T.-4 20-1186 Discussion and possible Adoption by the Board of Education of Resolution No. 1920-0246 - Affirming Support of AB2016 California Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum Draft Created by Ethnic Studies Experts.
As an Oakland resident and a Jewish person I support this resolution. I believe the Ethnic Srudies curriculum is valuable to all Oakland students, so that we can learn about all of our histories and not omit the narratives of our Arab-American and Palestinian community members.
As a teacher for the past 30 years, I am so appreciative of the work to create the Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum draft. Ethnic Studies has to be a fluid subject, reflecting the realities facing people of color in the U.S. and around the world. To leave out the history and current fight for justice for Arab Americans would make a mockery of the true meaning of Ethnic Studies. Please vote YES!
Deleted User
over 4 years ago
Oakland's diverse student body deserves an ethnic studies curriculum that reflects a wide variety of perspectives and histories, especially those of groups that have been traditionally marginalized or villainized like Arab Americans have been in recent years. Telling all sides of a historical conflict doesn't inflame tensions, as some in the comments have suggested - rather, it is a necessary foundation for mutual recognition and reconciliation.
Charges that the current Ethnic studies curriculum is anti-Jewish or anti-semitic stem from those in the Jewish community who wish to protect Israel at all cost - it is using false charges of antisemitism to try and censor voices and narratives of Palestinian-Americans. I write this as a Jew who has experienced this same attempt at censorship when I lift up Palestinian human rights and are called a self-hating Jew. Please do not allow this false weaponization of antisemitism to censor Arab-American and Palestinian-American history and narratives. Vote yes on the resolution.
Please vote no on this bill. It is imperative that Oakland schools wait for the final, state approved curriculum that will (hopefully) include the experiences of ALL ethnicities and not promote anti-semitism. Thank you.
There is a reason this deeply flawed curriculum has been rejected as it currently stands and is being reworked at the state level. Please be patient and vote NO on Resolution 1920-0246 regarding the Ethnic Studies Curriculum. A better, more inclusive version will be coming soon.
Jews are the number one target of religious hate crimes in America. Muslims are the number two target. That should be cause for cooperation, not division. Let's not add fuel to the fire please.
I am highly in favor of the draft ESMC. As a future parent of Jewish children, I believe it is important for them to learn about the Arab-American experience. Since 9/11 and again in the 2016 election, I think that it is especially important that future generations go through this cirriculum.
As a Jewish person I demand that our schools teach all of us to know our histories-- and that includes the histories of our Arab-American and Palestinian community members.
As a Jewish person, a teacher who began in OUSD, and a PhD student/instructor at UC Berkeley, I SUPPORT the ethnic studies curriculum. It is critical that we do not conflate Palestinian solidarity and anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism: they are NOT the same. My support of this curriculum (and my conviction that it is not anti-Semitic) is rooted in my understanding that Israel is a settler colonial state (like the U.S.). This means that Palestinians, like Native Americans, are being occupied and displaced. It is not possible to have an ethical ethnic studies curriculum in 2020 without critical discussion of this newest settler colony. All students deserve to know this information, and to learn about Palestinian activism and resilience. Furthermore, the focus of ethnic studies must stay on communities of color not only because of historical commission, but because these are the groups that are systemically oppressed today (this includes Jews of color!).
As an Oakland resident, I am concerned about resolution #20-1186 supporting the current, unedited draft Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum. The California Department of Education is in the process of revising the draft because of extensive problems that were uncovered during the public comment period. A vote for the Model Curriculum as written is a vote for the hateful and offensive language in the original draft. It is also a vote for circumventing the process by which the CDE is seeking to revised the curriculum. I urge you to remove the item from your agenda or vote against the resolution. A new draft of the curriculum is being crafted and will be presented to the public for comment. Let the regulators do their jobs! Thank you.
As an Oakland resident, I am concerned about resolution #20-1186 supporting the current, unedited draft Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum. The California Department of Education is in the process of revising the draft because of extensive problems that were uncovered during the public comment period. A vote for the Model Curriculum as written is a vote for the hateful and offensive language in the original draft. It is also a vote for circumventing the process by which the CDE is seeking to revised the curriculum. I urge you to remove the item from your agenda or vote against the resolution. A new draft of the curriculum is being crafted and will be presented to the public for comment. Let the regulators do their jobs! Thank you.
I'm excited to see the Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum draft that is before the Oakland Unified School District today. As an Arab American who has lived in in the Bay Area for over 30 years, it means a lot to me that ethnic studies teachers, professors and educators of color have come together to create something that addresses not just diversity but power and systems of oppressions. How can we improve without being critical of the ways we fall short of creating an equitable world?
