> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Officials on board with freshman seminar - URL: https://www.smdp.com/officials-on-board-with-freshman-seminar/ - Published: 2005-09-10T15:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-23T07:46:17.000Z - Author: Ryan Hyatt - Tags: Education, Malibu, #archive-import *Freshman seminar based on ‘Facing History’ curriculum* DISTRICT HDQTRS. — Local school officials are optimistic incoming freshmen will be better able to face each other and the future after taking a one-year seminar designed to explore history’s struggles. Santa Monica High School teachers unveiled on Thursday their “Facing History and Ourselves” curriculum before the district’s board of education. All incoming Samohi freshmen are required to take the course starting this fall, in which they will analyze the Holocaust, the American eugenics movement, the 1992 Los Angeles race riots and other case studies in social conflict. The purpose of the freshman seminar is to develop concepts of “identities, family, communities, value and informed decision-making,” according to the program’s organizers. Skills which also will be developed through the one-year course include research, debate, presentation, analysis and health awareness, according to the syllabus. Michael Felix, a Samohi teacher who helped organize the seminar, discussed the curriculum with the Santa Monica- Malibu Unified District School Board on Thursday. “The goal is to get young people to choose to participate in society,” Felix said. “We have to learn how to package and market history for our youth.” Felix explained the seminar on a slide show, often taking photos from the Internet to present the themes of the course. “What we’re trying to avoid is this, when students become robots as opposed to individuals,” Felix said, pointing to a picture of hundreds of Star Wars androids, armed with laser guns, assuming military position on a battlefield. “Facing History and Ourselves” is a curriculum based on the work of educators with field offices around the nation who show teachers the ins and outs of the course in a workshop setting. Samohi teachers involved with the freshman seminar took part in a five-day conference in mid-June to learn about the “Facing History and Ourselves” methodology, Felix reported at Thursday’s meeting. The conflict studies related to such topics as the 1992 race riots and Holocaust will be interwoven with broad-er concepts dealing with identity, “we versus they,” conformity, judgment and decision-making. Those teachers who took part in the June 17 workshop were paid with professional development funds by the district. They also will be taking part in refresher workshops throughout the school year. The “Facing History and Ourselves” program couldn’t have come at a better time, school officials said. Samohi, considered to be one of the most diverse public schools in the nation, has had its share of challenges recently. On April 15, a lunch-hour brawl caused the school to go on lockdown after students refused to return to class. Local police agencies were called in to secure the campus. Some officials said the fight, which led to six suspensions, may have been symptomatic of a growing alienation and frustration felt among Samohi’s 3,500 students, especially minority groups. Many students have reported feeling disconnected from their classmates, curriculum and teachers, officials said. The district promised to respond to those complaints this year, and the freshman seminar is a good first step in that direction, officials said. By taking the freshman seminar, it’s hoped freshmen will gain a better sense of themselves at a crucial time in their personal development, when many of them are met with unprecedented pressures growing into adulthood. “It gives me tremendous strength knowing we’re doing what we said we’re going to be doing,” said school board vice president Julia Brownley. “It shows that the reform is in full swing and we’re looking ahead.” Praising the work of teachers like Felix, school board member Maria Leon- Vazquez said she is optimistic about the freshman seminar but feels greater steps are needed to engage students. “Maybe the issue of racial tension was at the forefront of the (April 15 fights), but it was also a scapegoat,” Leon-Vazquez said. “The positive impact of teachers on students... I don’t know how much I can underscore the importance of that piece.” > “The positive impact of teachers on students... I don’t know how much I can underscore the importance of that piece.” — MARIA LEON-VAZQUEZ Regarding the importance of engaging teachers *Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on September 10, 2005.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/091005.pdf?ref=smdp.com)