Tuesday morning we had our first DEI chat of the year. Our
featured speaker, Dr. Kristin Carothers, talked about how even our youngest
students are influenced and impacted by societal stereotypes about gender,
race, etc. One comment she made really resonated
for me: “As human beings, we often unwittingly tend to exist in spaces that
confirm our beliefs or stereotypes about the world without needing, desiring,
or attempting to actively engage with others.” Hence, adults in children’s
lives need to help them explore and make better sense the diversity of the world
that they may otherwise not see.
The article below from a 4th grade teacher (try
to take the time to view her 10-minute TED Talk that’s linked in the article)
provides a broad template of how we as educators (and parents) can support our
kids as they try to negotiate a complex and confusing world and hopefully avoid
societal stereotyping.
She lets us know the following…
- that
we all have to continue on our own personal (and professional) DEI
journey, acknowledging that we all have biases and blind spots yet
remaining open to learning and growth
- that
we must create a trusting and respectful classroom (and school) culture
that allows for both proactive and reactive discussions around topics that
are often deemed taboo…like race, advantage, ability
- that
rather than teach DEI in isolation, we can connect DEI to almost anything
we do in the classroom
- that
we avoid solely categorizing issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion to
the past and help kids see how these affect the present (and their lives)
DEI work is challenging as it pushes against the
conventional order of things and the comfort of our beliefs, experiences, and perspectives.
We often also feel ill-equipped to
converse about topics that society deems impolite and that we’re not experts
in.
Yet as elementary educators who shape our students’ academic and attitudinal foundation, we need
to guide them toward being active champions of fairness and justice.
Joe
It's the last trimester of the school year, and we are in the
middle of a unit on the social construction of race. I ask my students, who are
8 and 9 years old, to think about the first time they learned about race. Many
share that they notice and wonder about skin color but thought it was rude to
discuss. A few remember learning about race through lessons about Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr. Some have been called racially-biased words and names. Others
ask questions about racial struggles people of color have and continue to face
and why we don't have more lessons about them.
I'm often asked by eager teachers how to facilitate conversations
about difference and inclusion. Although my students demonstrate comfort with
sharing their thoughts on topics such as race and gender, we do not begin the
school year by diving into the deep end: to cultivate a learning space where
everyone feels comfortable sharing their experiences and asking tough
questions, there must be mutual trust and respect between the students and
teacher as well as intentional planning.
Do the Personal Work: Before planning your first lesson, ask yourself: Are you
reflecting on your own identity, biases, and dominant culture beliefs and
accepting what you don't know? Have you considered how these facets might
affect the way you frame questions and respond to students? You must also
maintain awareness of yourself, your students' experiences, your community, and
your history. For example, as a person of East Asian descent, I recognize the
"model minority" stereotype that often follows Asian students but
also have to be aware of my own implicit biases that may affect my black
students and their families. Although this work is emotionally laborious, it is
crucial to recognize that self-education is ongoing. Building comfort while
leading lessons on "taboo" subjects can be intimidating. You will absolutely
make mistakes. But it is humanizing for students to see teachers acknowledge
when they don't have all the answers and to show that adults expect and inspect
their mistakes.
Create Community, Not
Hierarchy: Diversity advocate Verna Myers is
noted for saying, "Diversity is being invited to the party; inclusion is
being asked to dance." To be able to take on the tough topics, you must
create a classroom culture based on autonomy, trust, and mutual respect—not
hierarchy. How are you creating space for students to take ownership of their
learning and operate with autonomy? During the first few weeks of the school
year, I prioritize social-emotional lessons and community building over
academics. You can always go back and reteach a math lesson, but creating a
positive classroom culture from the start is something you cannot afford to get
wrong. To develop trust and prepare my students for upcoming conversations on
topics such as race and gender, I want them to know that I am accountable to
them. Throughout the year, I remind them that our community only operates well
when both trust and mutual respect are in place. The first time I created a
multi-lesson unit on race and racism, I wanted my 4th grade students to
understand the importance of conversations, so I set them up to listen and
discuss issues that many adults try to avoid. We brainstormed about the
environment and behaviors we would need to cultivate for everyone to be
vulnerable and created an agreement that we followed for every lesson:
·
Share what you're comfortable with
·
Ask questions and ask them with
positive intent
·
Seek to understand; don't criticize
others if they don't understand
·
Show respect to everyone, regardless of
opinions
·
Give positive suggestions
·
Don't share other people's personal
business
·
Expect and respect mistakes
·
Avoid jumping to conclusions and
judgmental words (e.g., good, bad, right, wrong).
