| Your Name | Alyssa Fay |
| Bibliographic Information (check APA style for citations if you’re not sure) | Ervin, Bree. (August 23, 2014). 5 Reasons We All Need to Talk to Kids About Race in America. Everyday Feminism. Retrieved from http://everydayfeminism.com/2014/08/talk-to-kids-about-race/ |
| Summary | What is the gist of the article? Tell us enough information about the article to understand what it’s about: In the article the Author, Bree Ervin, discusses the topic of race in America and just how tricky it can be to navigate this type of discourse with children. She states that many parents worry about talking to their kids about race and racism because of all of the ways it can backfire; such as saying the wrong thing or accidentally inspiring a racist child. Parents think that it is easier to lead by example and move through the world with “color blindness”. Bree has a different outlook and continues the article by listing her reasons why we all need to talk to kids about race in America instead of ignoring the facts and the history surrounding the racial constructs our country. The five reasons she lists are as follows: 1. If you don’t someone else will, 2. Talking to kids about race actually helps them see beyond race, 3. Not talking about race can lead to complicit racism, 4. Racial ignorance erases racial history and denies lived experience, and 5. Educating our children about race helps them fight racism and create change. Bree concludes the article by stating that knowing why you need to talk to your children about race isn’t the same thing as knowing how–which is what she intended to discuss in a follow-up article. |
| Review
(Using ‘I’ statements is appropriate here!) |
How does the article help you think about applying ideas we’ve covered in this course in the classroom?: This article gives me the confidence to discuss tough topics like race, religion, hierarchy, bigotry, and the power structures in America with my future students. Bree drives home the importance of talking to kids about these social constructs before it is too late. She gives real life examples from one of her own children who witnessed racism in her own school. Many of her daughters friends and classmates happened to be Latinx. Her daughter noticed on several occasions that the Latinx boys in the class would get in trouble more often than the white boys in class for the same negative behavior. Latinx girls would get in trouble for violating the dress code when her white daughter was wearing very similar clothing lengths and not getting the same punishment. These real life examples of complicit racism really made me think about my future classroom and how I’ll need to hold myself accountable as an educator for my own class and others. Bree also discussed the importance of speaking up instead of staying silent when someone says something that is racist. She states that not saying something, being a passive racist or having bigotry ignorance, is just as bad as being intentionally racist because it consents to the spreading of those ideas. I agree. In my future classroom I will vow to not tolerate any racist or bigoted remarks or comments made by my students. I also vow to insure that they will have the tools necessary to confront, question, and correct their peers when they hear racist comments or remarks. |
| Remaining Questions | List any questions you have after reading the article:
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