Recently, I wrote a post with 5 examples of race conscious conversations between parents and children. Since many educators also read this blog, today I’m sharing 9 inspiring examples of how educators can practice antiracism at school. Whether you are an early childhood educator or high school biology teacher, there are so many ways you can bring antiracist lessons and practices into your classroom.
9 inspiring examples of educators practicing antiracism at school
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1. Fourth grade teacher Liz Kleinrock encourages students to ask questions about race and racism
This short TED Talk by educator Liz Kleinrock has so many great points about bringing antiracism and social justice conversations into the classroom.
She begins by sharing an incident that would raise any teacher’s blood pressure. After telling the children that they would be starting a unit on race and racism, she encouraged students to share what they knew already.
When one child asked “why are some people racist?” another student (who Kleinrock gives the name Abby) suggested that “maybe some people don’t like Black people because their skin is the color of poop.”
Kleinrock knew that changing the subject would teach children that these kinds of comments are acceptable. But if she came down hard on Abby and shamed her, it might be the last conversation about racism that Abby was ever willing to engage in.
Instead, she used the moment to talk about racist stereotypes of lighter skinned people as more beautiful. All the students, including Abby and students who were angry at what she said, stayed engaged in the conversation.
2. Freedom Reads series shows educators how to use books to build antiracism lessons
One of my favorite sources for antiracist children’s books is Social Justice Books. The site also has young adult books and book recommendations for educators.
Their new project, “Freedom Reads: Anti-Bias Book Talks,” provides educators and parents with more than recommended books. Each video guides adults through the conversations that the book can inspire.
Educator Allyson Criner Brown highlights important themes in each book. She also provides historical background that will help adults become more confident in discussing the book with kids.
The information she shares will also inspire teachers to develop additional lesson plans related to the recommended books.
Related Resource:
18 powerful books for kids and teens about race and racism
3. Learn from educators practicing antiracism at school in this workshop led by author Kwame Alexander
Recently children’s author Kwame Alexander, the International Literacy Association, and the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators teamed up for a fantastic webinar on children and antiracism.
The panelists include Tiffany Jewell (one of the antiracist educators I admire most), author Karyn Parsons, principal Noni Thomas-Lopez, and Pam Allyn, an author and educator focused on literacy and social justice.
There are so many great questions that the panelists answer during this workshop!
I’ll highlight just a few of the things they shared, and then I encourage you to watch the entire workshop. (Tip: Since this was recorded live, the content starts around minute 10:20. There are some introductions and opening remarks. Then the panelists start answering questions around minute 24:30.)
Tiffany Jewell encouraged both educators and parents to engage in the work of antiracism themselves, rather than only focusing on how they can impart antiracist ideas to children. Adults can powerful model things like unpacking their biases, learn from their mistakes, and more.
Related Resource:
This Book is Anti-Racist: 20 Lessons on How to Wake Up, Take Action, and Do the Work by Tiffany Jewell. Recommended for tweens and teens (as well as adults.) Find on Bookshop
Noni Thomas-Lopez addressed educators who fear that speaking up about antiracism at school might get them into trouble. She urged them to take advantage of this particular moment, which provides greater room to “speak truth to power.” The school principal also encouraged educators to talk about the ways their school’s mission statement provides support for antiracism. For example, many school mission statements include a commitment to diversity.
Pam Allyn talked about ways that educators can encourage kids to “talk back to the text,” especially when themes of race and social justice are involved. Teachers have “so much power to create space” for their students to have conversation about racism.
Karyn Parsons reminded listeners that it’s important for ALL children to have books that star Black and Brown characters. She described ways of drawing children into stories, including historical ones, so that they can connect with characters.
4. Black Lives Matter at School Week provides students of all ages ways to understand this powerful movement
During the first week of February, a group of antiracist educators encourages schools to observe Black Lives Matter at School Week.
The idea started from a day of action by Seattle teachers in 2016. Organizers now provide lessons plan ideas for early childhood through high school. You can also download posters and coloring sheets and activity guides here.
Classes and schools have found so many ways to participate in the week. Some hold musical celebrations. High school students have used the lunch hour to encourage student activism. Elementary educators have used children’s literature to explore the principles of the Black Lives Matter movement.
Organizers also highly recommend the book Teaching for Black Lives, published by Rethinking Schools. I’ve reviewed the book and it’s an especially helpful resource for middle and high school educators (though there are some pieces that are relevant to younger students.)
Find Teaching for Black Lives on Bookshop Find Teaching for Black Lives at Rethinking Schools
Related Resource:
15 books to help kids and teens understand that Black Lives Matter
5. Early childhood educators are encouraged to challenge stereotypes about indigenous people by rethinking their curriculum
Too often in early childhood classrooms, children only hear about Native Americans around Thanksgiving. (And what they learn is often inaccurate at best, and offensive at worst.)
