Chicago Public Schools announces Latino and Latin American Studies curriculum

*Most of the talk about Latino studies in public schools has been un th epolitical arena. Seldom do we hear about it from the trenches – the classrooms. Ray Salazar, a Chicago, Illinois, high school teacher, opens the needed conversation. Chicago has taken a step to include Latino studies, but Salazar says it’s no tenough, that we can do better. VL

By Ray Salazar, The White Rhino

Yesterday, Chicago Public Schools and the district’s Latino Advisory Committee announced the Interdisciplinary Latino and Latin American Studies Curriculum.  The district describes it as a “comprehensive opportunity for quality instruction that meets the needs of all CPS students and gives young people a greater sense of self-awareness through the study of Latino and Latin American heritage and culture.”

The curriculum was released on the internal CPS Knowledge Center in February so teachers could begin using the lessons this year.  Wednesday night, CPS organized a celebration at the National Museum of Mexican Art.  Someone described the gathering to me as “scripted.”

I believe in these efforts to include more Latino and Latin American culture in our schools—especially in an era when we need to defend ethnic studies.

However, these efforts by CPS and the Latino Advisory Committee remind me of “Columbusing,” the art of discovering something that’s not new.

Latino and Latin American Studies has been in CPS for years.  In 2006, I was hired at a selective-enrollment high school to launch their Latin American Lit elective because students asked for it.  Other schools offer the course, too, as an elective usually.  We’ve had Latin American History in the neighborhood high school where I am now for years.  Curriculum like this isn’t anything new.

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This article was originally published in The White Rhino.