{"id":232530,"date":"2026-03-23T13:32:13","date_gmt":"2026-03-23T13:32:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/232530\/"},"modified":"2026-03-23T13:32:13","modified_gmt":"2026-03-23T13:32:13","slug":"lesson-plans-go-out-the-window-as-educators-pivot-on-cesar-chavez","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/232530\/","title":{"rendered":"Lesson plans go ‘out the window’ as educators pivot on C\u00e9sar Ch\u00e1vez"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Intense angst over C\u00e9sar Ch\u00e1vez\u2019s legacy amid sexual abuse allegations<\/a> is ripping through California classrooms, prompting teachers, scholars and school systems to urgently revamp lessons about one of California\u2019s most widely taught historic figures.<\/p>\n

Educators at K-12 and university campuses are rewriting lesson plans, reframing discussions and preparing for difficult conversations with students about the labor leader\u2019s life and contradictions.<\/a> <\/p>\n

Teachers say they don\u2019t have the luxury of waiting for new state, district or university guidance. Instead, they are pivoting in real time, with little more than rapidly evolving news coverage, student input and their own judgment to guide them.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe regular class plan went out the window,\u201d said Kimberly Young,<\/a> who teaches ethnic studies at Culver City High School and led a discussion last week on the allegations first revealed in the New York Times.<\/p>\n

At UCLA, Chicana\/o and Central American Studies<\/a> faculty are grappling with how to present Ch\u00e1vez\u2019s influence on social movements after they voted to cut his name from the department title. Schoolteachers are girding to address students\u2019 questions, anger and confusion over a figure whose name and books are deeply embedded in state curriculum and celebrations.<\/p>\n

Los Angeles librarians say they are keeping Ch\u00e1vez-related children\u2019s books on the shelves. But they are preparing to field check-out counter inquiries from parents and, if asked, explain the titles were published before the allegations arose.<\/p>\n

The California Department of Education and Los Angeles Unified School District issued statements that instructors should de-emphasize the importance of teaching about Ch\u00e1vez as an individual and instead focus on the farmworker\u2019s movement that he was central to establishing. Educators throughout the state are assessing how to approach thoughtful, age-appropriate context as they navigate the unjustifiable personal conduct alleged by his accusers.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn a time like this, you cannot avoid talking about C\u00e9sar Ch\u00e1vez in the classroom,\u201d said Gabriel Gutierrez, the chair of the Department of Chicana(o) and Latina(o) Studies at Cal State Northridge, one of the largest programs of its kind in the nation. \u201cWe already knew he was a controversial figure, and we have to now further confront this and interrogate him head-on.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Twelfth-grade <\/p>\n

Kimberly Young\u2019s ethnic studies literature class at Culver City High School has recently focused on discussing stereotypes and media representation. Young recently pivoted to add the C\u00e9sar Ch\u00e1vez allegations to a class discussion.<\/p>\n

(Genaro Molina \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

High schools<\/p>\n

At Culver City High School, Young\u2019s 12th-grade ethnic studies literature class was in the middle of a unit on stereotyping, racial and ethnic representation and media literacy when the news surfaced. On Thursday morning, she asked the students if they knew of the revelations. About half did \u2014 via TikTok and Instagram feeds.<\/p>\n

Young played a podcast on the allegations and gave students a prompt.<\/p>\n

\u201cI said, \u2018thoughts, feelings, reactions, questions? Where are we at right now?\u2019 And hands shot in the air.\u201d <\/p>\n

Students expressed anger and disgust. They said they were concerned over negative news about a major Latino figure at a time of community strife over challenges that include immigration raids. Students pointed out Ch\u00e1vez\u2019s name was erased from public squares quickly while the name and image of President Trump \u2014 who multiple women have accused of sexual assault, all allegations Trump has denied \u2014 are being added to public buildings and institutions.<\/p>\n

