Reflecting on Anti-bias Education in Action: The Early Years (2021) - full transcript

Did you see Julie's new puppy?

Huh?

Juniper.

She got a new puppy.

No.

And it was beautiful.

It's super black like
your shirt and fluffy.

And it's a cute
little... oh, my gosh,

she has a cute little face.

She was in the hallway
this morning with Julie.

Maybe we can take a walk
over there later and see her.



She's in Julie's
office with baby Luna.

Now there's two babies over
there, a puppy and a real baby.

Cute.

I know.

You just have to step back
and look at your own biases.

You do have to check yourself
because there are some things

that, wow, this is just
not how I was raised.

Oh, Zara, it's so
beautiful and brown.

Just like me and you.

Me and Zara, made by Zara.

I just love it.

But I would say, coming
into this kind of work,

yeah, there is some
soul searching like,

look at yourself and
look who you are.



Look at who you are.

It's a lot about
who you are, how

you feel as a human,
your emotions,

empathy towards others
and yourself, too.

It's all down to that.

It's down to what kind of
human do you want to be.

So what do you have in there?

Circles?

Mhm.

You can draw them in there.

Look at your face.

What do you notice
about your lips?

Children at this
age are constantly

looking at what's
different, what's similar.

We have different
cheeks, different lips,

different noses.

Getting them to open
up about who they are,

being willing to be
present in the classroom,

sharing who they are
whether it's just something

that they like, I think
it's the opportunity

for them to become proud of who
they are and their self-esteem

and how they share
that with others

or how they might not want to.

No.

Do you want to show your
self portrait, Emily?

Yeah.

What do you all think?

I love it.

What was... I noticed that
you had added something here.

What were those?

I'm done.

On yours... well, we're
going to draw again, hon.

They're cheeks.

They're cheeks.

And then I noticed
your nose, too.

Everyone has a different
shaped nose on theirs.

Mine is down.

Yours is down.

So you have a triangle
going down like this, right?

Mine is like a rectangle.

And I noticed it's
holding up your glasses.

What shape is Zara's nose?

What shape is your nose, Zara?

Heart.

Kind of it.

It does.

It has like kind of
a heart shape to it.

Mine is a little bit round.

Mm-hmm.

Yours is a little
bit more rounded.

Mine is like a rectangle.

You feel like yours
is a rectangle?

Me, too.

How about yours, Inou?

Well I notice... look at...
do you want to show yours?

All right.

Inou, do you want to pick it
up and show it to your friends

on the table?

I think this is great, too.

So Inou, one thing, one
reason that I actually put you

and Zara in the
self-portrait group

together is because both
of you had something

to say in the last self
portrait that I thought

was really interesting.

So Zara, last time you
were in the studio told

me that... and Davis and Emily,
you were in the same group

as Zara, so you
might remember, too.

It's that Zara had said
that when she watches

fairytales that they don't
draw boys with eyelashes.

Joyce mentioned to me
that... she said that when

you looked in the mirror that
you don't have eyelashes,

but Zara was pointing out
that boys have eyelashes, too.

What do you think about that?

Yes.

What do you think about...
do boys have eyelashes?

Yes.

Let's look in the mirror.

So Davis, do you have eyelashes?

Yeah.

You can look in the mirror, too.

I mean I have eyelashes.

Me, too.

Making sure that
people are feeling

comfortable with
themselves comes

from you being comfortable
being yourself around others.

So it's a lot of paralleling
that with children

and really getting them to show
who their authentic selves are

because they are getting
to know who they are.

And it's really important
to really bring that up

with confidence.

What else can you add?

I am done.

Mhm.

I'm done.

You're feeling done?

Let me see.

Let's take a look at the mirror.

Hair?

Check.

Eyebrows?

Yeah, check.

Let me see.

Check.

Eyes?

Check.

Check.

Glasses?

Check.

Lips?

Check.

Ears?

Check.

I'm done.

You can grab a book, bud.

Good.

A calendar.

All right.

This line was just an accident.

I mean it's totally fine
that you drew it that way.

That's why... and that's another
thing, another reason why

we do it more than one time
because just like when we read

books, there are times where
we see something one time,

and then the next time we
see something totally new.

So that's why it's good to
give activities a second try.

So should we get started on
working on our second self

portrait?

Yeah.

All right.

So I'm going to give you
a piece of paper, now.

