Teach The Children The Truth! Ethnic Studies and Raza Studies In The TK-12 Classroom

Happy New Year 2024 to all of you and your families!

I am excited to be back for a new season of Teach The Children The Truth! After a long hiatus from the show, I am excited to bring you new material and interviews this year.

Our first series of interviews with Ruben Uriarte and another guest will air on January 10th and 17th at our usual 6 a.m. PST release time.

Welcome to another episode of Teach The Children The Truth!

This week, we will explore the history and significance of Día de los Muertos, or Days of the Dead. As we prepare to welcome our dearly departed loved ones in the coming week, we open our hearts to the traditions of our Ancestors despite centuries of colonization. We survive and thrive in the 21st Century, and our traditions continue to pass from generation to generation.

In Lak'Ech

For more information on Día de los Muertos, please visit:

Hello and welcome to Teach The Children The Truth!

This week, we will take a look back in time to the epic Chicano poem, "Yo Soy Joaquín," by Rodolfo "Corky" Gonzalez. We will explore the historical significance of his works, learn about his life, and consider how we straddle our existence within two worlds in a constant state of "Nepantla" while trying to remain grounded as Indigenous beings. This episode will also provide educators with ideas for how to incorporate the poem into the high school classroom.

Welcome to another episode of Teach The Children The Truth!

This week, we will take a look at the latest news coming out of Florida in the realm of public education. Gov. Ron DeSantis is continuing his attacks through his support of the latest revisions to the state's public school standards which were inspired by his Stop Woke Act, a controversial 2022 law that "prohibits instruction on race relations or diversity that implies a person's status as either privileged or oppressed is necessarily determined by his or her race, color, national origin, or sex." In response to DeSantis' attacks on Critical Race Theory and anything related to Ethnic Studies, the law encourages students, parents, and employees to challenge Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion efforts in school- and work-places throughout the state, particularly anything that would cause anyone to “feel guilt, anguish or any form of psychological distress” due to their race, color, sex or national origin."

The repeated backlash and outright attacks on Ethnic Studies and DEI in schools and places of employment have become a political pawn for right wing politicians like DeSantis seeking to run for office across the nation. As this disturbing trend continues to grow, we must prepare to defend the rights of all members of our society to learn the truths that exist in history, even if they are sometimes hard to swallow. Only then can we ensure that they are never repeated and that we do not take any more steps backward than we already have.

Resources:

Welcome to another episode of Teach The Children The Truth!

This week, I interview Dr. Angela Guzmán, the producer and director of a new documentary on a newer movement to bring Ethnic Studies into the Elementary School classroom. Her documentary is titled "Never Too Young: Ethnic Studies In Elementary School," and she showcases educator voices from different parts of the state of California, providing examples of how Ethnic Studies impacts children at all levels of education.

Hello, and welcome to another episode of Teach The Children The Truth!

This week, we will briefly examine the latest rulings from the U.S. Supreme Court. This has been a difficult week as key legislation has been handed down, eliminating basic human rights and upholding Capitalist structures of oppression.

We will also listen to Part II of my readings on being a new teacher!

Hello everyone! I am so excited to be back from a wonderful vacation road trip to Arizona, where I celebrated some anniversary time with my wonderful husband and reconnected with the land and people of the Southwest. After some time away to rejuvenate myself after a challenging first full year back in the classroom, I am ready to bring you more new content and interviews through the summer and into the next school year.

This week, I am sharing some of my personal writings with you. I read the first part of my experiences as a new/first-year teacher for Oakland Unified School District in "Being A New/First-Year Teacher Isn't Easy." I would love your feedback on my writing and any suggestions you may have for future podcast episodes or content!

Hello, and welcome back for Episode 21 of Teach The Children The Truth!

This week we take a look at our youngest learners and explore the way one Bay Area Educator blends her expertise in language development with her passion for Social Justice. Maestra Reena teaches a Social Justice-based Spanish language curriculum in a San Leandro dual-immersion program. Please listen to her amazing story and chime in to let us know what resonated with you!

Welcome to Teach The Children The Truth! Ethnic Studies and Raza Studies In the TK-12 Classroom...

Monday, June 5th, marked the 56th anniversary of the 1967 courthouse raid in Tierra Amarilla, New Mexico that brought the land grant struggle to the center of the larger Civil Rights Movement that spread throughout the U.S. Southwest in the 1960s and 1970s. This week, we will explore this critical event in Chicano History, and alongside it, we will also examine the more recent #LandBack Movement spurred by centuries of Indigenous uprisings across both continents known as the "Americas." Below, please find links and resources to help you in your personal research on the topics discussed in this episode.

In Lak'Ech

Links and Resources:

Welcome to another episode of Teach The Children The Truth! This week, I am sharing with you the history of Dolores Huerta, co-founder of the United Farmworker's Union, alongside César Chávez, Larry Itliong, and Phillip Veracruz. It is such an honor to be able to share with you some of the history and personal stories that connect me to this inspiring labor leader and feminist activist.

In Lak'Ech

Below, you will find various links to resources you can use in your research of both Dolores Huerta and César Chávez.

Welcome to Episode 012! In this episode, we will learn about the significance of Danza Azteca, a beautiful and ceremonial dance offering of the Mexica people of Mexico and the United States, Anahuac. In addition to the many Ethnic Studies-related offerings at our school, the inclusion of Danza creates a unique opportunity for our young people to connect to their Indigenous heritage and the living practice of Danza as an offering to the Ancestors.

Welcome to Episode 011 of Teach The Children The Truth! Ethnic Studies and Raza Studies In the TK-12 Classroom.

