California schools seek to minimize Cesar Chavez’s role in history learning – CalMatters

from Carolyn JonesCalMatters

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Cesar Chavez is present throughout the California social studies curriculum as a union leader, civil rights hero, and practitioner of nonviolent protest.

That’s about to change.

On Wednesday, state education officials urged teachers to downplay Chavez’s role in teaching about the farm labor movement. Chavez, a labor rights icon and namesake of at least 43 California schools, was accused Wednesday’s long history of sexual violence against women and girls.

“The civil rights struggle of farmworkers and immigrant communities transcends one person and remains extremely relevant today,” said Elizabeth Sanders, spokeswoman for the California Department of Education. “We stand in solidarity with the victims of violence, including and above all gender-based violence, which has no place in our society.”

The state will also update its resume of history and social studies, an 800-page document detailing lesson topics for all K-12 public school students. According to state guidelines, students typically learn about Chavez in fourth, ninth and 11th grades, often as a role model and important figure in history. It is also included in ethnic studies courses.

School districts are free to decide how to teach certain topics, and on Wednesday several California districts were discussing how to deal with new information about Chavez, who died in 1993. As Cesar Chavez Day approaches on March 31, countless teachers are revising their lesson plans.

The Los Angeles Unified School District, the state’s largest, announced it would overhaul its Chavez-related curriculum. Latino students represent nearly 75% of the district’s enrollment.

“(The district wants to) ensure that the focus remains on the important work of the farmworker movement and not on any one person,” district spokeswoman Britt Vaughn said. “It is important to recognize the collective work of thousands of people who have advanced social justice, labor rights and community empowerment.”

“We need to take a break”

James Aguilar, a social studies teacher at San Lorenzo High School in Alameda County, said he spoke to his students about the news Wednesday. And they, like him, were shocked. The students had many questions, but above all they wanted to express their emotions. Most had grown up in awe of Chávez.

Aguilar was direct with them.

“This issue affects me personally,” Aguilar said. “I believe in victims and this is my position.

This is not the first time that the curriculum has had to be rethought because of new accusations against historical figures. Social studies evolve in real time and the historical record is constantly evolving, he said.

“I’ve always considered Cesar Chavez a hero, a major leader of the union movement,” said Aguilar, an active member of his local teachers union. “We don’t want to belittle their work, but we have to think about it. There are people who have done a lot for our country but have questionable reputations in other aspects of their lives. We just have to acknowledge that.”

A complicated legacy

Finding that balance will be difficult but essential for social studies teachers, especially as they prepare to celebrate Cesar Chavez Day, said Morgan Polikoff, a professor of education at the University of Southern California.

According to him, teachers should also consider the age of their students and what is an appropriate topic for class discussions. State and district guidelines should help teachers know how to address the issue in a way that acknowledges the allegations but doesn’t undermine the farmworker movement as a whole.

“There are a lot of deeply problematic historical figures,” Polikoff said. “The real challenge is finding a way to teach about them that doesn’t ignore the charges, but rather reflects the complexity of their heritage.”

This article was originally published on CalMatters and was republished under license Creative Commons Attribution/Attribution-Noncommercial.