of deteriorating houses, vacant lots, weeds, and the revitalization of downtown.
She was also an active member and leader in the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) organization. Craft held several positions including Chairperson (Dallas Chapter), Texas Field Organizer, and Youth Adviser (Dallas Chapter). For more information on Craft’s life’s work, visit: https://dallaslibrary2.org/dallashistory/archives/08105.php.
They have identified two critical factors in measuring the program’s success: how well the course is received by the students and the teachers’ interest in wanting to teach the course. According to Hatch, they will also monitor the progress of the program using empirical data.
Dallas Board of Trustee Foreman hopes students of all backgrounds will enroll in the Ethnic Courses being offered at their schools.
“As a Board of Trustee, I will be looking at the racial breakdown of students taking the course. In my mind, it would not be working if only African American students are taking it and the same thing with the Mexican American Studies. I’d like to see a mixture of children taking that course as well,” Foreman adds.
“I am confident that courses like African American Studies will greatly enhance the overall educational experience of all students in GISD and Texas. I look forward to working with teachers in our district who will be teaching them,” writes Hatch.
Becoming more community-minded and involved is one of the results DISD Trustee, Foreman hopes will inspire and prompt students, who participate in the ethnic studies, to do.
“My hope is that more young people will become actively engaged and to understand that there are sacrifices that you have to make to stand up for the community,” Foreman stated.
These are constantly improving times in education. As students study their ethnic and racial heritage some are also writing letters to their parents, grandparents, and other elderly relatives asking for a letter back with a story from that elderly relatives life history that they would like the student to know and pass on to their own children someday.
Such letter writing will help students experience the power of writing, and the potential value of the written word. Should they receive such letters each year from these elderly relatives, and then one should die, they will experience how priceless the letters they received have become.
Such annual letter writing is one part of the School Time Capsule Project. Google “School Time Capsule Postmaster” with the quotes to see how you can start such a project in a school you love. This is an open source project which is free to use.
We must help our students see the power of writing.
Great points Bill!