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Jailine Zavala-Ramirez

Dr. Maura M. Tarnoff

English 1A

28 November 2018

Synthesis Essay

Many experiences I’ve had have led me to possess a deep appreciation for education. I

grew up and attended school in a predominantly Latinx community. For elementary school, I

attended a public school that lacked many resources. However, in middle school and high school,

I was fortunate enough to attend a college preparatory charter school whose mission is to get

low-income students from non-urban settings to and through college. While I must admit that

even there, the school lacked many resources, it was a great opportunity for me. I found that I

could relate to many of my peers because while many of us had endured several hardships, we

were all there to learn. In addition, all the staff at this school genuinely cared and believed in us;

they were rooting for our futures at all times. I saw passion and drive tremendously grow in my

peers and me when we were placed in an ethnic studies class. We found a greater sense of

identity, which created a stronger desire to gain knowledge within us. We were able to truly

understand the importance and necessity of education to overcome and create positive social

change. For this very reason, it is of great importance that ethnic studies classes are implemented

into curricula everywhere.

Our newly increased passion and drive were exemplified when the ethnic studies teacher

was fired, and the class would no longer be offered. My peers and I created an argument and

presented it to our school board and administrative team. We signed a petition and wrote letters

to our school district officials. Long story short, we got the class back for the next generation of
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high school juniors. Our efforts were gratifying because we saw the similar impact that the

course had on our younger peers. Thanks to the ethnic studies classes, the student body as a

whole was significantly more goal-driven and passionate for social justice. Similarly, the

students in the documentary, Precious Knowledge, did everything in their power to fight for a

cause they strongly believed in. They realized the impactful role ethnic studies played in their

education, and did not have to think twice about fighting for it.

The documentary, Precious Knowledge, highlights the importance of ethnic studies

programs in schools. It argues that identity and education are highly interrelated. In the

documentary, students describe the impact that the ethnic studies program had on them; they

describe the course as a pivotal experience in their academic career. Many students were

struggling before the class, but found motivation and meaning through ethnic studies. The

documentary acknowledges the achievement gap in America, pointing to the inequities in

American schools caused by racial and socioeconomic factors in communities. It signals that

these ethnic studies courses are the solution to such inequities. However, for the students in the

documentary, the course was likely going to be legally banned because some argued that it was

un-American. They firmly believed that ethnic studies taught students to be angry and feel

victimized. These inaccurate assumptions and likelihood to lose such a crucial part of their high

school experience infuriated students, so they fought back. Unfortunately, their efforts were not

successful and the ethnic studies classes were legally forbidden.

More than anything, it is the profound desire to learn which ethnic studies teachings

ignite in students that makes the subject so necessary today. The impact that ethnic studies has

on students is very clear both in Precious Knowledge and in my own life. In the documentary, a

mother described the change she saw in her son after he was enrolled in ethnic studies. She
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states, “In the previous eleven years of my son’s education, never did he come home and talk to

me about what he was learning in school. I can’t get him to shut up about this stuff” (Precious

Knowledge 0:22:00). Similarly, another student in the documentary shares his experience;

stating, “What they started teaching us was so interesting; I just could not stop thinking about it.

I would go home with articles and I would just read them over and over again. So now that I'm

learning more, it’s becoming more important to me. I started getting A’s and B’s” (Precious

Knowledge 0:15:30). Additionally, when the ethnic studies teacher recounts the effect his class

had on one of his students, he claims, “She was not an empowered Chicana of the twenty-first

century when she walked in here; she certainly is now” (0:18:43). These are three perfect

examples of the incredibly positive and even life changing effects that ethnic studies can have.

Ultimately, ethnic studies could have a similar effect on all students and close the achievement

gap, which has been a persistent issue in our society.

In my own life, for example, I saw several friends change huge goals in their lives after

lessons in ethics studies. Many of them who had decided early on that they’d go to community

college, changed their mind and decided to go to a four-year university instead because they saw

the importance of their presence on a college campus. Those who had already decided they were

not going to college at all, changed their mind and decided to pursue an education because they

saw the value in it. These different testimonies on the impact of ethnic studies prove the

significance and necessity for the courses. If these few students, who didn’t even know they were

in need of the push and motivation that ethnic studies could provide them, benefited

tremendously from the class, I can only imagine what amazing outcomes students who are

clearly struggling to find a sense of identity, ambition, and inspiration could derive from ethnic

studies.
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However, the hugely beneficial impact that ethnic studies had on students went far

beyond motivating them to do better for themselves. Ethnic studies sparked a passion to help

others in my peers and me. With our newly increased sense of identity, we were driven by social

justice and demonstrated great ambition to better the world around us. Before ethnic studies, we

recognized that our school, which was composed of predominantly Latinx students from low-

income families, was disadvantaged. We were not oblivious to the fact that as minorities, we

were to face discrimination in various forms. However, before taking the ethnic studies course,

we would have conformed and believed that was simply the way our society worked, not

realizing the severity of many social justice issues. Ethnic studies was an eye-opener. It helped

my peers and me understand that we were not only victims of the system, but we had an

immense privilege: opportunity. We had the opportunity to get an education and be agents of

change. We were able to comprehend that we should not complain about our disadvantages or

use them to justify anything because there are always others who have it much worse. We

realized the power we had; we had the power to use our privilege to advocate for those who did

not have a voice.

The year following our ethnic studies course, we, out of our own yearning and initiative,

applied our gained knowledge to our lives. We pushed for self-growth and positive social

change. Some of my peers raised money and delivered care packages to immigrants in detention

facilities, others raised money to start a scholarship fund, and I ran supplies drive to donate

materials to an impoverished elementary school. In addition, that following year was time to

apply to college. I am proud to say that one hundred percent of my senior class is now attending

college. Although that may not sound like a huge accomplishment, it is for a community like

mine back home. Because ethnic studies allows students to gain a desire to learn, overcome and
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fight for social justice, ethnic studies courses should be offered at all schools. Simply offering

students one course during their twelve years of grade-school education could change the entire

trajectory and outcome of college graduation rates, incarceration rates, and professional

workforce representation among many other things for minorities.

Works Cited

Palos, Ari L, Eren McGinnis, Sally J. Fifer, Jacob Bricca, and Naï m Amor. Precious

Knowledge, 2011. santaclarau.kanopy.com/video/precious-knowledge