Guy W. Jones and Sally Moomaw urge early childhood educators to practice antiracism at school by incorporating American Indian stories, art, and music into their existing curriculum themes through the year.
Usually, having a special unit on Native Americans focuses only on how Native peoples lived in the past. Preschool aged children aren’t able to distinguish between history and the present, so this is confusing for them.
This kind of approach also often leads to lumping different tribes’ cultures together, giving kids the false impression that there is a single American Indian culture.
Instead, Jones and Moomaw suggest that preschool and kindergarten teachers use several themes that are easy for young kids to relate to. The themes, such as children, home, families, and community, are also ideal for incorporating books written by American Indian authors.
Related Resources:
Lessons from Turtle Island: Native Curriculum in Early Childhood Classrooms by Guy W. Jones and Sally Moomaw. Find on Bookshop
Do’s and Don’ts for Teaching about Native Americans in Preschool and Kindergarten
Twenty #ownvoices children’s books about Native Americans and First Nations peoples
6. Practice antiracism at school by addressing microaggressions when they happen
A preschool student told an Asian American teacher, “wow, you sound American.” Fellow teacher Elena Jaime knew how important it was to address the child’s comments.
Children and adults who commit microaggressions often don’t realize what’s offensive about their remarks. This makes it even more crucial to have classroom conversations, rather than changing the subject.
Jaime often used the word “ouch” to let children know that a comment could hurt another person. She said “ouch” when the student made the comment, and later in the day gathered the class together to talk. She describes how she helped children understand microaggressions in this post.
Related Resources:
Talking about microaggressions with children (includes a picture book list)
Talking to kids about anti Asian racism (includes a list of picture and chapter books)
7. Find out 4th graders successfully lobbied for a California law requiring antiracist curriculum
Several years ago, 4th grade teacher Leslie Hiatt invited 89 year old Emilia Castaneda to speak to her class. When Castaneda herself was in fourth grade, she arrived home one day to find her father packing up all their belongings. He was a legal resident who had immigrated from Mexico, and Emilia was born in the United States. Yet they were being deported.
During the Great Depression, President Hoover had declared that jobs were only for “real Americans.” The government claimed to have sold the family’s home, and used that money to buy train tickets for their forced return to Mexico.
Castaneda wasn’t able to return to the United States until she was 18. The young students listening to her were especially upset that the U.S. government never apologized to those who were illegally deported.
The children began to look through their textbook and found next to no mention about the experience of Mexican immigrants (let alone the deportations.) Hiatt provided them a variety of learning opportunities, which culminated in the students deciding to lobby for a law that would require California students to learn about the deportations.
You can read their full story here of the two year process it took to get the legislation passed.
Related Resources:
Six ways kids can learn about farmworkers and support their rights
Seventeen inspiring picture books starring Latinx characters
8. Antiracism in biology class? How one high school teacher helps students make connections between science and racism
One of the things I appreciate about the book Teaching for Black Lives is how the articles aren’t confined just to history, social studies, and literature.
In the guide, Gretchen Kraig-Turner shares how her biotechnology class students are often baffled when she hands them a copy of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.
As the students learn about cells, they also learn how Lacks’ cells led to incredible discoveries. Scientists took her cells without authorization, and they’ve been incalculably valuable to scientists. Yet neither Lacks or her family members have received any compensation from the many lucrative technological advances she made possible.
After reading the book, students wanted to know more about other examples of racism, ethics, and science that are shared. Their lessons have expanded to discuss the Tuskegee Syphilis Study, and how it continues to impact Black Americans experience of medicine.
9. How a first grade teacher responds to biased comments about skin color and language
Even at a highly diverse, dual language immersion school, children bring society’s racism with them. First grade teacher Rita Tenorio often hears from students things like “brown kids can’t be in our club,” or “I don’t want to sit next to him. He talks funny.”
In her essay for Teaching for Black Lives, Tenorio shares how she gently addresses the bias in these comments head on, rather than only talking generically about kindness.
For example, she might tell a student who says that a Spanish speaking student “talks funny,” that Miguel is speaking Spanish. “You and I are speaking English. In our classroom, we’ll be speaking in both Spanish and English. It’s fine for you to ask questions about what Miguel is saying…But it’s not OK to say that he talks funny. That’s a put down to all of us who speak Spanish. You’ll be learning to speak in Spanish, too, so you can learn a lot from Miguel.”
Tenorio also finds ways to include antiracist and antibias lessons in the classroom, so that all conversations about bias aren’t sparked by particular comments from students. These lessons, she points out, can also be an excellent way for young students to explore how they are similar and different.