Last Friday Erin and I, with staff, and parents gathered at Lakeside Coffee Shop to talk about having Brave Conversations with your child. The topics included race and racism. I started the discussion with the question “How have you approached talking with your child on the subject of race?”
Many parents stated they felt their children were too young to have race talks. To which Erin and I responded that children as young as infants notice differences. We also shared that if we do not speak to children about subjects like race, gender, and able and unable bodies, they form their own biases. A good resource is an article written by, Dr. Erin N. Winkler, Phd University Wisconsin Milwaukee.
Parents also wanted to find ways to encourage cross cultural relationships.
Here are a few ideas:
Reading books that show cross cultural relationships with a positive lens. For example, “We Are All Welcome” by Alexandra Penfold
Exploring a new park
Brittingham Park is a beautiful inclusive space.
https://www.cityofmadison.com/parks/find-a-park/park.cfm?id=1139
Find a library that is outside your neighborhood.
Choose a restaurant that maybe a different culture then your own family. Maybe do a little history before you go and have a discussion at the table.
I stressed the importance of surrounding your children with different cultures. But when you do this as a parent/s show your children that you “Value“ the people you are bringing into their lives. If we show them how important people are to us they will return that same gesture.
And lastly we touched on the history of land we live on with Thanksgiving Holiday approaching. We have a great resource that I would encourage you to read on this subject. We included the handouts we shared from the Parent Ed conversation. Please enjoy!
These conversations aren’t easy but are so necessary to help shape our school and the broader community.
And if you would like to get involved, we have a Diversity and Equity Committee that meets a few times during the school year. Our first meeting is tonight! Tuesday, November 5 at 6-7:30 pm.
As the Diversity and Equity Specialist, I am always available to have a cup coffee or feel free to send me an email with any thoughts, questions or comments.
“With the child lies the fate of the future “
Dr. Maria Montessori
Resource: https://www.embracerace.org/tip-sheets.html
Full resource: https://inclusions.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Children-are-Not-Colorblind.pdf
Resource from: http://www.childrenscommunityschool.org/social-justice-resources/
Read this full post at: https://www.thebarefootmommy.com/2018/11/native-americans-in-preschool-lessons/