Introduction
Albert Einstein once said that “The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil but by those who watch them and do nothing.” Is there such a thing as an innocent bystander and who has the power to take action? The unit that follows will focus on two major goals. The first is to enable students to learn about the history of youth protest both at large and then specifically in California, and to also show students that they are capable of producing scholarly work at a high level and of organizing their own activism. The typical high school student in San Jose is a student of color from a disadvantaged and/or alternative background, often first-generation citizens with a strong connection to their immigrant past. My students are in the process of uncovering and creating their identities, and it is not uncommon for me to see a wide range of students that are proud of their ethnicity, their gender, and their homelands. My goal for this unit is to show students examples of activism and protest and come out of those different identities and backgrounds in order to make their learning relevant and engaging. Focusing on California and Bay Area stories will also help to increase engagement and learning.
I will be at Calero High School next year after teaching for four years at Mt Pleasant High School, teaching both World and U.S. History. Both Calero and Mt Pleasant are in the East Side Union High School District in San Jose, California. Both would be considered urban schools. Calero is an alternative school of choice. The typical Calero student is a tenth, eleventh, or twelfth grader (there are no freshmen at Calero) who has been dramatically unsuccessful during their freshman year at one of the district’s comprehensive high schools. Many of the incoming sophomores at Calero have zero credits and no confidence. Students come to Calero needing to both recover credits and learn how to be successful in their current classes. Many have lost their sense of self confidence. Because of that one of the important outcomes of this unit will be to show students that they CAN do the work and that they CAN do it successfully, which is why this unit will come at the start of the school year in late August.
Student demographics at Calero are not surprising for an urban California school. 88% of the student body is Latinx, and 30% of the student body is identified as English Language Learners. Because of the type of school Calero is, the students come from all geographic areas of the district. Data from the California Dashboard shows that English and Math test scores are low, with most students scoring well below proficient. The graduation rate is high - 92% for the last year data is available, 2025. However, the level of career and/or college readiness does not match the high graduation rate, with approximately only 55% of students unprepared for the same period.[1]
Student skills that this unit will address include historical thinking skills that students will use throughout the year, skills that are transferable to other classrooms as well. Students will examine both primary and secondary sources focusing on cause and effect as well as change and continuity over time. Texts will be in a variety of formats, broadening their review skills. The goal is to include photographs, musical selections, and video in addition to written texts. Students will learn to summarize information by creating both biographical and historical writing. Students will be doing research, planning, organizing, writing, and presenting
information. Students will also be making claims that are supported by evidence and reasoning.
This unit will start with a wide historical lens and then quickly focus on more local and more recent examples of student protest and activism. Using the course readings students will begin their journey looking at the Civil Rights Movement and the prominence of youth activism in the formation of SNCC and the involvement of the Bennett College women in sit-in protests. In addition, students will have the opportunity to look at an overview of black youth activism in the United States from the 1930s onward. Once students have learned about the long history of youth activism, they will begin to look at more recent events such as the HIV/AIDS crisis, the Black Lives Matter protests, the push for LGBTQ+ equal rights, and the conflict with immigration control, specifically ICE activities. Students will examine what makes a college or high school campus a unique place to foment protest, and see examples of students their age (and a bit older) using their voices to fight for their rights. High school students can be limited in what methods are available to them because they are still minors, but they are far from voiceless and optionless. I want my students to know this and to know that they are following in worthwhile footsteps when they use their voice and take action. As mentioned above these examples will come from either the Bay Area or where necessary California at large, because I want this to be relevant and I want them to see what students like them can accomplish.
As a culminating project students will create a plan for addressing something that they see as an injustice. Their projects will have several parts including:
- Background information on the injustice
- A goal for change
- A plan that they can carry out now as high school students
- Additional plans that could be implemented by young adults who are not minors
Students will be given several options about how this project looks and is presented. The goal here is to show students that they do not have to sit idly by and accept injustice. They can use their voice to positively affect their campus, their neighborhood, and beyond. Research done in creating this unit has laid the groundwork for the learning that students will engage in.
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