Conversations about Racism

There exists a preconceived notion that kids are “too young” to talk about racism or to understand the impacts of it. Making space for these conversations and creating a curriculum that revolves about an anti-racist lens should be prioritized in classrooms of all ages and academic levels. Children are able to absorb information at rates where they can retain new content every single day, whether that is making sense of new words, new people who may have arrived in their daily lives, or what skills they acquired.

You can learn more here.

“Kids get it, even as little as the first grade. They are more likely to understand than most adults, especially white adults, where the socialisation has been that if you mention race, it might get you in trouble.” 

- Mary Anton, Bowman Elementary School.

Children who are experiencing racism might:

• have difficulty concentrating

• have difficulty making friends

• have lower results on projects and assignments

• act out or reject their own culture or family values

• become aggressive or more disruptive

Children who are a witness to racism might:

• feel unsure on how to respond to stressful situations

• become more observant of something or someone being unfair

• feeling unable to make a situation better

• becoming harmful themselves if they see others being harmful

• become desensitized to racial slurs and/or racist situations

Steps that you can take as an instructor!

Addressing Race in the Classroom. It can be challenging to lead and hold discussions centred about race and racism, especially when you are implementing the content into a new way of programming and teaching.  If you are planning to hold space and discussions, or even if they arise during the course of another activity, ensure you have completed a live or asynchronous anti-racism training and have discussed your new ideas and approach with your team and program director. Note this is as guided by your Institution’s policies.

Create a safe, inclusive and welcoming space to hold these discussions: These conversations can be difficult and uncomfortable, but they are important. By creating a safe, inclusive, and welcoming space for students you help to invite these conversations in a way that can be respectful of all views and experiences. Ways to create a safe space include: 

• Model authenticity by sharing who you are with youth.

• Create ways for youth to share who they are with you.

• Use the “shoulders” (e.g. lunch, breaks) of instructional time to form connections with youth.

• Be deliberate in celebrating the achievements of people from marginalized segments of society.

• Make room for feedback from youth.

Be honest with yourself and your students. Begin by explaining the layers of unconscious culture, unconscious bias and overt discrimination and racism (See figure in Section 3.) Learn about what they already know and move forward from that place. 

For example, if there is a student that says they do not “see colour” - they are coming from the “colourblind” approach. This statement removes the lived experiences of Indigenous, Black and people of colour when other people choose not to see it (for more information, see here). These statements are rooted in colonialism and perpetuate the lens of the standard: whiteness.

Be ready to feel uncomfortable in your conversations. When you begin by holding a space that welcomes and encourages honesty, you are also welcoming the responses and reactions to that honesty, which means it will not always be positive or easy to hear. Stay in the learning process, and be guided by your program’s Director and policies, even when experiencing pushback from other colleagues and parents. Many white-bodied parents will have the tendency to protect their children from having explicit discussions about race and racial difference. Adults have the obligation to learn and teach about these complex topics, whether they are coming from lived experiences or not. 

Example reflection questions to address.

• Why do people speak different languages and have different cultures?

• Why do people eat different kinds of food or wear different kinds of clothing?

• How do you feel when you are left out of an activity or conversation?

• Can you think of the last time you witnessed someone having their feelings hurt? Why do you think that happened?

• What are some ways you can help someone who has been hurt by some form of racism or discrimination?

• Do you think our school or classroom makes everyone feel welcome? Why or why not?

• Do you talk about race or racial differences at home with your parents, friends and other family members?