1.7.4 - English for Expansion
The Asian American Education Project
Grade: 7-10Subject:
History, Social Science
Number of Lesson Days: 2
In the late 1800s, the United States grew its empire by taking over Hawaiʻi and, through war, acquired the Philippines, Guam, and Puerto Rico. U.S. educational policies in these new territories emphasized assimilation and “Americanization.” In this two-day lesson, students will learn how Americanization through schooling and mandatory English-only policies have harmed indigenous communities and cultures. On Day 1, students will learn about and research indigenous communities. On Day 2, students will discuss Native American boarding schools and analyze primary sources related to language loss in Native Hawaiian and Filipino communities.
How was the teaching of the English language used as an imperialistic tool abroad and domestically? How did indigenous communities resist?
Students will examine and compare the impacts of English-only policies on the indigenous peoples of Hawaiʻi, the Philippines, and the United States through close readings.
English-Only Policies in Indigenous Communities Essay
Background:
In early U.S. history, the decision over the language of school instruction was decided at the local level. Cities and states created their own policies and practices based on the needs of their local communities. However, as more diverse immigrant populations arrived in the United States in large numbers, assimilation through “Americanization” spurred English-only instruction.
Essay:
As the United States entered various wars and conflicts in the 1900s, speaking English quickly became a marker of loyalty and patriotism. Immigrants settling in the United States at this time were forced to learn English.
In the late 1800s, the United States continued to grow its empire by taking over Hawaiʻi and, through war, acquired the Philippines, Guam, and Puerto Rico. U.S. educational policies in these new territories show the importance of assimilation and “Americanization.”
Through
imperialism, the United States used its power to decide what was taught in schools. Around 1900, English-only instruction was
mandated in the new territories. In addition, the United States explicitly taught American customs and culture. This resulted in the loss of
indigenous cultures, languages, knowledge, beliefs, and lands.
In Hawai
ʻi, Americanization through schooling began even before the islands were formally colonized by the United States. The first mission schools in Hawai
ʻi were founded in 1821. American missionaries founded and staffed these schools with the goal of converting the Hawaiian
elite to Christianity. They also wanted to make Native Hawaiians literate in English so that they could read the Bible and convert more Native Hawaiians to Christianity.
Boarding schools were established. Forced assimilation occurred to
subjugate the indigenous population. In 1887, public schools were founded with English as the only acceptable language. The Native Hawaiian language was forbidden in the classroom and the playing fields. Anyone heard speaking their native language was punished. In 1896, just three years after the U.S.-backed overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom, English was established as the only permissible language in public or private schools. Speaking Hawaiian continued to be punished.
This was also the case in the Philippines, which the United States purchased from Spain after the Spanish-American War in 1898. Schooling was deemed as a solution to “civilize” the indigenous Filipino people. The United States saw Filipinos as backward and unintelligent in comparison to white people and Americans. Educating indigenous Filipino people in order to mold them into people who knew their place in the American society of the Philippines required the destruction of their local language, cultures, and practices. In 1901, Act No. 74 not only established an American public school system in the Philippines, but also adopted English for all public school instruction.
These practices were also used with Native Americans. As the United States grew its power and its lands, the goal of education was to create a more submissive population. Education was one method used to control and conquer indigenous communities. Starting in 1869, over 350 government-funded Indian Boarding Schools were established across the United States. Hundreds of thousands of young Natives were separated from their families and forced to attend off-
reservation schools. At the boarding schools, they were forbidden from speaking their native languages, wearing traditional attire, engaging in cultural practices, and more. The children suffered severe abuse and
neglect for speaking their native language and engaging in cultural practices. These boarding schools lasted until the 1960s. According to an excerpt from a 1969 U.S. Senate report on Native American education, “education was a weapon” by which Native Americans could be easily
subdued and whites could get desirable land.