Joanne, Ashim.

Who speaks Korean
in our classroom?

Isaiah.

Isaiah.

Isaiah.

Can we say,..

You know we are not saying
correct, but we're trying,

we're listening the family's
good morning every single day

to get the accent.

And it's not easy, but we want
every child to feel welcome

in the classroom.

And they know their
language is coming up

any time during the day.

Who speaks Tigrinya
in a classroom?

Jo-el.

I want them to be very strong,
have the strong identity,

culture and language.

Like I speak Somali,
and I'm so proud of it.

And I just speaks Spanish,
and I'm so proud of it.

And I know my teachers
can support me.

Can we say, buenos
días, buenos días.

Who speaks Spanish
in our classroom?

Me.

Teacher.

You can do it Asher?

And this book talks about
what my family do in Mexico.

I tried to bring something
up about myself, my family.

I bring the Tortillera.

I've bring those books.

My grandma has one of this one.

We talk about how
we make tortillas.

So we make tortillas with
a family who visits us.

My great grandma made
tortillas for my grandmother.

The children be very
engaged, but also they

are doing what they love to do.

I made a big tortilla.

I know.

I want them to bring who they
are, and also I bring who I am.

Way back when I
was younger, I went

to a school that was
predominantly white,

and I didn't feel confident
in sharing who I was.

I didn't see myself
reflected, so it took me

years to learn to be
confident in who I am,

and being in a space
where I am now,

the children know all about
me, whether it's my culture,

whether it's the language
I speak at home or foods

that I like to eat.

Hi, this is me.

I want to see
children represented.

I want them to see
things that remind them

of home, that remind
them of their families,

and that's really
my first goal when

I'm planning the environment,
whether it's through books,

whether it's through things
in the dramatic play,

whether it's through
things that I'm asking them

to bring from home to share.

It's really important
to me that they

see something that reminds
them of themselves,

but also they're learning
about their friends.

We might have a few
children that wear glasses.

So having little glasses in
the dramatic play area that...

the first day of school,
the children walk in,

and there's a baby
doll wearing glasses.

And just to see the look
on that child's face like,

look, just like me, that
the baby's wearing glasses.

Or even for another child to
point out, look, just like you.

The baby has glasses.

So things like that are
really important to me

but also finding
ways for children

to see differences
that they might not

have seen before, perhaps
a different culture,

a different language,
a different race.

So as we think about it is
mirrors as well as windows.

It's always good to
bring up conversations

about what we eat at
home because they love

to share what they eat at
home and how they make it,

especially.

Who eats strawberries?

Who eat strawberries?

Who eats rice?

What color is your
rice that you eat?

I've tried purple rice,
brown rice, white rice,

and yellow orangey rice.

You tried all the
colors of rice?

Bringing up food conversations
as they're eating,

they are aware that not
everyone eats the same things,

not everyone likes
the same tastes.

Who speaks another language
than English at their house?

What do you speak at
your house Khalid?

Spanish.

And what else?

Hmm?

And English.

And what does your yaya speak?

Somali.

Remember?

Yeah.

What do you speak at
your house, Khalid?

Do you know what language
Khalid speaks at his house?

Do you know what he
speaks at his house?

Do you speak Oromo?

Oromo.

Oromo with an O at the end.

O At the beginning O and
then at the end O. O-ro-mo.

I think the differences
makes it fun for them

to understand who they
are, and that they're

special and different
from everyone else.

Talking about the
differences really

helps them see that
everyone is different

and we can all still get along.

Thank you.

That's what having an
anti-bias education creates.

It just creates an
empathetic human beings

who can care for one another
and take care of each other

instead of just being
isolated and kind

of caring about themselves.

It creates a much more connected
community and larger world.

We had a parent, who
was in a wheelchair, who

helped us to rethink
how we designed

our classroom, the space.

The children were interested
in him and his wheelchair.

And we talked about what
is the wheelchair for.

I wanted to go deeper
into that, so I

had an assistant who
came in to volunteer

who was in a wheelchair.

And she also was a great
role model for children.

And when you are in a
classroom with someone

who is different than you, you
start to see different layers.

And so at first, those
wheelchairs were...

that was the focus.

And after a while
it was this father

liked to play basketball.

And this woman, who
was our volunteer,

liked to read
stories to children

and had an amazing
infectious laugh.

