Allyson Chan
On April 20, the San Mateo Union High School District approved a revised United States History Course of Study with a four to one vote. Spearheaded by social science representatives from across the district, the course of study aimed to align itself with the current state of the classroom, as well as provide a framework for more equitable education in the future.
A course of study, while not a comprehensive curriculum, serves as a guide for educators and stands in alignment with California’s content standards. The current U.S. History Course of Study dates back to 2018, but significant revisions have not occurred since the adoption of a new textbook in 1999.
The new course of study has three primary goals, with the first being to enhance students’ critical thinking capabilities.
“I truly believe what we want for our students is to be able to critically engage and grapple with the world,” said Mills High School teacher Alexandra Dove at the April 13 board meeting. “It’s not just learning about history but being able to connect with it.”
“It’s not just [about] learning history but being able to connect with it”
The second aim of the new course of study is to allow students to evaluate how the past relates to current events.
“We tend to focus more on the early timeline, so we don’t touch too much on the modern era and current events,” said junior Mir Majumdar. “I feel like including this would definitely be a good addition to educate people more about what’s going on in the current world.”
The third change is a shift to incorporate aspects of Ethnic Studies into the U.S. History classes, in alignment with the SMUHSD Equity Vision and Mission. The new course of study incorporates questions surrounding identity, race and ethnicity, marginalized communities and social justice.
“U.S. history can be seen as the study of rich, white, dead men, [but] it’s much more than that,” said Advanced Placement U.S. History teacher William Colglazier. “We need to make sure that we adhere to the multileaf, diverse fabric of America, acknowledging the inequalities that exist in the country, but also acknowledging the genius of a democratic system. We might be in the Bay Area, but we make sure that we [also] have a focus on conservative viewpoints.”
“We need to make sure that we … acknowledg[e] the inequalities that exist in the country but also acknowledg[e] the genius of a democratic system”
For example, the new category of “Identifying Hegemony through History” as a student outcome has been pioneered, which declares that the course should urge students to “be empowered to challenge outdated dominant narratives … in modern American history.”
“The student speakers that were coming to the board at that time were indicating that they felt that the class did not have enough perspectives from people of color,” said Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction Julia Kempkey at the April 13 board meeting. “They wanted us to examine it to ensure that we did show multiple perspectives.”
However, as with Ethnic Studies movements across the country, this has led to significant controversy.
“The students should not be ashamed but [rather] proud of their past,” said Chris Cavigioli, parent of a current U.S. History student at the April 13 board meeting. “The conflating of skin color is a big mistake. The whole idea of [categorizing people] is actually creating racism [and] division and we don’t want to do that.”
Students evaluate this addition to the curriculum.
“It’s important to talk about these topics [such as slavery and women’s suffrage] because we live in America and it’s important to learn about [our] whole history,” said junior Hukh Ren Hao Timothy Chin Hao. “Even though it might seem like small steps for us, looking back at what they did, those little steps made huge impacts on our lives even today.”
With the new course of study being approved, the only question that remains is whether teachers actively use the course of study and how the new guidelines will trickle down.
“I never looked at [the 2018 course of study],” said U.S. History teacher Jayson Estassi. “[Instead], I worked with our professional learning community. All the teachers who are teaching a particular course will work together to co-develop curriculum and various aspects of the units we teach. I relied a lot more on that than I did on the district course of study.”
“We live in America and it’s important to learn about [our] whole history”
Colglazier echoes this sentiment but still believes the course of study serves as a helpful reference.
“Even though some of us here at Aragon might be doing it already, it’s important for the district to have a common vision so that new hires can be educated in that,” Colglazier said. “Over this summer, I think I’ll peek at [the course of study] again and see, where could there be a gap in my curriculum?”
The new course of study will be implemented in the 2023-24 school year.
