2015 - Raising Race Conscious Children

My daughter’s charmed life and her contact with the service industry

December 15, 2015 · by Raising Race Conscious Children · in Class, Early Childhood, Elementary School, Sachi Feris, STRATEGY: AFFIRM CHILDREN'S QUESTIONS, STRATEGY: CHILDREN AND ACTIVISM, STRATEGY: NAME RACE/WHITENESS, STRATEGY: SPEAK TO IMAGES/WORDS, Toddlers, White Privilege

by Sachi Feris As a White, upper middle class woman, my contact with the service industry provides a constant reminder that the legacy of slavery is inextricably connected to our present-day reality. I live near a block that houses a…

The N-word and my daughter

December 11, 2015 · by Raising Race Conscious Children · in Elementary School, Martha Haakmat, Middle Grades, Race, Racial Identity, STRATEGY: AFFIRM CHILDREN'S QUESTIONS, STRATEGY: CONSIDER FEELINGS, STRATEGY: FAIRNESS/UNFAIRNESS, STRATEGY: NAME RACE/WHITENESS

by guest blogger Martha Haakmat I woke up this morning thinking about what it means to raise race conscious children, and how some of us have no choice. I am sure this is on my mind heavily because I am…

Explaining “race” versus skin color to my three-year-old

December 8, 2015 · by Raising Race Conscious Children · in Early Childhood, Elementary School, Race, Sachi Feris, STRATEGY: AFFIRM CHILDREN'S QUESTIONS, STRATEGY: NAME RACE/WHITENESS, STRATEGY: SPEAK TO IMAGES/WORDS, Toddlers, White Privilege

by Sachi Feris Since we often talk about skin color, I wasn’t surprised when my daughter, while sitting on a bench in San Cristóbal, Mexico the other day, noted that her baby brother’s skin color is pinker and paler than…

Windows and mirrors: Reading diverse books with young children

December 4, 2015 · by Raising Race Conscious Children · in Early Childhood, Georgia Lobban, STRATEGY: AFFIRM CHILDREN'S QUESTIONS, STRATEGY: NAME RACE/WHITENESS, Toddlers

by guest blogger Georgia Lobban Less than a year ago, my daughter (then four-years-old) expressed a dislike for her hair and skin as compared to the characters see often enjoys in books. “Mommy, my hair looks so silly!” or “Am…

Child labor and Chanukah in Chiapas, Mexico

December 1, 2015 · by Raising Race Conscious Children · in Class, Early Childhood, Elementary School, Sachi Feris, STRATEGY: AFFIRM CHILDREN'S QUESTIONS, STRATEGY: CHILDREN AND ACTIVISM, STRATEGY: FAIRNESS/UNFAIRNESS, White Privilege

by Sachi Feris Eight years ago, my husband and I planned a sabbatical-like trip to Mexico. We are finally taking this trip and are currently living in San Cristobal, Chiapas, Mexico with a three-and-half-year-old and a two-month old baby. San…

“The world is unfair”: My head-on approach to talking about homelessness with my daughter

November 24, 2015 · by Raising Race Conscious Children · in Class, Early Childhood, Elementary School, Sachi Feris, STRATEGY: AFFIRM CHILDREN'S QUESTIONS, STRATEGY: CHILDREN AND ACTIVISM, STRATEGY: EXPLORE THROUGH PLAY, STRATEGY: FAIRNESS/UNFAIRNESS, Toddlers, Uncategorized

by Sachi Feris I want my daughter to see people who are homeless as people. I don’t want her to avert her eyes, as so many adults do when confronted with the reality of homelessness. One day, I saw my…

Transparency about the lack of racial diversity in children’s books

November 20, 2015 · by Raising Race Conscious Children · in Early Childhood, Elementary School, Race, Sarah Halter Hahesy, STRATEGY: AFFIRM CHILDREN'S QUESTIONS, STRATEGY: NAME RACE/WHITENESS, STRATEGY: SPEAK TO IMAGES/WORDS

by guest blogger Sarah Halter Hahesy I am a White educator of third grade students in Brookline, Massachusetts. I teach in public school within a very wealthy and somewhat diverse population. Our minority enrollment is 41% (mostly Asian, and only…

Thanksgiving/Thanks-taking and privilege

November 17, 2015 · by Raising Race Conscious Children · in Early Childhood, Elementary School, Race, STRATEGY: AFFIRM CHILDREN'S QUESTIONS, STRATEGY: FAIRNESS/UNFAIRNESS, STRATEGY: NAME RACE/WHITENESS, STRATEGY: PARE DOWN THE VARIOUS ISSUES, Toddlers, White Privilege

by Sachi Feris One year ago, during the week before Thanksgiving (or Thanks-taking as I prefer to call it), I mentioned the holiday to my daughter and told her that we were going up to our cousins’ and would sleep…

“Why Didn’t Her Real Mom Want Her?”

November 13, 2015 · by Raising Race Conscious Children · in Early Childhood, Elementary School, Kathleen Dennehy, STRATEGY: AFFIRM CHILDREN'S QUESTIONS, Toddlers

by guest blogger Kathleen Dennehy I’m standing by this ice cream trough, which is maybe 20 feet long, narrow and silver- just like a gutter one might put on a house. But this gutter is lined with aluminum foil and filled…

Reflections on Columbus as we prepare for Thanksgiving

November 10, 2015 · by Raising Race Conscious Children · in Early Childhood, Race, STRATEGY: AFFIRM CHILDREN'S QUESTIONS, STRATEGY: CHILDREN AND ACTIVISM, STRATEGY: CONSIDER FEELINGS, STRATEGY: FAIRNESS/UNFAIRNESS, STRATEGY: NAME RACE/WHITENESS, Toddlers, White Privilege

by Sachi Feris On “Columbus Day” I posted the song “1492” by Nancy Schimmel on Raising Race Conscious Children’s Facebook page. The song, an old favorite I have used with 4th and 5th grade students, details an alternative version of the…