Social Science
Email: thenderson@seq.org
Phone Ext. 77319
Room: 10
Taja Henderson
Proudly rooted in East Palo Alto, Dr. Taja is a lifelong advocate for education, equity, and community. A UC Berkeley graduate with a degree in Ethnic Studies and Education, she went on to earn a Master’s in Education from Notre Dame de Namur University and a Doctorate in Educational Leadership for Social Justice. Inspired by her own experiences navigating schools where her culture was often overlooked, Dr. Henderson became an educator to ensure that students see their perspectives valued and represented. For more than two decades, she has taught at Sequoia High School, mentoring and inspiring students to pursue careers in education and beyond. Passionate about equity in leadership, she has worked to increase representation within her district, pushing for more administrators and educators who reflect the diversity of the students they serve. Today, she continues to teach with the goal of empowering young people to see themselves as leaders, change-makers, and contributors to a stronger, more inclusive community.
Email: jaross@seq.org
Phone Ext. 77369
Room: 5
Tyler Ross
Mr. Ross received his Masters in Education from the Citadel Military College and his Bachelor of Arts in United States History from the College of Charleston. After teaching eight grade U.S. History and coaching boys varsity track in Charleston, Mr. Ross headed to New York City where he taught for five years in a traditional public school environment. From there he joined a progressive, project-based school where he taught ELA, World History, and served as an advisor to over thirty students for both academic-related needs and internship programs. Mr. Ross has been teaching in California since 2013, and joined Redwood High School in 2019 as the United States History and Government teacher. He is grateful that he can continue to help youngsters meet their full potential by preparing them for the rigors of college and beyond.
COURSE DESCRIPTIONS
World History
Course Description: This course covers a period of more than 250 years and highlights the intensification of global history as people, products, diseases, knowledge, and ideas spread around the world. Topics: Foundations of Democracy, Enlightenment, Industrial Revolution, Marching towards WWI, WWII, and the Holocaust. How native people responded to colonization will also be examined.
Ethnic Studies
Course Description: Ethnic Studies questions many of the traditional ways history has been presented. In this course, we will examine the events through the lens of BIPOC communities (Black, Indigenous, People of Color). Units including Identity, Migration, Movement, Diaspora, Systems of Power, Power Movements, Transformation, and Change, as well as Case Studies, will be included. BLM protests of 2020 motivated and prompted students and community members to advocate for the adoption of this course.
Principles of American Democracy
Students in grade twelve pursue a deeper understanding of the institutions of American government. They compare systems of government in the world today and analyze the history and changing interpretations of the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the current state of the legislative, executive, and judiciary branches of government. An emphasis is placed on analyzing the relationship among federal, state, and local governments, with particular attention paid to important historical documents such as the Federalist Papers. These standards represent the culmination of civic literacy as students prepare to vote, participate in community activities, and assume the responsibilities of citizenship.
Economics
Why Economics? We will study a set of reasoning and decision-making skills for surviving in a global economy and how the concepts of scarcity influence our government and personal lives. We will confront the issues of increasing personal bankruptcies, credit card debt, and the value of saving and how to be a smart consumer, how to choose a top-earning college degree in a market that is stable or growing. Finally, we will look at international trade and how it impacts us here in the US.
Topics:
Intro, Trade-offs, Economic Systems, American Economy, Goals of a Nation, Income Gap, Consumption, Buying Principles, Consumerism, Credit, Loans, Government Regulation, Student Loans, Food, Clothing, Rent vs. Buy, Purchasing Vehicles, Starting a Business, Trade with other Nations, and Obstacles to Growth.
WORK will consist of Vocabulary, Research on selected topics, Reading chunks of the text for understanding, Small group presentations and discussions, Reflection writing on issues and concepts, Watching short Video Clips and Analyzing Charts and Graphs.