Young, who also oversees the school\u2019s broader ethnic studies program, said Ch\u00e1vez\u2019s name has \u201cof course\u201d come up in classes during her decade of teaching in Culver City. But she said ethnic studies \u201creally tries to center voices that have been historically marginalized, so we don\u2019t center his narrative in our classrooms.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really important for students to not deify one historical person, one figure, but to understand the motivation and the movement,\u201d Young said. <\/p>\n

State curriculum and response<\/p>\n

More broadly, Ch\u00e1vez is an important figure in multiple California curricula and serves as a Latino and liberal icon in a Democratic state. His legacy has been treated \u2014 until now \u2014 as safe to celebrate in schools.<\/p>\n

His presence is especially visible around the March 31 C\u00e9sar Ch\u00e1vez Day, with the state Department of Education offering extensive lesson plans, biographies in multiple languages, and service-learning activities. Lessons across grade levels highlight his civic values, personal life and influence. <\/p>\n

\"Artist <\/p>\n

Artist MisterAlek replaces a portrait of C\u00e9sar Ch\u00e1vez in a mural that he created in 2021 with a portrait of Dolores Huerta at the Watts\/Century Latino Organization in Los Angeles on Friday.<\/p>\n

(Christina House \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

The Los Angeles Unified School District said it will continue this year to take the day off that was scheduled in observance of Ch\u00e1vez\u2019s birthday.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are assessing the impact that it\u2019s going to have on our educational program, specific to the holiday, as it were,\u201d acting L.A. schools Supt. Andres Chait said last week.<\/p>\n

State law also requires instruction on Ch\u00e1vez, the farm labor movement and the role of immigrants. He appears in social science standards, English lessons, and units on American heroes and biography writing. <\/p>\n

In the state\u2019s ethnic studies curriculum, Ch\u00e1vez is taught alongside other key figures such as Dolores Huerta and Filipino American labor leader Larry Itliong,<\/a> with emphasis on the broader farmworker movement and its diverse contributors.<\/p>\n

In a statement Thursday, the state education department said \u201cschools and educators are encouraged to teach about the farm workers\u2019 movement as a struggle that is greater than one man, and the California Department of Education will be updating educational resources in order to support this shift.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lessons depend on age<\/p>\n

While open discussion of the allegations may be appropriate for older students, elementary students need a different approach, said Cal State Northridge professor Theresa Monta\u00f1o, a Chicano and Chicana studies scholar who helped develop the state\u2019s ethnic studies curriculum.<\/p>\n

For young children, \u201cI would explain that something serious happened and that adults feel it\u2019s time to take Ch\u00e1vez\u2019s name off institutions like schools and holidays.\u201d<\/p>\n

Among Pomona Unified transitional kindergarten teachers, there\u2019s little talk so far about how to approach the Ch\u00e1vez holiday, which state lawmakers are also looking to rename in honor of farmworkers. Ana Tramp, a TK teacher specialist, expects many will skip the topic.<\/p>\n

In transitional kindergarten, \u201cthe core themes focus on fairness and helping others,\u201d she said, avoiding any direct conversation about one individual.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt makes you rethink, \u2018How am I going to present these individuals that represent certain character traits that we want our children to grasp or to live up to, right?\u2019\u201d Tramp said. <\/p>\n

Joanna Fabicon, who has lectured on contemporary children\u2019s literature at UCLA, added that educators, librarians and publishers must all grapple with the allegations against Ch\u00e1vez and decide how to move forward.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat do they do now?\u201d Fabicon said. \u201cDo they do retractions? New editions? Do they look at other leaders in the movement who\u2019ve been eclipsed by C\u00e9sar Ch\u00e1vez?\u201d<\/p>\n

For now, the allegations won\u2019t change the Los Angeles Public Library\u2019s children\u2019s book selections, said Phoebe Guiot, associate director of youth services. Families can decide whether to check them out.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe library\u2019s role is to maintain diverse collections, even if some content might be objectionable,\u201d Guiot said, noting materials can be reevaluated upon request.<\/p>\n

