Teaching Hispanic Heritage in America
Among the most important outcomes of education is nurturing the cultural maturity of young people in ways that facilitate their genuine welcome into American society and their welcomeness of others to share its humaneness. In these times troubled by divisiveness, anger, and dogma, such cultural broadening that introduces students to ethnic/racial minorities is especially important. To this end, many educational programs have been initiated that are intended to create and sustain mutual understanding that gives rise to equity, empathy, and belongingness. These pages were prepared to assist educators to deliver instruction that develops well informed understanding and appropriate appreciation of Hispanic students, their families, and the special issues that confront them in acquiring an education that will allow them to enjoy the possibilities inherent in American society.
There are many reasons that attention should be devoted to Hispanic culture and its influence on American society. The most obvious is that Hispanics are the largest ethnic minority in the U.S. The importance of this population was recognized in 1988 by the establishment of National Hispanic American Heritage Month. Further recognition of Hispanic heritage was established in December of 2020 when both houses of Congress voted to authorize the creation of a Smithsonian National Museum of the American Latino. Lastly, according to 2021 figures from the U.S. Department of Education, Hispanic students constitute more than 27 percent of all pre-kindergarten through 12th grade students and nearly 20 percent of college students. Looking to the future it is projected that by the Fall of 2031, Hispanics will be 30 percent of public school students.
Introducing specialized cultural curricula in public schools began as a result of the Civil Rights Movement during the 1960s and early 1970s. This movement focused attention on the life experiences and treatment of people of color. Various states have established formal programs that address these issues. For example, the New Jersey legislature approved the creation of the Amistad Commission in 2002 to develop material for public schools that would integrate into their curricula the history and contributions of African-Americans. However, the teaching of the experiences of African-American lives throughout U.S. history has offended some elected officials who argue that such material would spawn resentment toward other races. Legislation that would limit or prohibit what teachers can say about race and the country’s history of race relations has taken effect in states throughout America.
Although this legislation generally does not explicitly ban teaching Latino or Hispanic history, attempts to introduce such studies in some public schools have run into roadblocks. In Arizona and Texas, states that are home to large Hispanic populations, legislators and school boards opposed ethnic studies in general on the grounds that it was anti-American. For example, a 2010 Arizona House bill that was signed into law effectively banned Hispanic studies in public schools. It took the ruling of a federal judge in 2017 to overturn what the court considered an unconstitutional, racially-motivated bill.
Despite this type of opposition, recognizing the influence of Hispanics on American society has given rise to specialized instruction in a few public school systems. For example, the New York City Department of Education celebrates Hispanic heritage with lessons, videos, artwork and music during National Hispanic Heritage Month. Further, in 2020 Connecticut became the first state in the nation to require all regional and local boards of education to include an elective course intended to increase students’ understanding of Hispanic contributions to U.S. history, society, economy, and culture. Nonetheless, high school textbooks used throughout the U.S. largely ignore Hispanic history. Current Hispanic-focused content in history and social studies textbooks – and by implication curricula – fall far short of what should be required given the expected growth in the percentage of Hispanic public school students.
Due at least in part to the paucity of attention accorded Hispanic studies, most Americans and, indeed, most Hispanic Americans, are unaware of the significant influence that Hispanics have had, and continue to have, on our society. For this reason, it is essential to teach what it means to be Hispanic in the U.S. This imperative begs the question about the preparation of most K-12 teachers to offer appropriate instruction. Conversations with educators indicate that most do not have the formal training to provide robust instruction on these matters (aside from the fact that most are concerned about a lack of time and resources to create effective lessons on the subject).
Although many schools have begun preparing to address the changing learning needs of increasingly diverse student populations, others have been caught off guard by such rapid growth and expansion. Historically, there has been a lack of culturally competent school personnel that is conversant with Hispanic communities. Lacking is an understanding of schools in relation to Hispanic families’ perceived role in engaging with educators to foster academic success for their children. As a response to this situation teachers throughout the educational enterprise in America may be asked, or decide on their own, to incorporate Hispanic heritage in their classes. “School districts must invest in cultural competency training for all educators, including the largest share of the workforce, white teachers.” Unfortunately, research is lacking that would guide educators’ efforts to improve the quality of school culture experienced by Latino students.
Without formal guidance, preparation to infuse Hispanic material in one’s classes will likely begin by seeking answers to the following questions. What should I know about the Hispanic population in the U.S. per se – e.g., demographics, schooling, and employment? What is the history of Hispanic habitation in the U.S. – e.g., how does immigration play a part? What were the challenges and accomplishments of Hispanics who earned renown for careers in commercial, scientific and legal fields? What are good sources of information about such matters? Searching for answers to these and similar questions resulted in these pages.
Only portions of the vastness of Hispanic life and accomplishments are addressed herein. No effort was made to include biographical information about the familiar Hispanic names and faces incorporated into American pop-culture, sports, music, and film. Rather, the focus is given to successful and impactful Hispanics less likely to have shared the national popular spotlight familiar to young Hispanics. Importantly, the achievements of the figures who will be introduced were dependent upon formal education, a message intended to strike a responsive chord among teachers and their students.
These pages are intended to offer teachers a modicum of background information that can be a useful basis for establishing a more robust relationship with Hispanic students in primary, secondary, and postsecondary levels. No claims are made that this site can guide the organizational development activities necessary to establish support for, and development of, appropriate behavioral tactics for interacting effectively with Hispanic students. In other words, this is not a “How to teach Hispanic Heritage” instructional tool, but rather a preparatory undertaking that “lays the factual groundwork about Hispanic Heritage before you endeavor to teach the subject.” The former “How to” is addressed briefly in the section below entitled “Institutional Support.”
Therefore, if asked or simply inclined to present material regarding Hispanic heritage, a teacher should feel comfortable in being able to create useful and informative lessons based upon the material included in these pages. This material should be considered a starting point for developing a more robust relationship with students about the unmistakably increasing presence of Hispanic individuals throughout American society. One compelling pedagogical technique employed is the inclusion of links to videos that allow the reader to see and to hear the voices of notable Hispanics describing their own remarkable careers. Further, in order to permit teachers/students to dig deeper into matters of particular interest, links are provided throughout to foundational source material pertaining to treaties, laws, research publications, governmental reports, and Hispanic organizations. This approach should assist teachers to introduce their students to the seldom known and underappreciated heritage of the Hispanic community. The importance of developing this type of relationship was heralded by Mari Carmen Aponte, the first Latina appointed as a White House Fellow and the first Puerto Rican woman to be appointed as a U.S. ambassador.