Bobby Verdugo: The Legacy is Now Ours By Irene SanchezXicana Ph.D. Before I write anything else I need to tell you about one of the most important lessons I learned from Robert “Bobby” Lee Verdugo. Over the years I had learned Bobby was many things, but above everything he was proud of his family. He was … Continue reading Bobby Verdugo: The Legacy is Now Ours
I want to ensure that my students understand what Cesar Chavez did and how his legacy can inspire us right now because there is still much more that needs to be done to improve the lives of the people that grow our food and feed this country.
The same year my son began kindergarten was the same year I started teaching high school. After completing a Ph.D. in Education in 2015, instead of working in higher education as I anticipated, I was called to teach Ethnic Studies in high school classrooms to be in schools that sometimes feel like the “Mexican Schools” I teach about from the 1940s. As Teaching Tolerance has documented in these Mexican Schools, “Many Anglo educators did not expect, or encourage, Chicano students to advance beyond the eighth grade. Instead, the curriculum at the Mexican schools was designed, as one district superintendent put it, “to help these children take their place in society.”
"I was a middle school student who walked out in protest of CA Proposition 187, Looking back 25 years later I know I'm a high school Chicano/Latino Studies teacher because of it". By Irene Sanchez Irene Sanchez, Ph.D. is a high school teacher, writer, and poet. She is the author of the blog Xicana Ph.D. … Continue reading 25 years after Prop 187: I was a middle schooler who walked out in protest of Prop 187, now I’m a high school teacher because of it.
When Ethnic Studies is Under Attack... By Irene Sanchez Xicana Ph.D. When Ethnic Studies is under attack, you remember we've been here many times before. You carry the lessons of the past to act with the wisdom that has been passed down. This is not the time to turn away from our elders or dismiss … Continue reading When Ethnic Studies is Under Attack…
AB 331 (Medina) HS Ethnic Studies Bill Passes in CA AssemblyBy Irene Sanchez (Xicana Ph.D.) On May 23, 2019, AB 331 (Medina) was passed by the CA state assembly with a 60-6 vote and will move on for a Senate vote to finally make Ethnic Studies a high school graduation requirement in the State of … Continue reading Breaking! AB 331 (Medina) HS Ethnic Studies Bill Passes in CA Assembly
Why we still need Chicanx/Latinx Studies By Irene Sanchez A student last year in my Latinx Studies class wrote, "If I am not myself, who will I be?" I asked myself when I read it: Who would I be? Would I be bowed head, eyes lowered, and ashamed? Would I be neither here nor there? … Continue reading Why We Still Need Chicano/Latino Studies
Don't Be Afraid of Your Own Voice By Irene Sanchez Don't be afraid of your own voice. If you are like me, as a woman, you too have been silenced. You too have spoken up knowing there would be consequences, some predictable and others more severe than you could've imagined all for using your voice … Continue reading Don’t Be Afraid of Your Own Voice
