Does New Ethnic Studies Class Miss the Mark?

Image via Gia Ledesma

Ethnic studies is a new course that was added for the 2021-2022 school year due to the statewide mandate that the AUSD school district adopted early. Despite it being a highly anticipated addition to the school curriculum, some freshmen, including myself, feel that there are some parts of the class that fall short.

At Encinal, a lot of freshmen who take the course seem to have the biggest quarrel with the grading system. Instead of giving specific amounts of points per assignment, it’s graded on how H.O.T. you are. H.O.T. stands for highest order of thinking, rating how well you critically think and how much you can expand on an idea. Don’t get me wrong, I admire wanting to grade with depth and teach critical thinking. However, the lack of points along with the vagueness of the acronym leaves the door open to confusion and subjectivity that isn’t exactly wanted or warranted, leading many students to dislike the class.

“Ethnic studies sucks,” a freshman in the class said. "It’s just an opinion, but like the way the class is taught, there’s literally no curriculum. The teachers can do whatever the heck they want and they can give you whatever grade they want. It feels like it doesn’t matter how well you do, it’s just what they think of you.”

The course’s curriculum is overall pretty positively received and I honestly found it really interesting. It was nice to learn about American history that didn’t center on the white male colonist or president, and I learned a lot. However, there’s a lot of work that we’re assigned that doesn’t necessarily mean anything or do anything for us. I think a big opportunity is being missed with this course. It would be a great class to do debates or more interactive forms of learning. Things like Socratic seminars, of which we have had two, are a great way to prompt discussions over important topics and I think are greatly suited for the course. I also think the class deserves more than just a semester, because of how important it is to creating well rounded, empathetic people.

“I’d say it was fun when we had Socratic seminars, but it could be improved upon," Freshman Sage Wright said. "I feel like we didn’t have to do all of those google classroom assignments that we never finished or need to watch those period long movies and not really discuss them because I think the point of ethnic studies is to discuss things with other people. There’s really no point in watching a movie and then not discussing it."

Another perceived issue with the grading is the way students can’t see their grades until a progress report or end of the quarter report card, which makes it really difficult to improve if one doesn't know they're doing in the class. It can be really frustrating and stressful when you don’t know what's going on with your grade, leaving you with an unwanted surprise at the end of the semester.

“They should tell us our grades. I don’t like that they don’t tell us our grades,'' said Hannah Winner, another freshman taking the class. “They only tell us what we’ve done wrong when the grading is done. I want feedback so I can improve my grade before the quarter is over.”

All this poses the question: What do teachers think of the course? It’s difficult teaching not only something so new to the school, but also new to the state and country.

“I am really excited about the topics in the new Ethnic Studies program; the curriculum is a work in progress,” said ethnic studies teacher Kathryn Hill. “We actually started this class during the 2020/2021 school year so everything had to be online. That was challenging enough, but this year we had to try to take everything back into the classroom and it’s been kind of hit and miss. As far as the topics are concerned, I think it’s really important to learn about history through different lenses; that’s why we have arranged the information into units based on concepts like Culture, Identity, Race, etc. I try to personalize each unit with local Alameda information to give it relevance. I think it’s important to learn the history of where we live.”

Overall, ethnic studies is an important course and I’m glad I get to take it. However, I think there are flaws with it that make it hard to really enjoy the class and do well in it, which is a huge shame because it could be a great addition to the curriculum. I’m hopeful that there will be change for the better and I look forward to seeing how the class pans out.