And so the children started
to see different layers,

and that's really
important to me.

Yeah, because I was super...

Some of their questions are
kind of like throw you off.

This making me thinking about...

I had one child
ask, why am I Black?

And I was like, hmm, here I am.

But it's like in
those situations,

it's like I don't want
to leave them hanging,

but I will tell them,
let me think about that.

Let me get back to
you because I do want

their questions to be answered.

They want to know
things like why

my hair is not like their hair.

They'll compare eye
color, hair color.

But your hair is curly, I'm
like, oh, yeah, it's curly.

We'll compare curly, straight.

They're just four
and five years old.

They're curious, and
every year we get it.

They're so amazed with my hair.

A huge part of
anti-bias curriculum

has to do with the relationship
that you have with children.

It's such a vulnerable place.

You're sharing a
lot about yourself.

They're sharing a
lot about themselves.

It's pronounced Hyun-Hi, so
I was pronouncing it wrong.

I was pronouncing
it phonetically

which is like the
letters, how it sounds,

but it has a different
pronunciation.

Remember how we were talking
about how my name isn't

actually Veronica?

And it's actually
"Verr-o-nee-ca."

And I grew up in
Chicago, and I grew up

in a community
that reflected mine

which was mostly like
first generation immigrant

Mexican families.

Being a teacher
of color, I think,

is a provocation in and
of itself sometimes,

and that has come up.

And when it comes
to me, I think I'm

a lot easier in
answering the questions

because I am very comfortable
with my identity and my culture

and have had many
years to develop that.

Right away in our classroom,
we talk about our three rules

which are, our feelings
need to be safe,

our bodies need to be safe, and
our materials need to be safe.

Part of that is we
need to... children

need to feel safe to be
whoever they want to be.

And that is what's happening
in the dramatic play area

that they are acting out
different ways of being

in the world.

In one of my first
morning meetings,

I bring a skirt
that I like to wear.

I tell the children that
I want to wear the skirt,

but I want to make sure
that I feel safe wearing

a skirt in the classroom.

And so I'm just a little bit
afraid that someone might laugh

or they might feel
uncomfortable.

So I just want you to know
that sometimes I wear a skirt,

and it's really comfortable.

I like it.

I like to spin around in it.

That is one way to use
my own personal things

that I like to do as a
model for dramatic play.

And so the children get to
be whoever they want to be.

It's one of my goals
with my teaching team

to put out materials that
are not gender specific so

having lots of fabric, having
materials that are open ended,

having things such
as doctor tools,

and baby dolls,
maybe with no clothes

but just little
pieces of fabric,

and seeing the children
come into that space.

And without even
saying it, they know

this is a safe space to explore
the different materials.

And they're having conversations
about what they're wearing.

Oh, look at me.

I made a skirt,
or I made a cape.

There's so many possibilities
because the pieces of fabric

aren't dictating what they're
supposed to be dressed as,

but it opens up this big
world of endless play of so

many things that they can be.

Sometimes we'll do a
persona doll story.

We'll grab a book and put the
doll in the situation we did.

Me and Veronica did one with
my doll's Black, her doll's

Latina, that they couldn't
be friends just because they

had two different skin tones.

And we were asking
friends, is this fair?

And they came up with so many
solutions of why it's not fair.

And it's like, if we just keep
talking to them about this...

there's that phrase,
there's good in everybody.

You got to see it.

There's things that are
different and unique about you.

There's different things
that are unique and different

about other people.

We're constantly listening.

We're observing what
the children are doing.

Dramatic play, I mean,
that's where they're always

testing out those
theories of the things

that they're seeing
in day-to-day life.

They're playing it
out because they

want more information on it.

They're curious.

We've had arguments about,
can't have two dads,

can't have two moms.

We had a little boy who
said, that's not true

because I have two moms.

And I mean, he was heated.

He really got angry about it.

And it's like, why can't you?

So we have to talk
about things that

are like, every
family's not the same.

Some have a mom and a
dad, some have two dads,

some only have a
mom, some friends

live with their grandparents
or their aunties and uncles.

So Huckleberries, today
I want to introduce you

to a new friend in our class.

This, Huckleberries,
is my friend Nash.

It's their first
day in our class.

They're just looking
around at all of you,

and they're so curious
to know who you all are.

Today was fun.

