HAGATNA, Guam (AP) — Education leaders in Guam have their sights set doing a better job teaching high school juniors and seniors about the concept of decolonization and what it would mean for the U.S. territory. ADVERTISING HAGATNA, Guam (AP)
HAGATNA, Guam (AP) — Education leaders in Guam have their sights set doing a better job teaching high school juniors and seniors about the concept of decolonization and what it would mean for the U.S. territory.
Officials met on Thursday to determine what decolonization topics should be integrated into the Department of Education’s curriculum. The program will be geared toward older high school students so they can be better informed to decide on a plebiscite vote for Guam’s political status. Guam currently is under the control of the U.S. Congress. The plebiscite could help Guam residents decide how they want to govern themselves.
Some of the suggested topics within the program are the territory’s perspective of its history of decolonization, understanding the United Nations charter, differences between U.S. laws and U.N. laws, and the U.S.’s role as a colonizer of Guam.
Amanda Blas, executive director of the Commission on Decolonization, said she will take these suggestions to the Department of Education’s deputy superintendent for review.
A subcommittee of the commission is spearheading the program. The subcommittee sees the third and fourth quarters of the upcoming school year as the earliest opportunity to implement the curriculum.
It plans to recommend a two-year education campaign to the commission. A date for the plebiscite vote has not been scheduled. Attorney General Elizabeth Barrett-Anderson had filed a notice to appeal a ruling on a federal lawsuit challenging the voting process, which is limited to native inhabitants as defined by law.
