Ethnic Studies Benefits

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The most important part of school is learning about history. Math is important, as is english. But it’s important to reflect more about the past and present, so we can have a better future. There is a lot of history, but surprisingly it is limited. We learn the basics such as: the Trail of Tears, World War 1 and 2, and Christopher Columbus “discovering” America. These are important aspects of history, but when do we get to learn about the Natives that settled here first? The African Americans who resided in Africa before slavery? As well as anything about Asian Americans that doesn’t involve the laws that disrespected them during the mid 1900s? Schools should teach ethnic studies to students so we can combat negative stereotypes and prejudice,

In the article, Do Ethnic Studies Classes Have Academic Benefits? It is stated that, “The way that we teach our history and culture… the way that we exclude and minimize certain groups and their experiences, while privileging others, feeds prejudice and negative stereotypes.” The article, Stanford Study Suggests Academic Benefits To Ethnic Studies Courses implies that, “Culturally relevant pedagogy embeds several features of interventions designed to reduce stereotype threat, such as explaining stereotypes and identifying external forces that contribute to academic challenges.”.... Camille Z. Charles makes it aware that,”I tell my students that prejudice and discrimination is in our cultural DNA, because the vast majority of American holidays and rituals, and our understanding of American history and culture, all of these things reinforce the superiority of Anglo-American or white American history and experience.” These findings show how we can extinguish the negative caricatures that were placed upon

The Executive Council states that, “Ethnic studies is a field of inquiry, not a form of propaganda. Such programs are designed to lead a greater understanding of the histories and cultures of the peoples of the United States, not to any partisan political or cultural outcome.” The article, Why Ethnic Studies Is Good For All Americans, argues that, “The fact is that in our increasingly racially and ethnically diverse nation, we are not preparing our children for the future they face if we do not teach them a history that includes the many communities that make up our nation.” The Executive Council also mentions that, “Ethnic studies curricula have provided important gateways for students to learn about the diversity of heritages in the United States” Learning about the different cultures and customs that minorities follow can help enrich our history of the United States and teach us more about ourselves as well as other