Higher education<\/p>\n

Ch\u00e1vez was part of the wider Chicano movement that inspired the creation of university Chicano studies departments. Faculty and students are reacting swiftly \u2014 and not all agree.<\/p>\n

At UCLA, professors in the Chicana\/o and Central American Studies program \u2014 its founding dates to a 1993 hunger strike<\/a> modeled after ones Ch\u00e1vez did \u2014 voted to remove his name from the department. Leaders took a bust of him out of a conference room. <\/p>\n

But he won\u2019t be erased from teaching, said department chair Ra\u00fal Hinojosa-Ojeda.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going to need to update the discourse and see him not only as this towering moral figure but as a flawed man,\u201d he said. \u201cThat also teaches us that some of the greatest moral figures can be deeply flawed and that we have to be forever vigilant and demanding.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Workers <\/p>\n

Workers cover up a mural honoring C\u00e9sar Ch\u00e1vez in the C\u00e9sar Ch\u00e1vez Cove at the C\u00e9sar Ch\u00e1vez Business and Computer Center at Santa Ana College on Thursday.<\/p>\n

(Allen J. Schaben \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

In his introductory course, the professor often starts class by showing slides that highlight a Ch\u00e1vez quote: \u201cOnce social change begins, it cannot be reversed. You cannot un-educate the person who has learned to read. You cannot humiliate the person who feels pride. You cannot oppress the people who are not afraid anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n

The quote will remain in his lesson, Hinojosa-Ojeda said, because he has never seen it as being about \u201cCh\u00e1vez the man.\u201d The quote is about \u201cthe power of critical education and social empowerment,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Luis Sotillo, a PhD student in the program, said a larger reckoning is needed. He pointed to Ch\u00e1vez\u2019s treatment of undocumented immigrants,<\/a> whom the leader accused of threatening union power in a 1970s effort to report them to federal authorities. Ch\u00e1vez also faced critique for trying to discredit his opponents by accusing them of being communists, a practice known as \u201cred-baiting.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sotillo said \u201cthe valorization of C\u00e9sar Ch\u00e1vez in our department has been a point of contention since before I even arrived.\u201d He said long-standing questions about Ch\u00e1vez\u2019s record \u201cled a lot of us to turn away from his folkloric status.\u201d<\/p>\n

At Irvine Valley College, English professor Lisa Alvarez also still plans to talk about Ch\u00e1vez\u2019s legacy as the March 31 holiday approaches. She volunteered for the United Farm Workers as a young woman, was arrested alongside Ch\u00e1vez and other activists at a Nevada Test Site protest<\/a> in 1987 and attended his funeral.<\/p>\n

She\u2019ll be updating her PowerPoint slides \u201cto talk about this figure and what we can learn about what he did for and apparently what he did to people.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s always good for the truth to come out,\u201d Alvarez said. \u201cEspecially if it\u2019s a hard truth.\u201d<\/p>\n

Staff columnist Gustavo Arellano contributed to this report.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Intense angst over C\u00e9sar Ch\u00e1vez\u2019s legacy amid sexual abuse allegations is ripping through California classrooms, prompting teachers, scholars…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":232531,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[9574,8707,16847,38513,15,32955,105454,48,52,51,43471,105455,47,50,49,1554,85439,35012,225,4574,20967],"class_list":["post-232530","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-allegation","tag-california-department","tag-cesar-chavez","tag-chavez","tag-education","tag-educator","tag-ethnic-study","tag-la","tag-la-headlines","tag-la-news","tag-lesson","tag-lesson-plan","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-headlines","tag-los-angeles-news","tag-name","tag-school-system","tag-social-movement","tag-state","tag-student","tag-young"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/232530","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=232530"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/232530\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/232531"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=232530"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=232530"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=232530"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}