Pedagogy

Illustration by the artist Rommy Torrico. It shows the back of a person holding a child, facing a street scene marked with the street sign "Abundance St." Children are playing in the street under a sign reading "Culture of Care." Yellow letters at the bottom of the illustration read, "Safety means freedom."

Rommy Torrico, "Safety Means Freedom," Amplifier Art.

Ethnic Studies is not just what we teach; it is how we teach.

Guidelines released by the Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction describes Ethnic Studies as “an interdisciplinary, multidisciplinary, and comparative study of the social, cultural, political, and economic expression and experiences of ethnic groups.”

Summarizing the tenets presented by the Washington Superintendent of Public Instruction, Critical Ethnic Studies courses require

Anti-racist pedagogy, centering the histories and experiences of people of color and empowering students to think critically about the structures of power in place today.
Responsive, community-based pedagogy, attending to the needs and desires of students’ communities and refusing to essentialize identities and communities.
High expectations for students’ ability to meaningfully, thoughtfully engage with a nuanced, challenging curriculum.
Cognizance of how structures of power affect classroom dynamics, both in terms of the social identities of the students and teachers and in terms of the hierarchical relationship built between teachers and students through the banking model of education.
Fostering trust and respect in the classroom by modeling authentic care through active listening, authentic self-reflection, genuine curiosity about others’ perspectives, and a desire to learn and grow.

Resources

Suneal Kolluri and Leslee Edwards, "How to meet the challenge of effectively teaching ethnic studies,"EdSource, December 6, 2022.

Emma Hipolito and Miguel Zavala, ed. "Ethnic Studies K-12," XChange: Publications and Resources for Public School Professionals, Summer, 2018.

Dr. Abigail Amoako Kayser and Tina Starks, "What is Critical Consciousness? Understanding sociopolitical consciousness in the classroom," Peers and Pedagogy, December 14, 2021.

Christine Sleeter, "What is Ethnic Studies Pedagogy?" UCLA Center X, YouTube, June 23, 2016.

Christine Sleeter and Miguel Zavala, "What the Research Says About Ethnic Studies," National Education Association, October 15, 2020.

Carlos Tejeda, "Connection between decolonizing pedagogy and Ethnic Studies," UCLA Center X, YouTube, June 23, 2016.

International Coalition of Sites of Conscience, "Open-Access Resource Center."

Kara Cisco, "Four Qualities of an Effective Ethnic Studies Teacher," EdAllies, January 27, 2022.

Julie Depenbrock, "Ethnic Studies: A Movement Born of a Ban," NPR, August 13, 2017.

Zinn Education Project, "Teaching Materials."

Facing History and Ourselves.

Illustration of the poet Amanda Gorman, a Black woman wearing a yellow flower behind her ear, turquoise earrings, and a red dress. She is holding an orange book titled The Tyrant Fears the Poet. Text in the upper left corner reads, "We the future write our own liberation." Amanda Gorman is standing against a yellow background, with the silhouette of a large fern behind her.

Kate DeCiccio, "We the Future: Amanda Gorman," Amplifier Art.

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