Lesson plans that include our students, empower their voices, and generate important discussion are critical for helping young people understand how to talk about the ways race, identity and power shape our society. Arab American, Pacific Islander and Central American Studies should all be included, and not removed. A curriculum like this would have made a huge difference for me when I was younger.
Deleted User
over 4 years ago
Lived experience and research both show that teaching about the culture and history of all racial/ethnic groups results in positive individual development AND inter-personal relationships. Ethnic studies that includes all groups is so critical to advancing an inclusive community and future world that values peace and dignity. Please support Ethnic Studies that includes Arab American, Central American, Pacific Islander people. They are part of the Oakland community and their histories and experiences need to be known and valued!
I am in opposition to the Ethnic Studies proposal. Having been able to review parts of this document I believe Oakland can do a better job at presenting a more sensitive and broader curriculum--Oakland should have their teachers review and make suggestions before adaptation takes place. Please do not vote to accept this -a well thoughtful curriculum will benefit all of Oakland's students--not one that that was rejected by the state!
As we need to correct past wrongs about selectively teaching some groups' history in California we'd be needlessly hurtful if we create new wrongs by omitting often marginalized groups in the process. Since the State's current draft of the curriculum is undergoing revision for being insensitively selective I see no reason to adopt a standard that all acknowledge is flawed while it's in the process of being corrected. I hope you'll defer the decision until the standard is revised and more balanced in how it treats minority groups. Only then can it be properly considered for use in our schools.
I have read much of the Ethnic Studies Curriculum. Much of it is good, however, there is a section that focuses repeatedly on the demonization of Jews but no other group, this contributes to years of blood libel mentality. If you have not read it please do before you vote. The curriculum is going under the revision process for a reason at Thurmond's direction.
Censoring the content created by Ethnic Studies scholars from across the state because of political agendas sets a very dangerous precedent. Our students should be able to study the social movements surrounding the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the history of Arab American migration, and this content should not be removed because more people knowing this history makes some people uncomfortable.
The real question this controversy has come down to is: Should Palestinian Americans be able to define their own experience, stories, social movements, and self-determined history of being displaced from their homelands without being attacked or further erased? Progressive Jews & communities of color stand in solidarity to say YES. We hope you do, too.
As an Oakland resident and a Jewish person I support this resolution. I believe the Ethnic Srudies curriculum is valuable to all Oakland students, so that we can learn about all of our histories and not omit the narratives of our Arab-American and Palestinian community members.
As a teacher for the past 30 years, I am so appreciative of the work to create the Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum draft. Ethnic Studies has to be a fluid subject, reflecting the realities facing people of color in the U.S. and around the world. To leave out the history and current fight for justice for Arab Americans would make a mockery of the true meaning of Ethnic Studies. Please vote YES!
Oakland's diverse student body deserves an ethnic studies curriculum that reflects a wide variety of perspectives and histories, especially those of groups that have been traditionally marginalized or villainized like Arab Americans have been in recent years. Telling all sides of a historical conflict doesn't inflame tensions, as some in the comments have suggested - rather, it is a necessary foundation for mutual recognition and reconciliation.
Charges that the current Ethnic studies curriculum is anti-Jewish or anti-semitic stem from those in the Jewish community who wish to protect Israel at all cost - it is using false charges of antisemitism to try and censor voices and narratives of Palestinian-Americans. I write this as a Jew who has experienced this same attempt at censorship when I lift up Palestinian human rights and are called a self-hating Jew. Please do not allow this false weaponization of antisemitism to censor Arab-American and Palestinian-American history and narratives. Vote yes on the resolution.
Please vote no on this bill. It is imperative that Oakland schools wait for the final, state approved curriculum that will (hopefully) include the experiences of ALL ethnicities and not promote anti-semitism. Thank you.
There is a reason this deeply flawed curriculum has been rejected as it currently stands and is being reworked at the state level. Please be patient and vote NO on Resolution 1920-0246 regarding the Ethnic Studies Curriculum. A better, more inclusive version will be coming soon.
Jews are the number one target of religious hate crimes in America. Muslims are the number two target. That should be cause for cooperation, not division. Let's not add fuel to the fire please.
I am highly in favor of the draft ESMC. As a future parent of Jewish children, I believe it is important for them to learn about the Arab-American experience. Since 9/11 and again in the 2016 election, I think that it is especially important that future generations go through this cirriculum.
