Content Objective: ¿si Ellos Pudieron Porque Yo No?
Childhood is a time for children to learn fundamental values such as kindness, sharing, and fairness. They should not have to navigate through polarized adult ideologies; addressing political issues with primary grades might be a premature or farfetched notion. Instead, we can help students maintain a sense of cultural pride while embracing diversity. We can achieve this by designing lessons that empower their ancestral roots and foster positive connections with their classmates.
On the other hand, addressing serious matters such as this with upper grade students can be highly beneficial for developing critical thinking and civic engagement. Therefore, teaching students about history, culture, and multiple viewpoints—without revealing personal political leanings—helps them form their own thoughts and ideas in addition to having a better understanding of themselves and their heritage. This approach can also enable students to become aware of bias, misinformation, and sensationalism in the news. More importantly, engaging in dialogue and listening to peers helps students develop empathy by understanding diverse life experiences and viewpoints.
Through a historical standpoint, I would like students to gain a deeper understanding of where their lineages originated, and what critical events occurred that compelled them to make challenging ventures. Understanding the origin journey can anchor personal identity, build their resilience by honoring their ancestors' sacrifices, and challenge historical misconceptions. In other words, by students knowing their roots, it connects them to a valuable, diverse heritage and empowers them to celebrate the profound impact Latinos have made throughout history. It also recognizes the importance of Latino contributions in US. Therefore, this unit will focus on how historical U.S. interventions and territorial shifts displaced populations, subsequently fueling Latino migration and community reclaiming in Chicago neighborhoods such as our Back of the Yards, Little Village, and Pilsen. In turn, students will study public art and murals to examine how local artists visually restore these hidden histories and empower their own identities.
My artistic objective for this unit is to enhance upper-grade students' critical thinking skills through observation, dialogue, and creativity. By introducing them to public art such as murals and artists, I want to help students gain a sense of visual cultural empowerment and identity formation while reclaiming erased or altered histories. Art can serve as an alternative archive that preserves origin stories, migration experiences, and cultural struggles. My goal is to teach students how to decode these elements. This approach aims to support young Latinx students in connecting with their roots and bridging the gap between their ancestral heritage and the diverse realities of the diaspora. Ultimately, I hope to foster self-reflection and pride, motivating students to become creators themselves. When students realize that art can be a powerful tool for justice and survival, it can transform a standard assignment, into an individual superpower. In this unit, I will share inspirational artists and their work—particularly in Chicago—who utilize their work to narrate their stories and embrace their culture, thus helping students uncover how they, too, can find this superpower within themselves.
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