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.?