As a Jewish person I demand that our schools teach all of us to know our histories-- and that includes the histories of our Arab-American and Palestinian community members.
As a Jewish person, a teacher who began in OUSD, and a PhD student/instructor at UC Berkeley, I SUPPORT the ethnic studies curriculum. It is critical that we do not conflate Palestinian solidarity and anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism: they are NOT the same. My support of this curriculum (and my conviction that it is not anti-Semitic) is rooted in my understanding that Israel is a settler colonial state (like the U.S.). This means that Palestinians, like Native Americans, are being occupied and displaced. It is not possible to have an ethical ethnic studies curriculum in 2020 without critical discussion of this newest settler colony. All students deserve to know this information, and to learn about Palestinian activism and resilience. Furthermore, the focus of ethnic studies must stay on communities of color not only because of historical commission, but because these are the groups that are systemically oppressed today (this includes Jews of color!).
As an Oakland resident, I am concerned about resolution #20-1186 supporting the current, unedited draft Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum. The California Department of Education is in the process of revising the draft because of extensive problems that were uncovered during the public comment period. A vote for the Model Curriculum as written is a vote for the hateful and offensive language in the original draft. It is also a vote for circumventing the process by which the CDE is seeking to revised the curriculum. I urge you to remove the item from your agenda or vote against the resolution. A new draft of the curriculum is being crafted and will be presented to the public for comment. Let the regulators do their jobs! Thank you.
As an Oakland resident, I am concerned about resolution #20-1186 supporting the current, unedited draft Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum. The California Department of Education is in the process of revising the draft because of extensive problems that were uncovered during the public comment period. A vote for the Model Curriculum as written is a vote for the hateful and offensive language in the original draft. It is also a vote for circumventing the process by which the CDE is seeking to revised the curriculum. I urge you to remove the item from your agenda or vote against the resolution. A new draft of the curriculum is being crafted and will be presented to the public for comment. Let the regulators do their jobs! Thank you.
I'm excited to see the Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum draft that is before the Oakland Unified School District today. As an Arab American who has lived in in the Bay Area for over 30 years, it means a lot to me that ethnic studies teachers, professors and educators of color have come together to create something that addresses not just diversity but power and systems of oppressions. How can we improve without being critical of the ways we fall short of creating an equitable world?
Lesson plans that include our students, empower their voices, and generate important discussion are critical for helping young people understand how to talk about the ways race, identity and power shape our society. Arab American, Pacific Islander and Central American Studies should all be included, and not removed. A curriculum like this would have made a huge difference for me when I was younger.
Lived experience and research both show that teaching about the culture and history of all racial/ethnic groups results in positive individual development AND inter-personal relationships. Ethnic studies that includes all groups is so critical to advancing an inclusive community and future world that values peace and dignity. Please support Ethnic Studies that includes Arab American, Central American, Pacific Islander people. They are part of the Oakland community and their histories and experiences need to be known and valued!
I am in opposition to the Ethnic Studies proposal. Having been able to review parts of this document I believe Oakland can do a better job at presenting a more sensitive and broader curriculum--Oakland should have their teachers review and make suggestions before adaptation takes place. Please do not vote to accept this -a well thoughtful curriculum will benefit all of Oakland's students--not one that that was rejected by the state!
PLease vote no
As we need to correct past wrongs about selectively teaching some groups' history in California we'd be needlessly hurtful if we create new wrongs by omitting often marginalized groups in the process. Since the State's current draft of the curriculum is undergoing revision for being insensitively selective I see no reason to adopt a standard that all acknowledge is flawed while it's in the process of being corrected. I hope you'll defer the decision until the standard is revised and more balanced in how it treats minority groups. Only then can it be properly considered for use in our schools.
I have read much of the Ethnic Studies Curriculum. Much of it is good, however, there is a section that focuses repeatedly on the demonization of Jews but no other group, this contributes to years of blood libel mentality. If you have not read it please do before you vote. The curriculum is going under the revision process for a reason at Thurmond's direction.
The model curriculum is divisive. It's not what we need. .
Censoring the content created by Ethnic Studies scholars from across the state because of political agendas sets a very dangerous precedent. Our students should be able to study the social movements surrounding the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the history of Arab American migration, and this content should not be removed because more people knowing this history makes some people uncomfortable.
The real question this controversy has come down to is: Should Palestinian Americans be able to define their own experience, stories, social movements, and self-determined history of being displaced from their homelands without being attacked or further erased? Progressive Jews & communities of color stand in solidarity to say YES. We hope you do, too.