Use a Social Justice
Lens: If you're passionate about issues of
equity and inclusion, it's easy to want to take on everything at once.
Educators often ask how I manage to teach about difference and inclusion in
addition to core subjects and required standards. Equity and inclusion issues
should not be confined to a single block in your agenda. Instead, think of them
as a lens through which you can teach other subjects. If you're teaching a
nonfiction reading unit on biographies, choose texts that feature the lives of
Black people, indigenous people, and other people of color. If your students
are crafting opinion essays, why not have them write about current events or
social issues? When I taught 2nd grade, I integrated a unit on gender
stereotyping into our reading and writing curriculum. To introduce the concept
of stereotyping, my students brainstormed how the media portrays teachers and
kids and reflected on these representations' validity. They cut up
advertisements for Halloween costumes and sorted them based on boy and girl
stereotypes, then questioned the effect of these marketing messages, The
children read folktales and classic fairytales from all over the world and
noted how the stories portrayed men and women. As part of our persuasive
writing unit, students wrote letters to toy and clothing companies, asking them
to be mindful of perpetuating gender stereotypes. We addressed all curricular
requirements and standards, but the lens through which we studied expanded
students' worldview on gender difference and inclusion. In the past few years,
I have also expanded the conversations to include how people who are non-binary
or transgender are affected by gender stereotypes.
What to Do When Issues
Arise: Many teachers avoid talking about race
because they worry about confrontation or other difficult situations. I
experienced this when one of my 4th grade students made a racially insensitive
remark. Rather than discipline the student, I explained to the class that this
moment was an example of why we need to learn about racism in the first place.
I highlighted that racist words and acts stem from stereotypical and biased
beliefs about people of color, often rooted in physical characteristics.
Drawing attention to this truth was uncomfortable, but in order for students to
unlearn racial biases, we have to put a spotlight on those problematic beliefs.
I shared this experience during my TED Talk, "How to Teach Kids to Talk About Taboo Topics."
Some teachers who watched the talk admitted they wouldn't have known how to
handle the incident and their "fight or flight" instincts would have
kicked in. Others sent me angry messages that my reaction toward the student
wasn't harsh enough, that I shouldn't protect the feelings of my white
students, and that I shouldn't let such ignorance stand. What I didn't share in
my TED Talk is that my classroom is incredibly diverse and the student who made
that comment isn't white. Even when working in a racially diverse community,
stereotypes, biases, and prejudices are always present. This was an opportunity
to remind my students that people who are black or brown can still harm one
another, and we need to be aware of the ways we marginalize each other. During
these conversations, ignorant comments and questions will most likely arise.
Remember that all questions come from a place of ignorance, and both children
and adults have a lot to learn about discussing race, gender, and religion.
We should question, rather than shame, students for their
ignorance:
·
"I'm curious: Where did you hear
that word, and do you know what it means?"
·
"What was your intent by making
that comment?"
·
"How do you think it makes your
classmates feel when you use that word?"
This approach holds students accountable without shaming them.
(The article "Speaking Up Without Tearing Down" by Loretta J.
Ross also has effective strategies.) Expecting these lessons and conversations
to unfold perfectly is unrealistic. Nevertheless, it's important to be prepared
to respond and facilitate when issues arise
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