The Monumental Value of Ethical Studies

 

Christine Sleeter argues that Ethnic Studies is not just a curriculum, but a necessity and essential knowledge in this life. The study of ethics is a liberatory and transformative practice that enables students, especially those from historically marginalized communities, to see themselves not just as shadows in someone else's history, but as central, powerful protagonists of their own life story. In her words, “Ethnic studies help students become more academically engaged, develop a stronger sense of self, and think more critically about society” This one quote speaks volumes as  a direct challenge to a system that has, for too long, centered upper class whiteness as the measure of knowledge and success.

Main Argument (Thesis):

 This author, Christine Sleeter, argues that Ethnic Studies is not merely an academic subject, but a transformative and necessary tool for justice that empowers marginalized students to reclaim their narratives, deepen their self-worth, and critically engage with the world around them. She challenges the dominance of Eurocentric curricula and calls us to reimagine education as a liberatory space where all students, especially those historically silenced, can thrive, resist, and lead with truth.

Three Talking Points That Moved Me

1.       Academic Engagement and Identity Development

“Students who took ethnic studies courses developed a stronger sense of academic efficacy and motivation to learn” -Christine Sleeter

Sleeter’s research validates the improvement rooted in academic outcomes for students of color due to the insight of values woven in the study of ethics. It debunks the idea this awareness and perspective gives those of color a “free pass” to have ease during the transitions of life, but to finally give people who look like me and have my experience something authentic and resonating to connect and grow with. How can we expect a student to thrive in a classroom where their story has been erased or rewritten? Where their ancestors are footnotes or villains, and their daily lived experiences are dismissed as irrelevant or too political? You can’t inspire learners by denying their truth. Classrooms thrive in diversity, culture, history, and innovation. As leaders, we are responsible to ensure that every student from every walk of life is given the opportunity to feel appreciated, seen, understood, and motivated as they reach to meet their milestones and sharpen their crafts and skills. Sleeter’s research gives breath and validation to what so many students of color have long known in their bones. She stresses that identity is not a distraction from education…it is central to it. When students see their cultures reflected, their ancestors honored, and their lived experiences taken seriously, they come alive in the classroom. How can we expect a child to flourish when their story has been erased, their heroes villainized, and their voice framed as “too political”? You cannot light the fire of learning while denying the core of who a student is.

Personal Reflection: Classrooms must become sanctuaries of truth, not sites of silence. How can I ensure every student I encounter feels seen, heard, and powerful in their own narrative?

2.       Social Awareness and Civic Responsibility

“Ethnic studies has been found to increase students’ understanding of inequality and strengthen their commitment to social justice” -Christine Sleeter

To be the change we wish to see in this world, we must be aware of all that is occurring right under our noses. Ethnic Studies is more than a history lesson or class subject. It  cultivates compassion, critical consciousness, and civic courage for the inequalities and injustices that are faced by minority groups all throughout our nation. It is a spiritual and civic awakening. It invites students to see beyond the surface, to ask the hard questions, and to hold space for the injustice that too often defines the lived realities of marginalized communities. There is such peace and meaning knowing that there is an avenue, place of rest and belonging, where we can learn and become educated on matters that feed our soul, recognize our significance, and erect a banner for reformation and renewal. How can we claim to build the “leaders of tomorrow” if we’re too afraid to let them confront the injustices of today? How can we call ourselves educators or healers, yet silence the stories that pulse through the minds and hearts of the students we serve?

Question to hold: How can we call ourselves educators, nurses, or leaders if we silence the very truths that our students carry in their bodies and histories? How can we build “leaders of tomorrow” while censoring the injustices they are called to confront today?

3.       Reclaiming Narratives and Resisting Erasure

“curricula that reflect dominant group perspectives alone can alienate students and reproduce societal inequalities” -Christine Sleeter

The standards and system of this society can be so contradictory and bewildering. We are a nation that preaches about liberty and justice, but fear facing the truths or have the difficult conversations/interactions that are necessary for development and change.  We are the same society to celebrate and market holidays/events, such as Cinco de Mayo, equipped with our abundance of tacos and tequila. In the same breath, however, we have law makers attempting to ban the study of ethics in the classrooms. There is a picking and choosing of which parts of our culture and being are palatable and beneficial enough for the standards of those in the “dominant’ social group. When students only see whiteness as power, intelligence, and beauty, they begin to internalize a devastating lie about their own worth and existence. Ethnic Studies dares to reclaim what dominant culture has tried to silence. It challenges the lie that upper class whiteness is the only lens through which knowledge, brilliance, or beauty can be seen. When students are fed this lie, either explicitly or subtly, they begin to internalize it. And that internalization becomes a wound they carry for life.

Call to action: We cannot let education become a tool of erasure. We must fight to protect the sacred truth that every story deserves to be heard, honored, and taught.

Final Reflections:

Christine Sleeter reminds us that Ethnic Studies is not about exclusion, but about expansion. Not about guilt, but about growth and unity. It was a reminder that a society riddled with systemic inequity is one of the few educational tools brave enough to demand that we confront reality, not deny it. It is a resounding call to remember that education, at its most powerful, does not sanitize or simplify. It liberates! It makes room for every voice, every story, every struggle that has been silenced in the margins. Ethnic Studies is not elective, it is a foundational standard. A curriculum of courage, reclamation, and healing. In a world that too often asks us to forget, it dares us to remember. To remember who we are, where we come from, and what we are capable of when we see ourselves fully reflected in the pages of history.