In December I wrote an article breaking down Ethnic Studies in Washington State public schools. In 2019 our state legislature passed two bills that mandated ethnic studies in all public schools. Now, three years later, school districts around the state are starting to roll out their ethnic studies curriculum. In this article, I will take you on a “deep dive” through the curriculum and materials being used by the school district in my community, Northshore School District. I’ll also teach you how you can find out what’s being planned (or taught already) in your school district.
Northshore tends to lead the way when it comes to implementing the left’s agenda. After all, Northshore was the very first school district in the nation to close due to Covid and it was probably one of the last to reopen. Northshore likes to be first – so it is no surprise that they will roll out their pilot program at one district high school in the fall of 2022.
You’ll find all the meeting materials and summaries for the NSD Ethnic Studies Work Group HERE
First, let’s take a look at the PURPOSE STATEMENT for Ethnic Studies in NSD:
Perhaps you’re unfamiliar with the term “historical trauma”, as was I when I began digging into ethnic studies. I’ve done a fair bit of research on the definition and this one is most common:
“This is defined as a cumulative emotional and psychological wound throughout life and across generations, stemming from massive experiences of group trauma. Many groups of people, especially those who have been subjected to prolonged discrimination and abuse, suffer this type of trauma that permeates an entire group.the behavior of its members, the relationships between them, etc., which severely conditions their mental health.”
I will admit I was surprised that “historical trauma” is often times found in the same area as other types of trauma – such as surviving a natural disaster, violent event or being the victim of child or sexual abuse. I’m not sure how “historical trauma” is diagnosed and how many students truly suffer from this condition and therefore require healing from it. Surely, we have a great population of students who are trauma survivors that suffer from PTSD.
The Ethnic Studies work group begins each meeting with a land acknowledgment. What’s strange to me is when these woke people do the land acknowledgment, but they never offer to give it back…probably a topic for another blog…just an observation.
Below is a slide from a recent meeting of the work group:
In case you’re trying to make sense of the word salad above – I’m not sure you will. If this looks a little like Marxism to you, you’re not off base. It’s all about training up children to be “global citizens” rather than encouraging them to be free-thinking, independent people.
Decolonization
Decolonization or decolonization is the undoing of colonialism, the latter being the process whereby a nation establishes and maintains its domination of foreign territories, often overseas territories
These are examples of curriculum being used in Everett and Edmonds school districts:
The workgroup had a presentation about Disability Justice at their last meeting, so it seems that it would be safe to assume that this kind of content will be integrated into the Ethnic Studies curriculum. The presentation was provided by the head of special education for the district. As a parent of 3 children with special needs, I don’t really appreciate how this kind of teaching encourages kids to feel like victims, rather than to empower them that they are capable of great things. Their capabilities may be different from other students, but they are not less important, and their uniqueness is something our world needs.
The image below was one of the slides for a presentation being given to the work group by “Jesse”. As you can see, Ethnic Studies and BLM and CRT are all one and the same. You can read my post about BLM at School to learn more about this movement. It is not something taxpayers should be funding. BLM is a corporation and they have made it no secret that they train people to be Marxists.
Chances are, if you live in Washington state, your school is doing something quite similar to this. It’s a state law. They have to include Ethnic Studies. The State Board of Education is considering whether to make it a graduation requirement for students to take Ethnic Studies.
What can you do?
First of all; you want to go to your school district website and find out what curriculum they are planning to use for ethnic studies. They will likely be pulling together a variety of materials and books from “woke” leftists – because that’s all that’s available. It is a requirement for school districts to publish the curriculum they are proposing to use. That doesn’t mean it will be easy to find.
Go to your school district’s website. Look for a section about “Curriculum Materials” or CMAC (curriculum materials advisory committee). That may not be easy to find either. If there is a search button, type in “ethnic studies.” Hopefully this search term will yield you results. If not, try typing in “curriculum materials” and see if that pulls up what you’re looking for. If you still don’t find it, call your school district main office and ask them where you can review the curriculum being proposed for the district’s ethnic studies course. Don’t let them tell you there isn’t anything. There is. I always find “killing them with kindness” is a good strategy. Very nicely say something like: “Since the state law requires districts to teach ethnic studies, I would assume our district has a plan for curriculum. How can I get involved in this process?” If you can get on the work group…DO IT! This would be amazing!
Secondly: get your kids out of public school. It’s really beyond repair. I realize that pulling your kids from public school may be a great sacrifice for your family. This is worth it! If you don’t have school-age children, get involved! We need you! Go to school board meetings, connect with the school administration. If you’re a taxpayer, you have a voice. We need you to use it.
In addition, get involved with CLW or other groups that are working with state legislators for school choice options. It’s time for us to FUND STUDENTS, not systems! CLW is working hard with our state legislators to get real school choice bills through the legislature, and we need all hands on deck. Be sure to subscribe to our emails so you don’t miss a call to action.
The idea of teaching “ethnic studies” to our children is not inherently bad. It is very important to teach our children true history and about different cultures and backgrounds so they have a wealth of knowledge and appreciation for humankind. As you can see, that is not the goal of THIS ethnic studies course that our public schools are designing. History and culture is not the problem. Indoctrination and leftist agenda is the problem.
