Post 4-The Academic and Social Value of Ethnic Studies

In the reading, Sleeter emphasizes the importance of incorporating ethnic studies into curricula. One thing that stuck out to me while reading was the opening paragraph, which talked about a man named Carlos and how his life was impacted by the Chicano studies courses at his community college. Although he graduated from high school, he was not interested in continuing his education until a friend informed him of the Chicano studies courses and encouraged him to attend. After enrolling into these courses, Carlos felt more inspired than ever to further his education, earning his BA in Spanish and hoping to teach. This introduction, as well as the entire reading, reminded me of the video "Precious Knowledge" that our class had to watch for our video analysis assignment. In the video, many of the students enrolled in the ethnic studies program in Arizona found that the classes gave them a place where they felt belonged and understood. These programs also helped them to become more engaged in class because they felt they were learning in relation to their own cultures. In the video, one student states "You pick up a history book and you don't really see any other cultures in there but, you know, mostly Caucasian white people." Similarly, the reading explains how ethnic studies programs offer students the opportunity to learn from a curriculum that breaks away from the Eurocentric curriculum that so often disregards racial and ethnic minorities. As the author puts it,"By the time they reach high school, students of color are not only aware of a Euro-American bias in curriculum, but they can describe it in some detail, and view it as contributing to their disengagement" (Sleeter 4). It is important to acknowledge how a curriculum based on only Euro-American ideas can heavily contribute to disengagement among students belonging to minorities and to recognize that incorporating ethnic studies into curricula will ultimately bring more students to develop a better relationship with education as a whole, like it did for Carlos as well as the students in the "Precious Knowledge" video.