It was really
interesting, though,

knowing going in being like,
I don't know what questions

kiddos are going to have, or
what they're going to say,

which is both nerve racking
but also kind of exciting.

It's that place of not
knowing as a teacher

and just being OK with that.

And the friend likes
to ask the question,

are you a boy or a girl?

And Nash answers,
I'm just a kid.

They can be boys or girls.

Yeah.

Yeah.

It was just like,
non-binary, yeah.

That's just something
that we know.

And this is something...

I mean it's like they're
four and five years old,

and they just didn't
make a big deal out

of being a boy or a girl.

And I think it was a huge
testament to how much

we've been talking about
it in the classroom

that you never mentioned
the term non-binary.

It was a child who brought
that up because it's constantly

in conversation.

Yeah, just like me.

So Nash just like
me, is non-binary.

So they aren't sure if
they're a boy or girl.

So when people ask them,
are you a boy or a girl?

Right now they just feel
like saying, I'm a kid.

They're figuring it out.

They like stars.

Yeah.

And they aren't really...

They wear their star
shirt because it's

their favorite shirt.

And because they
were nervous today,

they thought they
would wear something

that makes them feel special.

I think you just come up
with the idea right away

and I like that you're
trying to think of, oh,

what do they like,
and so they can

have the connection
between each other.

This weekend, their family is
going to plant their garden.

They're going to start
working on their garden.

They picked out three
different types of sunflowers

to grow in their garden.

Huckleberries, have you
ever seen sunflowers before?

Yeah?

Rowin, have you seen
sunflowers before?

No.

No?

Oh, you did?

Emma, do you have a question?

I feel like Emma
still have the idea

like not very sure
about it, and I'm

surprised that she actually...

she really wants to
ask you about why.

I feel like that
could be a topic

that we should come back with.

Why does Nash say
they're just a kid?

Right now, they don't
feel like a boy.

They don't feel like a girl.

And that's OK.

Not everyone is a boy or a girl.

You're right.

Not everyone is
a grandma either.

Yeah.

Starting from the very
youngest classroom,

something that we really think
deeply about with the children

is fairness.

So what is fair?

What is not fair, and
what can we do about it?

How can we make change,
not just something

in our classroom, but
something that we collaborate

with other classrooms.

We collaborate with
our neighborhood on.

I had a group of
children who were

building with the
Magna-Tiles in the classroom,

and I was listening.

I came up close to
them, and they told me

that they were making a
jail for homeless people.

And so that propelled a
whole discussion on people

without homes.

And we brought in a parent
who was formerly homeless,

a parent that had a
child at the school.

And she talked about what
she wanted the children

to know about herself and other
families who were homeless.

We brought in people
who worked for the city.

After this very long,
probably a two-month project,

the children started playing
with the bigger blocks

to build homes that were more
soft, and they had pillows,

and they had blankets.

Their play had changed,
and the environment

provided those kinds
of resources for them.

OK, everyone, listen closely.

So if you want to do this...

And what's that trick called?

It called...

The wiggle.

Well, because you're
wiggling on the board.

Well let her name
it, it's her trick.

We do encourage them to
speak up for themselves.

We're giving them and
we're modeling for them.

Stick up for yourself.

Don't let anyone
push you around.

You don't like it?

Then that's what you
need to tell them.

Give them... that's what
you got a voice for.

Use it.

Stand up even if
it's you, or if you

see someone being mean
to me or rude to me,

say something to them.

What if we had a
friend at our school

that was in a wheelchair, could
they get on the balance board?

Indefinitely, no.

Why not?

Because it would be...

because the wheelchair would
make it hard to stay on.

Oh, so how could we
make it so that they

could play with us, too.

How could we...

Oh, we make a square one as
big as the wheelchair on...

From when I grew up and
in the way I grew up,

I probably would
have got in trouble

for asking or pointing to
something and asking about it.

Like even just something
as simple as somebody

being in a wheelchair,
we would get shushed.

So what you're saying is we can
make one of these big enough

to put the wheelchair on.

And then we glue it onto there.

And then the person
who had the hurt leg

gets to go on the wheelchair,
and then it can spin.

Wow, well that's a good
idea to make one big enough.

What do you think, Finn?

If we had a friend
in a wheelchair,

how could we make it
so that they could

be on a balance board, too?

Oh, we could take off their
wheels and make like...

