Jackson-Reed prides itself on its diversity, and its required courses should reflect that. All students must fulfill physical education, music, and art requirements, but there is one type of elective missing: cultural studies. Students should be required to take one cultural studies elective throughout their four years in high school to gain a deeper understanding of the cultures surrounding them.
Cultural classes allow students to explore diverse ways of life throughout the world. JR offers many cultural classes, ranging from Latin American, Asian, Middle-Eastern, to our newest, AP African American Studies. These classes include topics that are only lightly touched on in world history classes, which are more broad and don’t focus on one specific group. If at least one of these courses was to be a requirement, students would have a deeper appreciation of different cultures, and how they compare to our own.
JR offers a few other classes covering content of other cultures and ethnic groups, namely Multicultural Literature, that students have the option to take. This is another way students could easily fulfill a cultural requirement.DC History, a current graduation requirement, does delve into the different cultures within our city. The history of DC is important in teaching us about the past and present lifestyle and challenges in DC, but is not a substitute for these cultural classes. The DC History requirement should serve as a point of guidance for the administration to require an additional elective credit focused on cultures stretching far beyond DC. Together, the two required credits will help create a more worldly and enlightened student body..
When choosing their classes, students are looking for the courses that will fulfill their graduation requirements. By not requiring these classes, students are given the option to remain unaware of other cultures. If we are to grow into adults that have the ability to change the world around us, we must first be educated about that world and all the different types of people in it.
