Category Archives: DEI

Ethnic Studies

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Among the many new laws that Gavin Newsom has signed into law over the the past couple of weeks none have touched closer to a social studies teacher than the requirement for all public schools to begin teaching ethnic studies by 2025. Check out the New York Times article if you want more context. 

While this requirement does not mandate us as a private school to fulfill this requirement we have, as a department and with admin, been talking about this as a potentially very viable class at Carondelet. As we continue to expand our DEI initiatives as a school and within our department’s curriculum, as we recognize the ways that Catholics have been responsible for being exclusionary, an Ethnic Studies class (be it an elective or mandatory) feels right for the times. 


That being said I have many questions and feelings about the class:


  • Do we need Ethnic Studies to be its own class or should we just integrate the content into our normal history scope and sequences (World History, US History, etc)? Im some ways It is sad ethnic studies even has to be a class. If history texts were written more inclusively ethnic studies would simply be part of the scope and sequence of any history class. 
  • How much parent push back are we potentially looking at? I enjoy a salty conservative parent email from time to time but how many are we talking about here?
  • Who should teach this class? We have a very competent but very white department. We have to recognize that in an honest way and seek out new colleagues or mentors outside of our school and/or department in order to do this class the justice that it deserves AND to make sure all of our students feel as seen as possible.
  • What groups should be covered? This is a really heated topic right now even among supporters of Ethnic Studies curriculum. 
    • Should we only focus on those groups indigenous to the Americas?
    • How can “Asian-American” given the VASTNESS of the continent culturally, religiously, and linguistically be covered in a single unit?? How do you pick and choose groups within a group?
    • If we follow the norm of highlighting the African American, Asian American, Latin American, and Indigenous American experience who are we leaving out? What about Middle-Easterners, Jews, etc.?

Any way these are my wonderings for now…..do you have any insights, wonderings, or answers about this class? I would love to hear them! 

DEI in action in the Modern Language Department

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Although teaching language through rich and authentic cultural content has been an ongoing practice in Carondelet’s language classrooms, it has become ever more imperative to ensure that these efforts are truly inclusive, diverse and widely representative of all members of those cultures. Just as we have (mostly:) left behind mindless and ineffective conjugation drills, we must take a close look at the “culture” we are teaching. Our department has been hard at work examining our content and resources, and including cultural contexts that reflect the speakers/signers of the languages that we teach.
Here are some examples of our work: 

In our French 2 classes, our students learned about the rituals of Rosh Hashana, and its enduring significance in French Jewish culture. 
In French 1 classes, students watched a video about breakfast preferences, and compared them to their own and that of other French-speaking countries. 
In ASL, all classes discuss audism (the belief that one’s ability to hear or behave as one who hears is superior) and how it affects Deaf people in their everyday lives.
Kristin is preparing a fascinating unit for ASL 3 about BASL (Black American Sign Language) and its origins.
When black and white students went to separate schools, there were also separate Deaf Residential Schools. The Black-Deaf schools developed their own way of signing. These signs and culture are still passed on today in many families and communities. 
In Spanish, Kerry’s students discussed the importance of language diversity after watching and reacting to a video of a young woman who sings in Quechua an indigenous language of Peru, and parts of Bolivia, Ecuador, Colombia and Chile. 
In French 3, students explored the culture of protest of the disenfranchised through street art in Paris and Brussels. We explored graffiti and murals, discussed Art Vs. Vandalism, and created a wall mural to commemorate with words of love, courage and compassion, the victims of 9/11. 
These are just a few of the many ways we show students that the world’s diversity comes in many hues and tones!

DEI and CRT Are Poison

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 It’s time for a confession. I love watching PragerU videos. Imagine Fox News with evidence and logic instead of ranting and raving. They make me pause and question. They make me realize there are some pretty smart people out there who are not on my side of the fence. There are so many lessons I could open with a viewing of a PragerU video.

Watch the video, “Miseducated: The Decline of America’s Schools.” Here are some essential questions posed by PragerU. After watching the video, how might you answer each of these questions? 


“Why are schools obsessed with race and gender issues? Why are children learning revisionist history? Why are America’s schools teaching children to hate America — and each other?”

Your answers might come in handy the next time a parent or neighbor asks the same questions.