“Take more ethnic studies classes, whether that’s African American studies, Asian American studies, or Chicano studies here at Berkeley. It’s so useful, and the more we learn from each other, the better we grow as a society,” Itzel Vasquez Calvo, a Berkeley High School Freshman Seminar History teacher, said.
Freshman Seminar History, also known as Ethnic Studies/Social Living, helps students adjust to high school and covers topics ranging from history to global issues. Calvo is determined to help her students understand the importance of Latinx history and culture, along with other perspectives covered through ethnic studies lessons. Calvo herself identifies as Oaxaqueña, which is indigenous Mexican.
Calvo explained that within her ethnic studies curriculum, she focuses on the history of education. “Specifically … We talk about the East LA walkouts and we talk about the Third World Liberation Front,” Calvo said. The Third World Liberation Front was an alliance of multiracial students at San Francisco State University and University of California Berkeley, and the East Los Angeles walkouts were a collection of Latinx student-led protests and strikes. Both organizations demanded cultural representation and ethnic studies programs in public schools. Calvo’s students study these movements by analyzing documentaries, court cases, and articles.
“I think students really like learning about the East LA walkouts because they’re high school students who are leading walkouts during high school advocating for bilingual education, better treatment in school,” Calvo said.
AP Spanish Literature teacher Daniel Nube educates students on Latinx history and heritage. Born in the U.S., but raised in Bolivia, he is bilingual and identifies as bicultural.
Similar to Calvo, Nube mentioned the importance of exploring a variety of histories and heritages since it’s relevant to current events. “It’s important to learn about all sorts of histories and all sorts of cultures. But it has very much to do with what’s going on today in the world and in many different ways,” Nube said.
The Spanish Literature classes reads works by poets like Nicaraguan writer Rubén Darío, known for shaping modern Spanish-language literature, and Cuban author José María Heredia, whose writing reflects themes of freedom and the fight for independence.
The class uses this literature to better understand Latin America’s past and how the U.S. has taken part in it through its actions and policies. “Some of the poems that we read come from the 1900s, when the United States was deeply involved with interfering in Latin American countries and doing a lot of rough diplomacy. Understanding that time helps us to understand the current reality that we’re in as well,” Nube said.
In Tania Garcia-Peña’s Spanish for Native Speakers 3 class, students make short informational videos for the BHS video bulletin about the contributions of influential Latinx individuals.
Sora Freedman, a BHS freshman in Garcia-Peña’s class, expressed that the project was valuable in a few different ways. “My group chose to talk about Shakira. This assignment was not only fun but gave us an opportunity to learn about the contributions Latinx people have made to the world over the years,” Freedman said.
Learning about these contributions helped Freedman see the value of recognizing and giving credit to Latinx people who have shaped everyday life in meaningful ways. “I think that it’s important to recognize all that they have done in the fields of science, medicine, music, and more,” Freedman added.
As part of the class project, BHS freshman Gabriela Barrera decided to focus on Nicole Hernandez Hammer, a Guatemalan Cuban American climate scientist and activist, because of her impactful work and position as a Latina woman in science. “I feel like oftentimes, Hispanic or Latina women aren’t really shown in science, and their attributes and stuff aren’t really shown,” Barrera said.
For her, the project was a chance to learn about an influential Latina scientist and see herself reflected in the curriculum, which is important to keep students engaged in the material.
Barrera shared that BHS’ educators and lessons present Latinx history in a realistic and profound way. “It doesn’t just show the good times; they also show the struggles we’ve been through and how we’ve learned from those experiences,” Barrera said.