Written by Miguel Palacios
After four years of contestation and public opinion, the California State Board of Education has unanimously passed an ethnic studies curriculum. Ethnic studies is already offered as an elective in many high schools in California, however, some activists feel that it should be mandatory for students to receive their diplomas.
The curriculum was subject to a lot of controversies. Originally, it focused only on Latino, Black, Asian, and Native American ethnicities. And it became so politically corrupted that the original authors of the curriculum demanded their names be removed. The revised curriculum adds lessons on Jewish Americans, Arab Americans, Pacific Islanders, and Sikh Americans.
The biggest problem with the curriculum, though, is those who worked to create it those who will be teaching it. What is their agenda? One must ask. Is it really for the children to learn about different cultures and ethnicities, or is it about programming and grooming the future to fit their agenda of liberal politics? As an optional, elective class, students stand to gain knowledge that they lacked before, however, it seems unnecessary and unfair to force students to complete a class that was implemented mainly for political purposes and will likely skew very far left, as the education system tends to do.
To many of the proponents of this curriculum, it is not so much about teaching children not to hate, but more about the politicization of students at a young age. This is very problematic, as it serves only to further divide the country, instead of healing it.
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