UT History Professor Emilio Zamora is playing a key role in an innovative new public-private partnership to bring Tejano history into Texas public schools and public spaces. Zamora is collaborating with Professors Cynthia Salinas and María Fránquiz from the College of Education.
The Tejano History Curriculum Project — sponsored by the Tejano Monument, Inc., a ten-year initiative to erect a monument on the grounds of the Capitol commemorating Tejano history — is a multifaceted program that includes teacher training and innovative instructional materials for fourth- and fifth-grade Texas social studies classrooms.
“My hope is that we can enrich the curriculum to motivate the students’ interest in our past and, in the process, improve their research, writing and critical thinking skills,” Zamora says.
The curriculum project also provided the elementary school students an opportunity to perform and exhibit their work during the installation ceremonies of the Tejano Monument at the Texas State Capitol on March 29.