Indigenous communities have resisted assimilation and cultural loss then and now. Across all three groups, there were always people who continued to follow their religious or cultural customs, wear traditional attire, and speak their native language, both in private and in public. Some tried to maintain and pass their language down to the next generation despite English-only policies. There have also been very successful
resurgence movements in restoring the Hawaiian language on the islands – both in practice and through policy since 1978 when it was made an official language. In addition, there is an increase in Filipino language schools, even in the United States. Furthermore, in various Native American communities, there are active movements to preserve native languages and customs.
Bibiliography:
Coloma, R. S. “Empire and Education: Filipino Schooling Under United States Rule, 1900-1910.” Ohio State University, 2004
- Elite: the richest, most powerful, or best-educated group in a society
- Imperialism: extending power and dominion of a nation, especially by gaining control over the political or economic life of other areas
- Indigenous: of or relating to the earliest known inhabitants of a place, especially a colonized place
- Mandated: officially required
- Neglect: to give little attention or respect to
- Reservation: tract of land set aside by the government for one or more Native peoples; generally created through treaty agreements or by colonial decree and consistently represented an area much smaller than, and often very far from, a given group’s traditional territory
- Resurgence: a revival after a period of little activity
- Subdue: to bring under mental or emotional control, as by persuasion or intimidation; to make submissive
- Subjugate: to bring under control and governance
- How was the teaching of the English language used as an imperialistic tool against the Native Hawaiians and Filipinos?
- How was the teaching of the English language used as an imperialistic tool against the Native Americans?
- How did indigenous communities resist?
Activity 1: Culture, Traditions, and Language
- Have students complete a Quickwrite given these prompts: How would you describe your culture, traditions, and language? How do they show up in your life? How do you practice your culture, traditions, and language?
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Strategy: Quickwrite
A Quickwrite is an instructional practice that allows students an opportunity to quickly respond to a question or prompt. It is often timed for 3-10 minutes. It provides teachers an assessment of what students know or think at that moment in time. It provides students an opportunity to freely write down their first thoughts. It can be used at any time in a lesson.
For more on Quickwrites, see:
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- Allow students an opportunity to share what they wrote in their Quickwrites.
- Pose the following scenario to students: “Imagine someone comes to your neighborhood and decides that they are in charge now. They have more power than you so you can’t fight them off very easily or quickly. They ordered you to stop doing your traditions and to stop speaking your language. They force you to adopt their language and culture instead.”
- Have students write one word to describe how they feel.
- Have them journal for one minute on how they think this would impact them.
- Have them review their Quickwrite to consider what they might lose by losing their culture, traditions, and language by force.
- Have them discuss their thoughts with a partner.
- NOTE TO TEACHER: Be sure to affirm the anger, grief, etc. that students may say they would feel in this situation. These are very real and normal emotions and they shouldn’t feel bad or embarrassed about it. Throughout this lesson, be sensitive to trauma caused by colonization and imperialism.
- Tell students that this lesson focuses on examples of this type of cultural and heritage loss that occurred at the hands of the United States through imperialism and the use of schools.
This political cartoon depicts Uncle Sam as a teacher representing the United States and students in the front representing places colonized by the U.S., including Hawaiʻi and the Philippines. A Native American student is also pictured in the back. The cartoon is a commentary on the impact of American imperialism on children’s education.
Credit: “School begins/ Dalrymple” by Louis Dalrymple, via Library of Congress, No known copyright restrictions
Activity 2: English-Only Policies in Indigenous Communities
- Distribute the “English-Only Policies in Indigenous Communities” essay to students.
- Distribute the worksheet entitled, “Analytical Reading Tool.” (See Answer Key.)
- NOTE TO TEACHER: Ensure students understand the concepts of imperialism (a policy of extending a country’s power and influence through diplomacy or military force) and colonization (the action or process of settling among and establishing control over the indigenous people of an area). If needed, explain how the United States was inspired by “Manifest Destiny” - the idea that the United States is destined by God to expand its dominion and spread democracy and capitalism across the entire North American continent; and this prompted westward expansion and colonization of the Pacific Islands and the Philippines.
- Model how to do a close reading and complete the worksheet.
- Complete the first section (#1) which asks students to identify the title, author, date, location, etc. Explain that it’s important to know the source of any text.
