School Curriculum Bans & Us
As students, educators, and society members, access to education and uncensored knowledge is of vital importance in order to maintain and enhance the democracy we have built. But when this is threatened - access to history and coverage of driving political events - we have little to look to that assists in shaping what we want our future to look like, and what we don’t wish to repeat. Nowadays, we have the technology to expose ourselves to both credible and biased information, but misinformation is intrinsically at the forefront of our consumption. Within this, our rising generation’s K-12 school curricula have been a larger debate as an American nation and within individual states, beginning with the previously covered critical race theory arguments. In order to advance forward as a nation full of equity, opportunity, and freedom, we must look behind us. Knowledge is power, and the way our history classes are being instructed are taking that power away.
Education & Politics
We are becoming increasingly polarized as a political system, and as a result, we see each side wishing to embed their values in the education of the future of the nation. In fact, the give and take between education and politics has been an evolving and mutually codependent relationship for centuries. Think about the famous Supreme Court rulings that decided the fate of American education; be it Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896 or Brown v. Board of Education in 1954. These had powerful deciding factors over the structure and racial inclusion in state institutions, and it is no wonder that our current system wishes to have the same regulation over the habits and practices of education. Through legislation and political leverage, schools are increasingly affected by the works of political parties. Likewise, the school environment is a determinant of the political franchise: with society members shaped by their schooling, and their schooling subsequently shaping politics. The intersection of politics and education is vital to the development of both franchises. It’s not reasonable to request a separation of these factions, as they contextualize the other through what can be a powerful and deciding cycle of codependency.
But to what extent do bills restrict instruction habits? And how can this powerful propaganda shape what is taught to our children?
Recent Events
What stood out to me recently - as this largely disappointed me and many of my high school peers - was the adjustment of the required course content in the newly synthesized Advanced Placement (AP College Board) African American Studies class. For starters, a move towards the focus of a marginalized identity in an AP class is an awesome step forward, and a huge improvement from their already established AP European and AP U.S History courses, where these identities are skimmed over as a sub-topic or component of a larger institutionalized practice. The draft of the official AP African American Studies course was released in August 2022, which included under-discussed and crucial frameworks including mass incarceration, Black queer studies, Black poets and jazz artists, Black Lives Matter, and intersectionality. But when the finalized exam curriculum was released last week - these topics were demoted to an ‘optional teachings’ section. Many liberal arts teachers and professors were disappointed to hear this, especially as this followed Florida Governor Ron Desantis’ political pushback against the previously scripted course content. According to numerous news reports, Desantis expressed how the inclusion of Black authors, movements, artists, and social movements, “lacked in educational value,” and “supported a political agenda.” Desantis went on to denounce AP classes altogether, but promote courses in Western civilization - which is where he continues to go wrong. However, the College Board later cleared up rumors that tied their altering of the curriculum to Desantis and similar politicians’ discount towards the original draft, and David Coleman, head of the College Board, said these changes were a product of "longstanding AP principles,” and “the input of professors.” That being said, Yale University History Professor, David Blight, was consulted on the production of the course, and had showed support for its implementation. But when he saw the new course curriculum - he withdrew his endorsement.
“Even the appearance of bowing to political pressure in the context of new knowledge and ideas is something that should not be done.”
Kimberlé W. Crenshaw, law professor at Columbia University and coined the term ‘intersectionality.’ She was one of the many prominent figures removed from the required course content.
It remains up for debate how this curriculum censorship was sponsored, but it feels like we took a few steps forward - followed by too many steps back.
Closer to me, continued arguments over racial and ethnic based education are enveloping my state’s political system. The Minnesota Ethnic Studies Coalition are an active advocacy group, consisting of both youth and adult members, that are aimed at encouraging the K-12 education system to heighten ethnic study course access. They work to pressure teachers, students, school boards, and legislators to rise against a system built focused on white fragility and examine the systems of oppression we currently live in. One of their approaches I find especially liberating is their emphasis on promoting self-love in young communities of disadvantaged identities. They want to promote teachings that embed ideas of strength in all who have been historically diminished in the books, in the workplace - and in an educational setting. A world where our stories are told is what they work for.
Just recently, they pushed for a bill at the Minnesota state capitol, HF1502, that would make ethnic studies a high school graduation requirement. There was profound pushback against the inclusion of critical race theory in schools, especially elementary environments. Although it seems incomprehensible that racism should be ignored in an educational context, opponents hold a stance that emphasizes personal love and interaction through a different lens. Elle Rothermich of The Regulatory Review writes on why critics reject an ethnic studies curriculum, “They contend that focusing on only some experiences is a form of harmful discrimination that teaches students to see each other only in terms of racial and ethnic conflict.” With this in mind, we can understand how courses focusing on African, Indigenous, Hispanic, and Asian identities in America can take away from the experience of Jewish, Serbian, Sikh, or Bulgarian Americans. They argue: highlighting some means dismissing others.
Inclusive Teaching
What do you think? Is conforming to a status quo of in-exposure to any marginalized experience better than being taught the oppressions of a few? Is there a way to teach them all? Can we develop a framework that allows for the fluidity of any disadvantaged identity to be discussed and utilized as a representative for a social issue? The other area of contention is whether or not political elites are using the argument of ‘not everyone being represented’ as an excuse to ignore and completely restrict our voices in the academic world. How do navigate a system that has been set up to tear us down?
We can protest, sign bills, contact our own state legislators, sit down with school boards, and educate ourselves and others through social media and news platforms. And these strides really do matter. For instance, the Third World Liberation Front strikes in 1968 and 1969, were a series of organized college student groups who wanted ethnic studies included in their academic system over the eurocentric course content to which they had been rigorously exposed. These walkouts, performed over the course of five months, led to the establishment of the first Black Studies Department in America. Pushback does wonders. That’s where we come in. There are a variety of petitions we can sign today aimed at promoting inclusivity in educational frameworks.
Inclusion of Anti-Semitism and Middle Eastern identities in Asian American Studies in California - Sign here today
Help keep Ethnic Studies in the MVLA, California school district - Sign here today
Departmentalize Ethnic Studies at Columbia University - Sign here today
Support House Bill 704 today that would make Ethnic Studies in Minnesota a high school requirement
Get involved with Youth For Ethnic Studies
We know that knowledge is power, and that’s what we have. Nothing is more powerful and informative than our lived experiences. But this also asks, to what extent do we want these shared? And when it comes to, navigating the hurt that comes with that open vulnerability is another obstacle. But our education should not be censored. We should all feel seen in textbooks and respected in the classroom.