Today, we are looking back on the student walkouts in East Los Angeles, a time of great upheaval and even more significant change in my birthplace of East L.A. 1968 was a watershed year for communities of color all across the United States, and here on the West Coast, and across the Southwestern states, the change would arrive in a storm of student activism that would birth a new movement, the Chicano Movement. On the 55th Anniversary of the student walkouts, we will look at the history, timeline, student demands, and outcomes (both then and now) of this pivotal moment in Chicano American history. 

Below is a list of links and resources to include in your curriculum and help you develop activities that might help students see commonalities with their community struggles. 

Today's episode will focus on the impacts of Imposter Syndrome and ways in which we can begin to address it before our youth reach college. Many students at the high school level are already beginning to doubt their capacity to succeed in college, and this will only feed into their lack of self-worth. I share a little background on what Imposter Syndrome is and how to tackle it at all levels of education, including some of my own personal experiences with "The Beast."

Today, I am delighted to bring to you an interview with OUSD's very own Leah Aguilera, the TOSA (or Teacher On Special Assignment) in charge of building Ethnic Studies at the TK-8 level while also supporting existing work at the 9-12 grade level. Leah will share her personal journey through education as well as the incredible work she is doing to keep Ethnic Studies alive and well in one of the Bay Area's largest and most supportive districts.

For those of you who may be interested in reaching out to Leah, please email her at leahiaguilera@ousd.org

Welcome back to Teach The Children The Truth! Ethnic Studies and Raza Studies in the TK-12 Classroom. 

I know we are coming off of a heavy weekend and in the middle of what I can only imagine is a challenging week with our students and families trying to make sense of what we saw in the footage of the murder of Tyre Nichols. I pray you have all found a way to digest and process this new information and that you are taking the necessary steps to heal and move into a space of positive action. I pray for this young man's family and friends, and I ask La Creadora to guide him to his Ancestors. 

Today we have the second half of a two-part series with Mario García, a veteran educator for the Oakland Unified School District. If you missed last week's episode, I invite you to pause this one and go back to Episode 04 so that you can hear Mario's entire story. You can read a little more about him below.

Bio:

Mario Vallejo García was born in Southern California on the last day of 1973.  His family then moved north to Oakland, CA, soon thereafter, when he was only 2 months old.  In Oakland, his parents became very involved in the community and educational activism there, particularly as it connected to the Chicano Movement.  Among many other things, they were heavily involved with the establishment of both Centro Infantíl de La Raza Preschool and La Escuelita Elementary School, two of the very first bilingual, Chicano/Latino-oriented schools in the Bay Area.

Mario attended all Oakland Public Schools in his early education, including Centro and La Escuelita.  He graduated from Oakland Technical High School in 1992 before starting his freshman year at the University of California at Berkeley in the Fall of that year. He graduated from UCB with Honors in the Spring of 1997 with a major in Ethnic Studies and a minor in Education.  Upon graduation, Mario was soon hired by the Oakland Unified School District and has worked there ever since.  As a full-time classroom teacher, he taught grades 3-5 for 23 years at Stonehurst Elementary (now Esperanza/Korematsu Discovery Academy) and EnCompass Academy, both in the East Oakland flatlands.  For the last 3 years, he has been working as an EEIP (Enrichment & Early Intervention Program) teacher at EnCompass, where he wears many hats and provides various forms of school-wide support for all TK-5 classes, including small group and whole class ELA/ELD and math instruction, Newcomer support, and Physical Education.  He hopes to continue to work with and serve youth and his beloved Oakland community at large for many years to come.

If you would like more information about Mario's work or would like to reach out to him, you can find him at mario.garcia@ousd.org, or you can also email me at ttcttinfo.com, and I'll put you in touch with him.

Welcome to Teach The Children The Truth! Ethnic Studies and Raza Studies in the TK-12 Classroom. We have the first of many exciting interviews to share with you today! This is the first of a two-part series with Mario García, a veteran educator for the Oakland Unified School District. Part 2 will air next Wednesday on all podcast platforms, so please come back to hear Mario's entire interview and to share in the wisdom he has to offer our Ethnic Studies community. 

Bio:

Mario Vallejo García was born in Southern California on the last day of 1973.  His family then moved north to Oakland, CA, soon thereafter, when he was only 2 months old.  In Oakland, his parents became very involved in the community and educational activism there, particularly as it connected to the Chicano Movement.  Among many other things, they were heavily involved with the establishment of both Centro Infantíl de La Raza Preschool and La Escuelita Elementary School, two of the very first bilingual, Chicano/Latino-oriented schools in the Bay Area.

Mario attended all Oakland Public Schools in his early education, including Centro and La Escuelita.  He graduated from Oakland Technical High School in 1992 before starting his freshman year at the University of California at Berkeley in the Fall of that year. He graduated from UCB with Honors in the Spring of 1997 with a major in Ethnic Studies and a minor in Education.  Upon graduation, Mario was soon hired by the Oakland Unified School District and has worked there ever since.  As a full-time classroom teacher, he taught grades 3-5 for 23 years at Stonehurst Elementary (now Esperanza/Korematsu Discovery Academy) and EnCompass Academy, both in the East Oakland flatlands.  For the last 3 years, he has been working as an EEIP (Enrichment & Early Intervention Program) teacher at EnCompass, where he wears many hats and provides various forms of school-wide support for all TK-5 classes, including small group and whole class ELA/ELD and math instruction, Newcomer support, and Physical Education.  He hopes to continue to work with and serve youth and his beloved Oakland community at large for many years to come.

If you would like more information about Mario's work or would like to reach out to him, you can find him at mario.garcia@ousd.org, or you can also email me at ttcttinfo.com, and I'll put you in touch with him.

If you would like more information about some of the organizations designing Ethnic Studies curricula and supporting current and future Ethnic Studies educators, please check out the following links below: