The 1968 East LA School Walkouts

About This Lesson

In this lesson, students will learn about the relationship between education, identity, and activism through an exploration of the 1968 East Los Angeles school walkouts. Thousands of students in LA public schools (where a majority of students were Mexican American) walked out of their schools to protest unequal educational opportunities and to demand an education that valued their culture and identities. Learning about this history provides students with an opportunity to reflect on the importance of an education that honors the identities of its students.

Essential Questions

What does an education that honors all students look like and feel like? Why is it important for students to have such an education?

Learning Objectives

• Students will discuss the conditions that sparked the 1968 East LA school walkouts.
• Students will draw connections between the experiences of the students who participated in the walkouts and their own identities and educational experiences.
• Students will examine the student demands from the 1968 walkouts and compare the demands to conditions in their own schools.

Lesson Plan

Day 1

Activity 1: Learn about “The Danger of a Single Story”

• Tell students that in this lesson, they will be learning about the relationship between education and identity by exploring their own experiences in school and learning about the 1968 East LA school walkouts.
• Watch until 5:20 of the video The Danger of a Single Story, Chimamanda Adichie’s TED Talk. (Note: If time permits, you may choose to watch the entire 18-minute video with your students. The full transcript of her talk is available on the TED website in 49 different languages.) Use the Think, Pair, Share strategy to discuss the following questions:
  • What does Adichie mean by a “single story”? What examples does she give? Why does she believe “single stories” are dangerous?
  • How do schools tell “single stories”—or no story at all—about different groups of people? 
  • What effect could it have on students if they don’t see their stories reflected in their school experiences?
• Ask students to reflect in their journals on how their own stories or identities are reflected in their school:
  • How is your story reflected in what you learn in school, for example, in the history you learn or the books you read?

How is your story reflected in how you learn in school, for example, in your classroom culture, school expectations, or representation among school employees?

Activity 2: Explore the Relationship between Education and Identity

• Tell students that in this activity, they will explore primary sources that illustrate the connection between identity and education at the time of the walkouts in 1968.
• Provide students with a short (three to four bullet-point) overview of the walkouts to provide context for the following discussion. For example, tell your students:
  • In 1968, thousands of students walked out of public schools in Los Angeles.
  • They were protesting poor conditions in schools that had majority Mexican American students.
  • Sal Castro, a Mexican American teacher in LA, helped to organize the walkouts.
• Explain the Big Paper discussion strategy to your students and tell them that they should feel free, during the written portion of the activity, to respond in any language that they choose. Ask your students to move into their groups and distribute one resource from Big Paper Resources: East LA Walkouts to each group. Write the essential questions on the board and ask students to use them to focus their discussion:
  • What does an education that honors all students look like and feel like? 
  • Why is it important for students to have such an education?
• Give students ten minutes to silently “discuss” their first resource. 
• After students finish with their first resource, give them an additional ten minutes to respond to at least one other resource of their choice.
• Then, ask students to return to their original resource and discuss what they learned out loud with their group. If students chose to write in other languages, they can translate their responses for their classmates during the discussion.

Activity 3: Lead a Class Discussion

• As a full class, discuss the resources that students explored in the Big Paper activity. Ask your students:
  • According to these resources, what story do you think schools at the time were telling about Mexican American students? 
  • How were some students and teachers trying to change the story told about Mexican American students?

Day 2

Activity 1: Learn about the East LA School Walkouts

• Distribute the handout East LA Walkouts Viewing Guide to students. Read over the questions and then play a clip (19:50–30:55) of the video Prejudice and Pride.
• After watching the clip, use the Think, Pair, Share strategy to help students process what they learned. First, give students time to respond individually to the questions on the handout. Then, ask them to discuss their answers in pairs, and finally, ask some students to share their responses with the class.

Activity 2: Explore the Student Demands

• Use the Jigsaw strategy to examine excerpts from the list of student walkout demands. Place your students into their “expert” groups. Give students the reading Student Demands from the East LA Walkouts and assign one demand to each group. Ask students to answer the two connection questions in their groups:
  • In your own words, what does the demand you are examining say?
  • How was this demand trying to expand the story told about Mexican American students?
• Ask students to move to their “teaching” groups. Students should take turns presenting their demand to the group, using their answers to the two connection questions.

Activity 3: Final Reflection

For this activity, students should remain in their small “teaching” groups to develop their own demands. Ask students:

• What changes would you suggest to your school to help it do a better job of honoring all students who go there?