What our six-year-olds have to say about gender stereotypes
by guest bloggers Kevin Wood, Emily Silver, and Stephanie Grundy In January, a theater group performed a version of “Princess and the Pea” for our pre-K to second-grade school. The show focused a young woman whose only role was to…
Affirming children’s questions and comments about race: a simple but powerful tool
by Sachi Feris More than ten years ago, I was teaching at a progressive, independent school and my best pal/colleague, a White woman named Sara, approached me quietly, saying: “Something just happened that I need your feedback on.” “What happened?”…
Talking about Black Lives Matter to White Children
by guest blogger Amy Dudley This past Martin Luther King Jr. Day my five-year-old daughter and I attended a day long Freedom Camp organized by some long-time educators, a passionate, intergenerational, multiracial group that included pioneers in anti-bias education, and…
How to help children feel it is “all right” to ask questions about differences
by Sachi Feris When I was little, my parents had friends with a daughter named Emily who had suffered brain damage during childbirth. As a result, Emily could not sit up or talk. I remember, when we visited, feeling uncomfortable…
When race and gender intersect: What I want my daughter to know about beauty
by Sachi Feris On a trip to Walgreens, my daughter found some Doc McStuffins stickers—a Disney television series featuring an African-American girl who wants to be a doctor. I had purchased Doc McStuffins playing cards for my daughter a few…