June 2020: Facing Racism
On June 9, Ms. Becca and Ms. Jessica offered an optional discussion about the ongoing protests for racial justice.
“Jessica and I struggled with whether or not to facilitate something for students while we were at home so it was important to us that it was optional. We also had a representative for each grade (2, 3, and 4), so that presented a challenge but we are hopeful that everyone got something out of it. It is such a challenging conversation to do the right way for everyone but we gave it a lot of thought and research.”
Students listened respectfully and each student took at least one turn to share or in some way contribute to the discussion
“There were a few things that came out of the discussion that were neat. Students made connections to other forms of discrimination, like sexism. At another point, a student thought back to an article we read about hair discrimination and made the connection to racism (a student who was not allowed to go to school if he kept his dredlocks). Students also shared actions they have taken to stand against racism.”