Vision

Our vision is to introduce and engage students in understanding the connections between their identity and the narratives of their community. Students will explore Filipina/x/o and Filipina/x/o-American history and be encouraged to uplift the histories of marginalized communities. Together as a class, we will create a space centered on the principles of Ethnic Studies for the purpose of promoting the wellness, liberation, and humanization of both students and teachers.

Mission

​Our mission is to create a learning environment where students develop their critical consciousness, feel empowered to learn more about their identity, and build their capacity to grow their leadership, agency, self-determination, and community engagement. Students will be given opportunities to nurture community bonds through class discussion, build a barangay, and one-on-one check-ins with their chosen mentor. Our priority is to ensure students feel seen, heard,respected, and cared for.

Course Description

This course will develop students’ leadership abilities with an emphasis on solidarity and community-responsive wellness. Students will build social and emotional competencies by learning the history of Filipina/x/o-Americans from pre-colonial Philippines to the present day, highlighting themes of struggles, survival, unity and resistance. Topics will be taught and understood through an Ethnic Studies framework combined with engaging cultural energizers, critical concepts, cultural production, and community dialogue.

Learning Outcomes:  Essential Skills and Knowledge

The students who complete this course will develop:
  • Reading comprehension
  • Critical writing and note taking
  • Collaborative teamwork and small group leadership 
  • Public speaking, presentation and performative skills
  • Media literacy
  • Community agency 
  • Self-reflection
  • Sense of personal, local, and global identity
  • Positive speaking and affirmation for self and others
  • Productive curiosity
Academic Skills
Students must be ready to apply the concepts and content of the course to individual, small group and community projects. The main academic skills that we focus on are: ​
1. Reading and Writing
2. History and Social Science
3. Critical Thinking and Analysis
4. Public Speaking Skills
​5. Community Empowerment and Organizing
6. Teaching / Presentation Skills
7. Arts and Cultural Production
8. Media Literacy
Historical/Cultural/Social Knowledge
Students will gain the following historical/cultural/social knowledge:
  1. History of the Philippines 
  2. Historical and contemporary Filipina/o/x American movements and experiences.
  3. The Seven Waves of Filipino migration
  4. The Black Student Union (BSU)-Third World Liberation Front(TWLF) and Fight for Ethnic Studies
  5. Contemporary issues and decolonization of Filipina/o /x American youth.
Leadership/Self-Determination Skills
Students will build their leadership skills, motivation, and self-esteem throughout the course by:
  1. Understanding the connection between self and community through Critical Leadership Praxis
  2. Working as an individual and in groups for assignments and projects
  3. Uplifting historical narratives from Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) peoples

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