Pete Hegseth, Katherine Kersten, Ramblin' Rose question Ethnic Studies standards

By Ramblin' Rose

Last Friday, January 19, 22024, on Almanac TPT, an expert was interviewed about the newly approved social studies standards and the newly inserted ethnic studies strand. Becky Z. Dernbach is an educational reporter for the Sahan Journal, a digital newsroom reporting on immigrants and persons of color in Minnesota.

Using the clip from the interview and the printed transcript, I will respond to her comments.

Ms. Dernbach defines ethnic studies as cultural studies because students want to know the histories of the other students in their schools. She added that other components involve participatory action research in their communities. She contends that students will be more interested and will learn more because their stories will be told. Using the reprint of the Ethnic Studies strand of the Social Studies Standard from Sahan Journal, I cite three segments:

1. Identity: Students will analyze "the ways power and language construct social identities of race, religion, geography, ethnicity, and gender."
2. Resistance: Students will describe "how individuals and communities have fought for liberation..." Students will identify strategies that... "have resulted in lasting change." Students will organize "with others to engage in activities..."
3. Ways of Knowing and Methodologies: Students will use specific resources "...to understand the roots of contemporary systems of oppression..."

None of these segments indicate a mere study of stories of other cultures. All seem to align more closely with the components of Critical Race Theory (CRT), Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), and Social Emotional Learning (SEL).

Dernbach brushed off the question about the criticism of identifying students as "oppressors" and "oppressed." She rejected that as false information. The three components from the standards refute her claims. Educational scholars Katherine Kersten and Catrin Wigfall at the Center of the American Experiment, a leading public policy organization in Minnesota, clarified that the Ethnic Studies strand was not a part of the Social Studies Standards but was added by the appointed committee.

"One of MDE’s most consequential actions was its addition of 'Ethnic Studies' as a Social Studies strand, though Minn. Stat. 120B.021, subd. 1 does not include it."

That raises another question about the origin of this new strand—the public interest in culture, as noted by Dernbach, or the ideology outlined by the document cited above. According to Dernbach, parents and teachers were a part of the committee involved in the revision process of the Social Studies Standards over the past four years.

Kersten and Wigfall explained the composition of the committee that conducted the review. It does not reflect parents and teachers as cited by Dernbach. "In 2020, the Minnesota Department of Education appointed a Social Studies Standards Committee to draft revised standards. The committee included a core group of leaders of the Minnesota Ethnic Studies Coalition (MESC) and its allies. MESC is an alliance of advocacy groups, which was created in 2019 as a 'project' of another advocacy organization called 'Education for Liberation Minnesota,' according to the EdLib MN website."

MESC described its goal as “solidifying Ethnic Studies” throughout K-12 education in order to 'center' (i.e., shift the instructional focus to) groups 'erased from mainstream curricula due to persistent racism, patriarchy, xenophobia, and linguistic imperialism.'"

According to the information shared in the interview, the ethnic studies component will be an elective subject in high schools following a four-year integration period during which the local district will determine the curriculum. She continued that teachers and administration at the local level will determine the materials and methodologies to present the "stories." To quote Dernbach:

CURRICULUM IS STILL AT THE LOCAL LEVEL AND SO THERE WILL PROBABLY BE S OME RESHUFFLING AT DIFFERENT SCHOOLS AND SCHOOL DISTRICTS TO FIGURE OUT WHAT CURRICULUM DO WE WANT THAT ALIGNS WITH THESE STANDARDS. BUT THAT'S ALL STILL SET LOCALLY AND THERE WILL BE CHOICES ABOUT HOW PEOPLE WANT TO TEACH THESE STANDARDS.

Minnesota's Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board (PELSB) released initial and renewal licensure requirements in April 2023. Teachers in public and charter schools will be required to demonstrate an understanding of MN’s academic standards and a willingness to teach them in all classes and activities that they supervise. Statements from the MDE related to teaching Ethnic Studies are:

A. The teacher understands multiple theories of race and ethnicity, including but not limited to racial formation, processes of racialization, and intersectionality.

B. The teacher understands the definitions of and difference between prejudice, discrimination, bias, and racism.

C. The teacher understands how ethnocentrism, eurocentrism, deficit-based teaching, and white supremacy undermine pedagogical equity.

D. The teacher understands that knowledge creation, ways of knowing, and teaching are social and cultural practices shaped by race and ethnicity, often resulting in racially disparate advantages and disadvantages.

E. The teacher understands the histories and social struggles of historically defined racialized groups, including but not limited to Indigenous people, Black Americans, Latinx Americans, and Asian Americans.

F. The teacher understands the cultural content, world view, concepts, and perspectives of Minnesota-based American Indian Tribal Nations and communities, including Indigenous histories and languages.

G. The teacher understands the impact of the intersection of race and ethnicity with other forms of difference, including class, gender, sexuality, religion, national origin, immigration status, language, ability, and age.

The interview concluded with predicted next steps described as "SOME REVISION TO HOW TEACHERS ARE TRAINED."

The requirements of the PELSB listed above do not seem congruent with two of Dernbach’s earlier statements. The licensure requirements appear to contradict Dernbach’s earlier statements that local teachers and administrators would oversee the integration of ethnic studies. No, it will be required of all teachers in all classes K-12.

Why would they need a revision to their professional preparation if they will only select the stories to include to make all students feel more visible? No, the aspects of "identity, resistance, and ways of knowing" (cited above from the Standards) are mandated by law and not selected by local teachers and administrators.

Please compare the information from two interviews with “experts” on this topic—first the interview on Almanac in January 2024:

And the interview with Katherine Kersten with former Minnesotan Pete Hegseth in September 2023:

"Bait and Switch," as expressed by Kersten, may describe very well the process, the players, and the spin.

Referring to the introductory slide presented by Hegseth on the mandated course offerings, we find specific groups mentioned. Who are the Latinx students?

That question was also asked in 2019 by the Pew Research Center, a nonpartisan think tank. They reported that the use of the term "Latinx" by those self-identifying as members of the ethnic group was not well known by the population it was meant to describe. Only 23% of U.S. adults who self-identify as Hispanic or Latino have heard of the term Latinx, and just 3% say they use it to describe themselves. The Spanish Language Academy (Real Academia Española [RAE], Madrid) strongly rejected the petition to accept "Latinx" into the official language in 2018. When the RAE rejected , the Academy also rejected the use of , which is often offered in this country to replace a rejected .

Have the activists even correctly identified the peoples that they claim need to tell their story?

In conclusion, I do concur with Ms. Dernbach—MN statutes require a review every ten years of specific academic standards, as determined by the Legislature.