From left to right: Melissa Díaz, Claire Kerby, Diana Nguyen Photo by Greta Reich helpful, and empowering to know that we eyes to new perspectives - while [Latinos] have cultural heroes, and that we also questioning where these also made an impact not only in our Latin perspectives are coming from and American countries but in the world,” she why they hold, or don’t hold, value. Gutierrez committee to include Ethnic Studies. “When said. “I definitely think that having classes continued, “A lot of people of color… have we were trying to get it passed in previous where you’re able to explore different cultures contributed in a lot of ways and they’ve been years, we faced a lot of opposition. Whether it and ethnicities is really valuable, versus only involved in a lot of historical events, so that was based on, ‘Oh, it’s too difficult to include,’ focusing on one country’s history.” intersectionality [of race and history] is really or if they just didn’t want to include it. So Though it is true important, and that’s we’re definitely trying to get past that,” she that World Studies something that said. “What we want to do is have all schools focused mainly on hopefully freshman mandate, or at least include, an ethnic studies European countries students this year course.” Sequoia is an important part of this or the effects that understand a lot fight to put Ethnic Studies in more districts, white countries had That intersectionality [of more.” on other places, race and history] is really While the Ethnic with students like Ahsan, teachers like many students still Studies curriculum Díaz, Nguyen, and Kirby and a supportive important, and that’s feel that they got a lot only started at community to back them up. something that hopefully Danny Bliss, head of the History out of it. Sequoia on Oct. 12 S o p h o m o r e freshman students understand because the first department at Sequoia said, “I think that Mariah Gutierrez quarter of freshman Sequoia is at the vanguard of the ethnic studies this year. said about her World history is Life Skills, movement - I know that we are in this district, Studies class from students and teachers and that’s mostly a credit to those teachers but last year that the class Mariah Gutierrez, sophomore are already trying to also speaks to how our school community, “really opened [her] get it implemented in other teachers, administrators, parents, and eyes up to a lot of other school districts. students of course, are ready for, welcoming things and also [she] learned a lot more about However, this may not be so simple, as it did and excited for this long overdue change.” current events like BLM and other important take some convincing to get it introduced in issues that [she] never learned about in past SUHSD, being called controversial and drastic classes.” by some parents and teachers. Ethnic Studies is being introduced because San Mateo Youth Board member Ahsan it will do all of these things - opening students’ recalled this difficulty as she was a part of the
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RAVEN REPORT | NOVEMBER 2021
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