California Ethnic Studies Advisor To Teachers: Be ‘Extra Careful’ About Parents Seeing ‘What Materials Are Being Used’

The Santa Clara County Office of Education hosted an ethnic studies training wherein the presenter told teachers to be “extra careful” about parents seeing the material being used to teach children. 

In November, Santa Clara County in California held a training designed to explore the district’s newfound “ethnic studies” initiatives. According to slides posted by City Journal contributor Christopher Rufo, the presentation began with a “land acknowledgment.” Land acknowledgments are admissions that teaching is taking place on land that was conquered by Americans, though once belonged to Native Americans.  The Santa Clara land acknowledgment claims that the schools “occupy the unceded territory of the Muwekma Ohlone Nation.” 

Part of the presentation examined the alleged “roots of settler colonialism.” The presenter, Jorge Pacheco, who is also an advisor for the state’s ethnic studies curriculum, blamed colonialism on oppressive white males who allegedly used “genocide, private property, God/religion, classism, patriarchy, and white supremacy” to create the United States. 

The presentation also encouraged teachers to “infer the imperialist motives” of Christopher Columbus to disparage America writ large.  In his presentation, Pacheco claimed that the district’s guidelines and expectations were considered “barriers” to ethnic studies. He also encouraged teachers to be careful about what they say in virtual classrooms as parents are considered barriers as well. 

“[We] have to be extra careful about what is being said, since we can’t just say something controversial now that we’re in people’s homes. Parents can take out of context or see what materials are being used so need to be careful of what they see,” Pacheco wrote.  

According to the presentation materials, Pacheco pushed ethnic studies seemingly to indoctrinate children and lead them to activism. 

“The kids become a subject and you are intending to awaken them to the oppression that they aren’t aware of but that they are actively participating in,” Pacheco wrote. “Then how to lead to social change.” 

Teachers were also encouraged to read “Pedagogy of the Oppressed” by Paulo Freire, which argues that oppressed people can only regain humanity by fighting for liberation with other oppressed people. The book was initially written for oppressed people living in Brazil in 1968, though American education institutions have reconstructed the lessons to fit the current racial climate. 

Pacheco also dubbed colonialism a “parasitic system” that  “takes land and converts to money to feed into those in power.” The example that he used was English speakers translating the name Jorge to George. 

Much of the language used throughout the presentation mirrors the words of Karl Marx and Marxism’s broader “conflict theory.” The presentation used words such as “oppressor, oppressed, praxis” and more. 

The presentation was made after California introduced a new “ethnic studies curriculum.” 

The Daily Wire reported: 

California has introduced a new “ethnic studies” curriculum that is being promoted by a man who believes that one way to rectify colonialism is to support a “counter-genocide” of “white Christians.” 

California released a 48-page “Ethnic Studies Curriculum Model” that calls on students to “challenge racist, bigoted, discriminatory, imperialist/colonial beliefs and practices on multiple levels.”