Parents Defending Education (PDE) learned through a public records request that Anaheim Union High School District in California has approved 16 Ethnic Studies courses.
According to Caroline Moore, Vice President of Parents Defending Education, “Anaheim Union High School District has peppered its district in so-called ‘Ethnic Studies’ courses.”
“Unlike what we’ve seen throughout California, this district purposely inserts race, identity, and racism into classes ranging from Spanish to Dance. Their students would better be served by learning history based in truth and facts, as opposed to dancing out their supposed ‘Eurocentric’ racism or ‘oppressor’ mentality,” she said.
The Post Millennial obtained a list of the approved courses, the first of which dates to 2015.
In 2015, Anaheim Union High School District approved the course, “Cultural Experiences in America.”
Beginning in Fall 2021, the school district approved courses such as, “English III/IV: The Racial and Social Justice of Ethnic Studies,” “Spanish 1 with Embedded Ethnic Studies,” “A Critical Lens: Photography, Identity, and Activism,” and others.
In Fall 2021, the school district approved courses such as “Ethnic Studies Theater: The Art of Storytelling,” “Dancing 3 Ethnic Studies: ‘Dancing Without Barriers & Developing Cultural Voices,'” and ethnic studies-based language courses.
The course “English 1 Ethhnic Studies” is designed to “empower students from all backgrounds to pursue justice and equity while practicing student agency and self-determination,” a description reads. “Throughout the course students will see themselves as active agents of change by understanding the marginalization and systems of power in society. Students should become more socially and politically aware thus developing respect for all cultures.”
A ethnic studies course for racial and social justice reads, “Students will critically analyze systemic and social impacts related to race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation and socioeconomic diversity and how each of these creates an Intersectionality of human existence. Students will also explore and discuss how these concepts influence human understanding, relationships and behaviors. Students will understand how individuals operate within BIPOC, Latinx and AAPI community contexts.”
It adds, “Students will examine the ways racism manifests including but not limited to: structural, institutional, internalized, and interpersonal. Racial and Social Justice in Ethnic Studies provides a foundation for students to explore concepts, issues and remedies, thereby developing the necessary analytical tools and information to see inequality and injustice while addressing historical and contemporary issues relevant to their present day lives.”
In September, American Faith reported that Biden’s Department of Education Secretary Miguel Cardona criticized parents who protested against the curriculum taught in American schools.
“I’ve never seen where it is now,” Cardona said during an interview. “There was civility. We could disagree. We could have healthy conversations around what’s best for kids.”
“I respect differences of opinion. I don’t have too much respect for people that are misbehaving in public and then acting as if they know what’s right for kids,” he continued.