- Read the essay and complete the second section (#2) which asks students to summarize the gist. Encourage students to write their initial thoughts.
- Read the essay a second time and complete the third section (#3-5) which asks students to identify main ideas, important concepts, and supporting details. Have students annotate the text as well.
- Read the essay a third time and complete the fourth section (#6-7) which asks students to summarize what they have learned from multiple readings and to identify a meaningful quote.
- Reread the notes and complete the last section (#8-9) which asks students to compare their summaries and examine how the text changed their understanding of the topic.
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Strategy: Close Reading
Close reading is a form of dialogic teaching that gives students access to complex tests. It encourages students to reread a text multiple times and to annotate. Through each reading, students progress from literal to structural to inferential to analytical thinking. Students will engage with texts at a deeper level. Close reading also sets students up to engage in meaningful discussions.
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Students in front of Hilo Boarding School in 1909, a missionary boarding school in Hilo, Hawaiʻi.
Credit: “Hilo Boarding School 1909” by J.J Williams, via National Anthropological Archives of the Smithsonian Institution Information System (Public Domain)
Activity 3: Researching Indigenous Communities
- Distribute the worksheet entitled, “Researching Indigenous Communities.” (See Answer Key.)
- Have students complete the chart with information they learned from the “English-Only Policies in Indigenous Communities” text.
- NOTE TO TEACHER: If time permits, have students watch one or both of the following videos from The Asian American Education Project’s lessons: (1) “Native Hawaiian Sovereignty Movement”: https://asianamericanedu.org/3.3-Native-Hawaiian-Sovereignty-lesson-plan.html, and (2) “1904 World's Fair-Exhibition of the Igorot Filipino People”: https://asianamericanedu.org/1904-worlds-fair-exhibition-of-the-igorot-filipino-people.html.
- Tell students they will need to do more research to add to what they learned from the text. Explain that just like multiple readings are important for deeper understanding, multiple sources are necessary for clearer understandings.
- Divide students into small groups. Assign each group to one of the following communities to study:
- Native Hawaiians (first column)
- Filipinos (second column)
- Native Americans (third column)
- Allow groups time to conduct internet research and complete the worksheet which asks students to answer the following questions:
- Where are the communities located?
- What languages do they speak?
- What are some of their indigenous practices?
- What is the history of U.S. colonization and/or imperialism?
- What are the impacts of U.S. colonization on their language and culture?
- How did they resist erasure of indigenous languages and practices?
- NOTE TO TEACHER: If pressed for time, have students complete the worksheet as homework. In class, they can work on their posters.
- Have each group create a poster summarizing what they learned about the group.
- Facilitate a Gallery Walk by hanging their posters around the room. Put the similar topics together.
- Have students walk around the room and read the posters. Encourage them to add notes to their worksheet.
- Give students post-it notes to add comments and questions on each poster.
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Strategy: Gallery Walk
Gallery Walks are an active learning strategy. During a Gallery Walk, students explore multiple texts or images that are placed around the room. Students are able to share their work with peers, examine multiple content, and/or respond to multiple content. Because this strategy requires students to physically move around the room, it can be especially engaging to kinesthetic learners.
For more on Gallery Walks, see:
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- Have students submit a Quickwrite sharing at least three new things they learned from the Gallery Walk.
- Facilitate a discussion asking the following questions - Have students refer to the text, their research, and the Gallery Walk:
- How was the teaching of the English language used as an imperialistic tool against the Native Hawaiians and Filipinos?
- How was the teaching of the English language used as an imperialistic tool against the Native Americans?
- How did indigenous communities resist?
- Tell students they will learn more about indigenous experiences by studying primary and secondary sources.
Activity 1: Share What You’ve Learned So Far
- Have students refer to the worksheet entitled, “Researching Indigenous Communities.” (See Answer Key.)
- Have students share out loud what they learned from the Gallery Walk. (Refer to Quickwrites submitted at the end of the previous lesson.)
A group of Sioux boys in front of a Native American boarding school in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.
