New Report Shows Latino History is Left Out of U.S. History Textbooks

By Irene SanchezXicana Ph.D. When I began teaching Latino studies, I wasn’t surprised when I picked up a U.S. history textbook to see how many times Latinos were mentioned in the book. That school year, the U.S. history books were brand new in our district and as I combed through it to see if there … Continue reading New Report Shows Latino History is Left Out of U.S. History Textbooks

The Struggle to Learn Our Histories in U.S. Schools 55 years after the East LA Walkouts

By Irene Sanchez  During the East LA walkouts that took place in early March 1968, thousands of students from five East LA high schools demanded classes that focused on their culture, Latino teachers and administrators, use of the restroom during lunch and other demands they presented to the Los Angeles Unified School District’s school board. … Continue reading The Struggle to Learn Our Histories in U.S. Schools 55 years after the East LA Walkouts

Lessons From a Teacher’s First Active Shooter Drill

Lessons from a Teacher's First Active Shooter Drill By Irene Sanchez (Xicana Ph.D.) 5 years agoYear 1 Public schoolI became a high school teacher My son entered kindergartenWe had our first active shooter drillsHigh school teacherThree schools a day, everydayThat morning Continuation schoolFollow the instruction on the paper Most importantLock the doorLock the door LOCK … Continue reading Lessons From a Teacher’s First Active Shooter Drill

Learning Loss for Generations: Segregated Mexican Schools and the 1918 Flu Pandemic

“With so many Mexicans in the grammar schools this would greatly interfere with class work, as the excluded students, who are always the slowest in the classes, would fall still farther behind, making the present task of completing a year’s work before next summer nearly impossible”. This denial of education for Mexican students during the 1918 flu pandemic, which was the same “logic” that established separate Mexican schools, was rooted in white supremacy and racism in the ideas that Mexican students were dirty, unclean, inferior in intelligence, and likely wouldn’t catch up with school work anyway.

75 Years After the Mendez Case: Our Children Still Need Us to Fight for Equal Education

By Irene Sanchez Today marks the 75th anniversary of the ruling that desegregated schools in the state of California. While Mendez is talked about a little more now than when I was a younger person, it is not talked about enough. The Mendez case was the precursor to the landmark supreme court case of Brown … Continue reading 75 Years After the Mendez Case: Our Children Still Need Us to Fight for Equal Education

Building Back More Inequality: No Free Community College While Enrollment Dips In The Pandemic

By Irene Sanchez This is hardly a surprise, but the pandemic has impacted many students at all levels of education, particularly those who are underserved and over represented in a system like the community college. It’s no surprise that as a result community college enrollment has dropped in a global pandemic. Then there was a … Continue reading Building Back More Inequality: No Free Community College While Enrollment Dips In The Pandemic