First published on Disqus on February 26, 2015
The Honorable Bennett Kayser both helped draft, and he sponsored the Historic LAUSD Ethnic Studies requirement. By far the most progressive education reform in our district in recent memory, it serves as a valuable counter to the greed based "reforms" of the charter industry. Here is an excerpt from a refereed journal article I wrote that will be published this April in Regeneración:
"The Ethnic Studies struggles are significant for several reasons. The first of which is that little or no assistance came from NPIC, proving that effective, community based organizing does not require foundation money, or “professionalized, businesslike” (Incite! 95) organizers. Moreover, Ethnic Studies are the antithesis of the neoliberal ideals, particularly the subtle white supremacism underlying CCSS, which was crafted from E. D. Hirsch, Jr.’s “core knowledge” concepts. Lastly Ethnic Studies opens the door for exposure to Critical Pedagogy, Critical Race Studies, and other scholarship that will provide students with the tools to directly confront neoliberalism, the socio-economic structures that coined it, and the rulers of our class society that have imposed it." (Skeels, 2015).
I heard that other guy, the one backed by the right-wing billionaires, strongly criticized ethnic studies. I suppose it's easy to self-colonize, and play respectability politics when your oppressors pay you enough.
There is only one LAUSD District 5 candidate whose track record on Ethnic Studies sets the gold standard: the Honorable Bennett Kayser!
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