Book Overview

What if teachers accepted the idea that young students need adequate preparation for a deep, meaningful understanding of racism and how to dismantle it? What if they identified the key, fundamental concepts students need to know first, similar to the way they teach basic number sense before teaching algebra or trigonometry? How would this lead to better outcomes? How would this create more unity and a sense of empathy around the topic? How could this reduce injustices and help to eradicate racism? This book seeks to answer those questions.

In this book, I explore with you how we can contribute to what professor and author Sheryll Cashin (2017) calls cultural dexterity or “an enhanced capacity for intimate connections with people outside one’s own tribe, for seeing and accepting difference rather than demanding assimilation to an unspoken norm of whiteness” (p. 10).

I write from a specific perspective: that of a White teacher and mother of biracial children. The primary audience for this book is elementary school teachers and school leaders interested in breaking silences in their classrooms and school communities in order to disrupt bias and work against racism. This book is also written for any parent, caregiver, or other adult who spends time with young children and seeks greater equity and understanding by talking with them about race and racism. This book examines a specific experience of race in a specific context: a kindergarten classroom in an independent school in California.

This book tells the story of how I learned to talk about race and racism with my students and my daughters and invites you to consider the following lessons learned for yourself and adapt them for your classroom. • Teachers can create conversations with elementary school students around race and racism.

• Kindergarten students can learn about changemakers and can acquire skills to become changemakers themselves. The same is true for diverse classrooms and for students of all ages. • As a White teacher and mother, I can face my fear and discomfort talking about race and racism with children. Teachers can adopt strategies for facilitating dialogue, building understanding, and creating inclusive, empathetic conversations with students. • Teachers have the power and responsibility to strengthen diverse communities and create more inclusive and equitable environments.

• Students can explore similarities and differences within their classroom community. Teachers can emphasize differences rather than being silent about them, they can teach about bias and prejudice, and they can cultivate a culture where differences are celebrated.

The book is divided into two parts. In part one, I explore four common reasons why teachers and parents or guardians stay silent about race and racism: (1) racial stress, (2) the belief that diverse environments are sufficient to teach students about race, (3) not knowing what to say about race, and (4) the desire to live in a post-racial world. Using research and anecdotal evidence, I’ll make the case that these reasons are inadequate and that speaking up is a more effective strategy to creating equity and inclusion for all students. I include classroom activities to show what these strategies look like in practice. While some of these recommend books to read with students, you may benefit from consulting There’s More to the Story (Cartledge, Yurick, & Telesman, 2022), a great resource for using literature to teach diversity and social-emotional learning to elementary students. I also share the approach of other elementary school teachers and draw from research I conducted with White elementary school parents about how often they talk with their children about race. Although I use examples of real-life people throughout the book, please note that names have been changed to protect individuals’ privacy.

In chapter 1, we explore how becoming overwhelmed by racial stress causes people to retreat into silence. However, teachers can learn tools for managing racial stress and addressing racial conflict in the classroom. This chapter shows you how to lay foundational knowledge your students need to begin talking about race and provides sample classroom activities.

Chapter 2 examines a second reason White teachers cite for not talking about race: they believe that a diverse classroom environment will teach students how to be inclusive. While diversity has many documented benefits, it’s not enough to counteract discrimination and stereotypes students encounter outside the classroom. Because stereotypes negatively impact student performance, teachers must go beyond diversity to create identity-safe classrooms where all students can thrive.

In chapter 3, I share my findings that many White parents or guardians don’t introduce antiracist topics at home because they don’t know what to say about race. My research on this topic led me to study the origins of Whiteness as well as its connection to White privilege and institutional racism. You’ll access tools and sample lessons for helping students recognize the false stories culture tells about Whiteness and learn how to tell true stories about race.

Chapter 4 explores the reasons White parents wish for their children to live in a post-racial world. But because color-blind ideology fails to prevent microaggressions in the classroom, teachers must employ antibias education to help students celebrate all the ways we are alike and different and to address bias when it occurs. I share classroom activities you can use to integrate this learning with your students.

In part two, you’ll read my story of recognizing my silence, creating the Peaceful Changemaker Curriculum, and talking to my students about race and racism.

Chapter 5 details my story of deciding to speak up. In 2010, I realized the way I’d been teaching Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s life and work did not include all voices, prevent students from singling each other out, or equip them to talk about standing up against injustice. In learning how to explicitly teach about race and racism, my team and I encountered four major challenges. I explain these challenges and share the action steps we took to address them.

In chapter 6, I outline the Peaceful Changemaker Curriculum my team and I developed. While students demonstrated huge growth, gaps in their learning indicated that the curriculum was still a work in progress.

Chapter 7 details my efforts to expand the Peaceful Changemaker Curriculum to include explicit teaching about race and racism. You’ll discover the essential pieces of foundational knowledge I offered students around skin color, bias, and similarities and differences that paved the way for them to understand racism.

In chapter 8, we’ll explore how to invite parents and caregivers to join the conversation about race and racism. Families have valuable insight, resources, and questions to contribute, and when teachers take a proactive rather than a reactive approach to family engagement, everyone benefits from the collaboration.

Chapter 9 examines five common roadblocks teachers face as they incorporate antiracist practices in the elementary classroom. You’ll discover personal stories, actionable advice, and resources to address these roadblocks as you begin talking to young students about race.

The book ends with a glossary of common terms and a robust appendix section packed with resources to support your learning and efforts to share your learning with your students. Appendix A offers answers to frequently asked questions from parents, caregivers, and colleagues; appendix B contains a list of children’s books that address skin color, race, hair, and related issues; and appendix C recommends books for adults on race and racism.