Ask the California Department of Education to Support K-12 Ethnic Studies

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Ask the California Department of Education to Include More Examples in their

Asian American Studies Curriculum

California’s proposal for a statewide K-12 Asian American studies curriculum includes sample lesson plans covering only Filipinx farmworkers, Chinese Railroad workers, Pacific Islanders, and Hmong Americans. This completely excludes Japanese Americans, Vietnamese Americans, Korean Americans, and so many others for coverage with a sample lesson plan. We know that without a prepared provided lesson plan, instructors are unlikely to consider including such topics in their curriculum.

This new statewide curriculum goes into effect March 2021, and changes after that time will be more difficult to effect.

WE NEED YOUR HELP!

We have a chance to fix this. The California Department of Education has public review and comments submission. We have until September 30 to get our education curriculum submitted for review. We need to let the CDE understand how deeply rooted Asian American culture is tied with California’s history and the political fabric of the US constitution. We also need to send emails to the CDE to get them to listen and make sure they make these changes while being inclusive in Asian American Ethnic Studies.

You can help by emailing a public comment to [email protected] or by leaving a voicemail at (916) 319-0243. You can also ask your state representatives to support ethnic studies education in California! Clicking on the Take Action button to the right will accomplish both of these tasks by sending an email to both your state representatives and the California Department of Education.

You can learn more about the bill at the CDE website and you can download the curriculum overview

We just need a few pieces of information to connect you with your representatives or the CDE.

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Ask the California Department of Education to Include More Examples in their

Asian American Studies Curriculum

Senators and Reps for the State of California

Subject: Asian American Ethnic Studies

Message:

Hello, I would like to take a moment to share my concerns about the draft plans for the K-12 Curriculum proposal and the inadequacies of its treatment of the full diversity of Asian American Studies. As a part of the proposal, several sample lesson plans are included. Unfortunately, the Asian American studies sample plans only highlight Filipinx farmworkers, Chinese Railroad workers, Pacific Islanders, and Hmong Americans. Completely absent are the rich histories of Japanese Americans, Vietnamese Americans, Korean Americans, and so many others. Also missing, and included in the first draft, is a sample lesson plan covering Pan-Asian studies including coverage of the Model Minority Myth. This new statewide curriculum goes into effect March 2021, and time is of the essence to pressure the Department of Education to amend and improve its proposed curriculum to be more inclusive of the full richness of the role Asian Americans have played in our country's and state's history. I hope that with your position as a leader in policymaking, will share my concern and let the Department of Education know that it is unacceptable to make such drastic changes to the curriculum and leave out key components of our state's history. the Department of Education is accepting comments on the curriculum until September 30. You can learn more about the bill at the CDE website (https://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/cr/cf/modelcurriculumprojects.asp) and you can download the curriculum overview (https://www.dropbox.com/s/81e4puazhc2rhcj/att9esmcappendixb.docx?dl=0). I thank you for your help in ensuring our children's' education is inclusive of the full richness of the Asian American experience. Please join me in sending comments to the California Department of Education at ethnicstudies@cde.ca.gov with the message that more Asian American stories must be included in the sample lesson plans. Sincerely and in gratitude,

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Superintendent of California Department of Ed

Subject: Asian American Ethnic Studies - Public Comment

Message:

Dear Superintendent Thurmond, It has come to my attention that the proposed Sample Lessons and Topics as found in Appendix B of the Ethnic Studies Curriculum does not include a detailed history of the Japanese American community as one of the supplied sample lesson plans. The current draft of the curriculum outline has reduced the Japanese American experience down to a few bullet points under the list of additional sample topics. The lack of a full sample lesson on Japanese American experiences will mean that those subjects will not be taught by teachers. The Japanese American community has been an integral part of California history; from the farmers who made the "unfarmable" land flourish with produce, to the activists who challenged the supreme court against the incarceration of 120,000 people based on their race. This story is one that is of tremendous national significance but is also a very unique California story as the majority of Japanese Americans incarcerated during the war had been living in California. Two incarceration sites, Tule Lake and Manzanar are located in California, and especially noteworthy. Even within the listing of additional sample topics, for someone unfamiliar, terms such as Hapa and Gidra may be unidentifiable and never be covered unless included as a part of a broader lesson on the Japanese American experience. The current outline also leaves out the Vietnamese American, Korean American, and South Asian American groups as well as many others. I understand that the first draft of sample curriculums also included one on Pan-Asian studies and that has been removed from the most recent draft. I urge you to return that as a sample lesson plan. These are all critical to our Asian American history, and to leave this section out would be a disservice to the children who don't understand what it means to be Asian American. As Asian Americans continue to be the target of racism and often times bullying in schools, maintaining Asian American history in the curriculum, and recognizing the diversity of Asian American experience, is absolutely necessary. I hope that you will ensure that the sample curriculums provided will be more comprehensive and detailed in its coverage of Asian American diversity. Sincerely,

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