Credit: “Sioux boys as they arrived at the Indian Training School at Carlisle Barracks, Oct 5th 1879,” via Library of Congress, No known copyright restrictions
Activity 2: Native American Boarding Schools
- Show the video entitled, “Sec. Haaland on healing from the indoctrination, dehumanization at Indian Boarding Schools”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HlJ7_V9U-0&t=9s
- Explain that Deb Haaland (born 1960) was appointed by President Joe Biden as the U.S. Secretary of the Interior in 2021. Explain that she is Native American and part of the Laguna Pueblo tribe.
- Facilitate a discussion by asking the following question:
- What did you learn from the video?
- How were indigenous people affected by the Native American boarding schools?
- NOTE TO TEACHER: The topic of Native American boarding schools is difficult and painful; yet it is honest history. There was evidence of abuse, neglect, and murder. Be mindful of students’ reactions. If needed, there are several videos that can be shown to learn more about Native American boarding schools; make sure to watch the videos yourself before showing them. Provide trigger warnings if needed.
- Display this quote and read it aloud: “From the first contact with the Indian, the school, and the classroom have been a primary tool of assimilation. Education was the means whereby we emancipated the Indian child from his home, his parents, his extended family, and his cultural heritage. It was in effect an attempt to wash the ‘savage habits’ and ‘tribal ethic’ out of a child’s mind and substitute a white middle-class value system in its place. A Ponca Indian testifying before the subcommittee defined this policy from the standpoint of the Indian student - ‘School is the enemy!’”
- Have students share their initial reactions to this excerpt.
- Provide some context. Tell students the following:
- The quote comes from a 1969 U.S. Senate report by the Committee on Labor and Public Welfare’s Special Subcommittee on Indian Education, titled “Indian Education: A National Tragedy - A National Challenge.”
- The report concluded that “coercive assimilation” had been “the dominant policy of the federal government” with “disastrous effects on the education of Indian children.”
- The report recommended “maximum participation and control” by Natives in establishing educational programs, including bilingual and bicultural special education, and sufficient federal funding for these programs.
- NOTE TO TEACHER: If needed, here is additional context on the creation and goals of the Committee on Labor and Public Welfare’s Special Subcommittee on Indian Education: This Special Subcommittee on Indian Education was created in 1967 at the urging of the Senate’s Education Subcommittee, which believed that a thorough study of Indian education was long overdue. Accordingly, the special subcommittee was created to evaluate the state of education of Native children in the United States, which Subcommittee Chairman Robert Kennedy identified as a “failure” and “national tragedy” at the subcommittee's first hearing. To gather information for the report, the subcommittee and its staff conducted field investigations and evaluated federal boarding schools in Idaho, California, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona, South Dakota, Kansas, Oregon, Alaska, Nebraska, Minnesota, Washington, Florida, Maine, Montana, Nevada, and Utah.
- Reread the quote and have students answer the following questions:
- Who wrote this?
- When was it written?
- Where was it written?
- What was happening at the time?
- What claims are being made?
- What language is used and for what purpose?
- NOTE TO TEACHER: Elicit the following responses from students:
- Who wrote this: The U.S. Senate’s Special Subcommittee on Indian Education.
- When was it written: In 1969.
- Where was it written: In Washington, D.C.
- What was happening at the time: Indian Boarding Schools and their impact on Native communities were being evaluated for the first time after many decades of forced assimilation.
- What claims are being made: Education was used as a tool for assimilation of Native youth. The student testimony shows some Native youth understood this and resisted.
- What language is used and for what purpose: “Emancipated” suggests Native youth were being freed from their culture and heritage, as if their culture was a negative thing. “Savage habits” and “tribal ethic” have negative connotations. “School is the enemy!” shows a clear, negative image of education from the perspective of a Native student; the comments suggest a sense of anger.
- Facilitate a class discussion with the following prompts:
- What was the goal behind forcing Native people to assimilate into white culture?
- How would using schools to carry out assimilation help meet that goal?
- What was the United States’ opinion of Native people and their culture? Identify words or phrases in the passage that support your answer.
