Eva Ludwig
This editorial represents the opinions of 14 out of 14 Outlook editors.
Ethnic Studies was codified into California law in 2021 as a high school graduation requirement for the 2029-30 school year. At Aragon, Ethnic Studies covers three units: Identity, Race and Ethnicity and Gender and Sexuality.
However, the course has encountered backlash. Some students and parents, both at Aragon and across California, don’t support Ethnic Studies for reasons ranging from blatantly false, that Ethnic Studies teach-
es students to be “anti-white,” to entirely reasonable, that avoiding any bias is difficult. That being said, when all benefits and disadvantages are weighed against one another, ultimately the Outlook believes Ethnic Studies to be valuable.
Some students believe that Ethnic Studies should not be a class separate from typical history classes.
“I don’t feel like I learn as much [in Ethnic Studies] asmy other classes,” said freshman Hayden Chiu. “You could make history classes a little bit broader and still talk about [the counter-narrative, the
untold parts of history]. You don’t need a whole class to talk about the [counter-narrative].”
However, by taking Ethnic Studies before typical history classes, students are able to gain a new lens to view history through, which can be used in other social science courses. Christopher Columbus’ arrival in Dominica, which is often cast in history as bringing the benefits of civilization to the Ameri-
cas, though misguided, is revealed in Ethnic Studies to be the beginning of overwhelming death and mistreatment for Indigenous Americans.
Another common concern is that ideologies are being forced on students in theclassroom, ranging from anti-semitism to overemphasizing race in a class’s curriculum.
Nevertheless, just because the course teaches different aspects of race and oppression, it doesn’t mean that the students are being “indoctrinated,” but rather being informed of events and objective evidence to help them create their own opinions.
Ethnic Studies serves as more than a graduation requirement: it is a spotlight on the groups and stories that are often lost in other history based classes, and a way for students to fill in the holes in this na-
tion’s narrative.
The benefits of Ethnic Studies don’t end at improved historical awareness. In fact, the class has resulted in transformative and curated experiences for students, along with similarly eye-opening moments for the researchers and teachers who fine-tune the curriculum.
“When we’re in America, they teach a lot about how we were formed as a country,” said freshman Anaya Bhalla. “But [the history of minority groups is] great to learn about too, because everyone’s learning about their [own] country’s history.”
Another vital focus of Ethnic Studies is awareness of one’s own self. Students learn about intersectionality, and the pieces of an identity as well as the history behind how those pieces came to be. Benefits of such introspection can be seen in countless fields, as was outlined by a Stanford University study of the San Francisco School District’s implementation of the course. Lasting improvements were seen in attendance, grade point average and even students’ willingness to pursue higher education. As students feel more connected to the material they learn about, the projects they work on and more generally the school they attend, they also feel a stronger drive to participate. Similar to psychological studies about the benefits of feeling like one belongs, the results of Ethnic Studies
are both tangible and valuable.
“Not only does everyone [learn that] it’s important to understand other people’s culture, [they also learn] to respect other people, and to see where other people are coming from,” said sophomore Sonia Timothy Chin Hao. “People really paid attention [in class], because some people got to learn about … their [culture’s] history, … or other cultural backgrounds they didn’t know before.”
Amongst the talks of removing Ethnic Studies as a graduation requirement, or even as a class in general, the Outlook has found that the course is both valuable and necessary for students to take. Ethnic Studies offers students an education tailored to themselves, preparing them with a more complete knowledge of their nation’s history and how their own identity plays a role. This is rarely offered in other courses, and rarely to the extent that Ethnic Studies dedicates to it. Thus, Ethnic Studies cannot and should not be replaced or removed.
