While Park offers many history classes, there aren’t many that don’t revolve around a Eurocentric curriculum, such as African history or Asian history. The Echo Editorial Board believes this is causing students to have a narrow perspective about history.

Students at Park already receive plenty of Eurocentric content — they are taught by mostly white teachers, the textbooks used are written from the perspectives of white people and the curriculum of many classes is focused on the history of white people. Making classes more culturally relevant, which means they would offer more perspectives, would make school more engaging for many students. Additionally, educating students on the topics of race and equity would help them learn about their own identity and the identities of others. This would give Park students the tools to deal with racial issues which are prevalent in our society. 

Reducing the use of Eurocentric textbooks, which often offer a limited perspective, is one way to make classes at Park more equitable. Instead, offering a variety of texts from authors of diverse backgrounds would not only provide more points of view, but would also be more engaging for students.

While incorporating culturally-relevant curriculum into classes which already exist is an important step to take, introducing entirely new classes is also important. The Echo Editorial Board believes classes which teach about African History, Asian history and other histories which are not currently available at Park should be offered. 

All students should graduate Park with an understanding of all subjects from multiple viewpoints. To achieve this goal, students should be required to enroll in classes which cover topics such as race and racism for graduation. The Echo Editorial Board believes students and teachers should hold themselves and others accountable to learn about other racial histories and racism.