- How were the sentiments expressed in this excerpt also applicable to the Native Hawaiians and Filipinos?
- Share the following statement: “This type of assimilation through education was not unique to only Native Americans. The United States had similar goals and educational policies in other places where they had power too.”
Activity 3: Analyzing Primary Sources
- Distribute the worksheet entitled, “Analytical Reading Tool.”
- Divide the class in half and assign each half one of the following texts. Provide the context below for each text:
- Group #1: Primary Source from Joi Barrios-Leblanc: “How Preserving a Country’s Languages Can Lead to Decolonization.”
- Tell students: “Dr. Joi Barrios-Leblanc (born 1962) was born and raised in Quezon City, Philippines. She is a professor at the University of the Philippines and was a senior lecturer at the University of California Berkeley. For more than 15 years Barrios-Leblanc’s research has focused on promoting Philippine language and literature. This interview with the Berkeley News discusses how literature can influence political movements and how preserving Philippine languages aids decolonization efforts.”
- Group #2: Primary Source from Noenoe K. Silva: “The Importance of Hawaiian Language Sources for Understanding the Hawaiian Past” (Introduction only, pp. 4-7)
- Tell students: “The text is an excerpt from the book Aloha Betrayed: Native Hawaiian Resistance to American Colonialism by Noenoe K. Silva. Dr. Noenoe K. Silva (born 1954) was born on Oʻahu and is of Kanaka Maoli descent. She is a professor at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, where she specializes in Hawaiʻi and indigenous politics. In the process of researching for this book, Silva analyzed newspapers, books, and letters written in Hawaiian to show how Native Hawaiians had resisted political, economic, linguistic, and cultural domination.”
- Have students work in groups of 2-3. Make sure they’re working on the same source. Tell them to learn about the text so that they can teach their partner later.
- Allow student groups time to complete the “Analytical Reading Tool” based on their assigned text. Remind students to refer to the modeling provided in the previous lesson.
- Pair students up. Make sure one partner worked on the Silva source and the other partner worked on the Barrios-Leblanc source.
- Have pairs teach each other about their assigned text using the “Analytical Reading Tool” as a guide.
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Strategy: Jigsaw Classroom Strategy
The Jigsaw strategy asks a group of students to become “experts” on a specific text or body of knowledge and then share that material with another group of students. This strategy helps students learn information while developing their collaboration skills. Because students know they will be responsible for teaching the new content to their peers, they may feel more accountable for learning the content. There are different ways to use the Jigsaw strategy.
For more on Jigsaw strategies, see:
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- Facilitate a discussion by asking the following questions:
- How did these primary sources support what we have already learned?
- How did these primary sources add to what we have learned? What new ideas did you learn?
- How did these primary sources challenge what we have learned?
- Why is it important to hear directly from people in the communities we are studying?
- What are the similarities and differences between Native Hawaiian, Filipino, and Native American experiences regarding schooling and language loss?
- Assign students the following task for homework as an assessment: Write a one-page response about the impact of the U.S. English-only policy on indigenous communities.
- NOTE TO TEACHER: As an optional assignment, encourage students to research and compare the Hawaiian language revival movement and the Native American language revival movement.
Activity 4: Review of English for Expansion
- Facilitate a discussion by asking the following questions:
- In what ways and for what reasons has the English language been positioned to be superior to other languages, especially those of indigenous communities?
- Is language loss necessary? Why do English-only policies force people to supplant indigenous languages? Why didn’t the United States support policies that allowed indigenous people to keep their native language in addition to learning English?
- NOTE TO TEACHER: Remind students that English-only policies are rooted in racism, colorism, nativism, etc. In addition, at this time, there was little research being done about the positive effects of speaking more than one language.
- If you are teaching this lesson as part of the Multilingual Education unit: Summarize this set of lessons by sharing this statement: “This lesson has focused on how the United States used education as a tool to assimilate and colonize indigenous people of the United States, Hawaiʻi (and the Pacific Islands), and the Philippines. The next lesson will focus on bilingual education policies in the United States.”
