K-12 Ethnic Studies and Teacher Preparation Statewide Webinar Series: Webinar One and Two
Channel: Enseñamos en el Valle Central
Date: 2021-03-26

Webinar One: Purpose of Webinar Series and Policy Updates
Ethnic Studies as a high school graduation requirement requires a solid curriculum and educators who have knowledge of Ethnic Studies content, epistemologies, and pedagogy. As the implementation of Ethnic Studies in K-12 schools continues to move forward, colleges and universities are not prepared to graduate qualified teachers of Ethnic Studies. To this end, we will kickoff the first of a six-part webinar series with a line up of featured panelists that will discuss pertinent Policy Updates related to K-12 Ethnic Studies Implementation, including statewide Model Curriculum and ongoing struggles for Ethnic Studies on California Community College campuses. We will continue with a candid discussion on the Historical and Contemporary Connections between Ethnic Studies and Teacher Education that will ground the subsequent webinars with an overall goal of launching an Advocacy Plan to establish programs, projects, legislation, and partnerships focused on preparing future teachers of Ethnic Studies. 

Webinar Two: Myths and the Whitewashing of Ethnic Studies
For over 50 years, students and faculty have advocated for Ethnic Studies, holding hunger strikes, rallies, and sit-ins. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the battle for Ethnic Studies was led primarily by high school and college students from throughout California. However, it was a coalition of educator activists that ultimately led to the establishment of Ethnic Studies in K-12 schools and higher education. An extension of this history is the ongoing resistance to Ethnic Studies courses across K-12, community college, and four-year CSU campuses. Adding to this context is the predominance of “whiteness” in the academy that brings to light concerns with generic social justice frameworks that dilute the racialized histories and struggles of communities of Color. To this end, webinar two will focus on the overarching theme of Myths and the Whitewashing of Ethnic Studies in K-12 education whereby (re)defining What is Ethnic Studies and whose histories, counterstories, literature, contemporary struggles, and scholarship comprise the field. Panelists will discuss how Multiculturalism is not Ethnic Studies, address tensions related to legislating, adopting, and implementing an anti-racist, anti-hegemonic critical discipline, and barriers to teaching Ethnic Studies in K-12 Schools.