California will soon provide ethnic studies classes for all high schoolers. Here’s why.

In a second-floor classroom at San Francisco’s Washington High School, David Ko is leading freshmen in a discussion about bullying. But it’s not the typical conversation about treating others nicely. “We’re learning about power — political, economic, social — our race, ethnicity, culture, nationality,” says 14-year-old freshman James Liu. That’s because ethnic studies is not simply…