My senior year of high school I was lucky enough to take an ethnic studies class. I think taking that class was the greatest thing that I could have done for myself. Now, I believe that it should be a required course in all high schools in the U.S. Taking ethnic studies made me reevaluate so many things in my life and allowed me to grasp an understanding on why people have different perspectives on issues in our society.
In ethnic studies, I learned so much history about America that isn't traditionally taught in typical U.S. history courses. I also was able to realize how Eurocentric U.S social science courses are. For a country that has pride in being diverse, it focuses its classes way too much on the white men and their backgrounds. There is little to no instruction in school in the perspective of colored people. This lack of representation is what interested me to take the ethnic studies course in the first place. Identifying as Latino, I was hoping that the course would educate me about some of my history that I have never had the chance to learn before. The course did that and more. I was able to learn not only about my people but other cultures as well. The course educated me about the Black Panther Party and the Brown Berets. I was able to learn about the origins of slavery and the racialization of Filipino-Americans.
America is a melting pot of different cultures and people. While this is something that is truly amazing, we see it can sometimes be difficult for people to navigate coexisting with others when they come from different backgrounds. I think that having ethnic studies as a required course would enable people to gain the knowledge to interact with people of different backgrounds effectively. Ethnic studies would enable one to understand their perspective because they would be educated on different cultural backgrounds. This course makes students examine the process of how different races and ethnicities have been marginalized over the course of history and how power structures and institutions maintain the marginalization.
I think having ethnic studies as a requirement would be especially beneficial as our political and social climate becomes even tenser. I believe the class makes you think more open-mindedly and take into account the injustices that people of all different races have been enduring for decades. If this was taught more, I believe there would be more understanding of one another within society.
The class makes you analyze things such as the roots of protests and disagreements which will not only educate but also improve society by understanding in what ways can we make it better.
Ethnic studies not only teaches students about history through the lens of the minority but also emphasizes identity and self-confidence. In my ethnic studies class, I did a project on how I see myself as compared to how society sees me. The purpose was to identify how society affects us as individuals and how we can we go against that and be the person that we want to be. I think that is a lesson that everyone should learn regardless of political views.
Ethnic studies engages students by pushing them to assess what their identity is and how their role in society can help fix the issues in their community. It gives them the power and knowledge needed to make a real change in the world, which is always beneficial.