Their answers came
so quickly, and it

was like maybe while
I was talking to Zara,

Finn was thinking about it.

But when they brought
up building a platform

to put the wheelchair
on, and then one of them

said something about stairs.

And I was like, but if
you're in a wheelchair,

how can you get up stairs?

And then Finn comes up with this
idea about the ramp and just

pushing them up the ramp.

Climb up the staircase.

Zara, if they're
in a wheelchair,

how can they go up the stairs?

Maybe we can go crutches.

Crutches.

That could be good
for him to get on.

Ramp

Yeah.

Yeah?

Well...

OK, wait.

...how can we get up the ramp?

How could we get up the ramp?

For them to figure out
a way for somebody who

couldn't do what they
could do with their legs,

but even if there was the
challenge of the wheelchair,

they figured out a way that,
hey, this person can play, too.

Yeah.

So he can go up the
ramp, and then you're

going to sit on and
do lots of tricks.

Finn, I really
like your drawing.

Thanks.

The invention that you told
me about for the wheelchair,

do you think you could
make a picture to show me?

What it would look
like, the platform?

The wheelchair goes up, up, up.

The chair's the platform
that can move around.

So and they move around
on it, and someone breaks

off the ramp.

They're pretty thoughtful
and empathetic.

And the way they just came
up with those ideas was like,

oh, yeah, they can do it, too.

It was not about, well,
they just can't do it.

That never came up.

Our question today is when have
you ever experienced or seen

something be unfair?

That's what we're
going to think about

while we read our book, OK?

So the reason behind
choosing the book

was something that was
happening in the class

and incorporating
into a lesson, that we

can have the kids notice it.

Maybe if they're doing it,
they're not noticing it.

But if they're
having a story read

or having teachers
acting out something,

they can catch it more.

Blue was a quiet color.

Red was a hothead, and
he liked to pick on blue.

Red is hot, and blue is not.

Do you think that's mean?

Those words that Red
said made him feel...

Sad.

We've been talking about
these topics for many months

now, about how we can
be fair in our community

and how we can respect
each other's feelings.

Green, Purple, and Orange,
thought Blue was nice, too.

But they never told
Red to stop either.

Asher says maybe they
should say, stop, together.

Max said Red isn't being kind,
or maybe they should say,

sorry.

Maybe your feelings
will be heard,

and you don't want to play
with the friend, right?

It will break their heart
apart if they walk away?

Yeah.

That's why we use our words?

Yeah.

Bringing in the
book can help them

reflect on things that are
happening in the class.

Sometimes it just
takes one person

to stop something
from happening.

I love this book, too.

It's so awesome.

Highlighting some important
words in the book, exclusion

and fairness, they can also
start to use those words

and speak up for
themselves when they

find something that isn't fair.

What if I...

Teacher Karla wanted to play
with me in the home area,

and I said, no, Teacher Karla.

I don't want you to
play with me because you

have the color gray on.

Like me and Max
can play together

because we have similar colors,
so they should only me and Max

play together...

We had given an
example of, if it

would be fair to only
play with students that

have the same color as you.

Maybe.

Maybe if we were
all wearing blue,

then I would only play with
friends that have blue,

is that OK?

Should I say you can't play
with me because you have green.

Is that fair on unfair?

Unfair.

They notice all
their differences,

so it's fun to have the
conversations about what

makes them different.

The different skin colors,
their different eye colors,

textures in their hair.

They'll start to talk
about it and understand

that not everyone is
the same, and everyone

is different and unique
in their own way.

While you're playing, it's not
fair to exclude our friends

based on what they're
wearing, what color their hair

is, or other things, right?

Why not, Reid?

They'll get sad.

Is your skin color important?

Yeah, it's important.

One of the students did
point out skin color

so that we could have that open
conversation without us having

to say explicitly to them.

They brought it up
themselves organically.

Yeah.

Yeah, because that's
being fair, right?

Because you're excluding
others, right, Max?

Right, Max.

Just like in our book,
one of the colors

decided to stand up for
the friends and say stop.

No more being unfair, so we're
going to think of ideas...

I'm going to talk
to him after, OK?

We're going to think of a
time when something was unfair

at our table groups, OK?

And you're going to draw it.

And when you're done,
me, Teacher Jamie,

and Teacher Karla are going
to write what you said down.

And we're going to be like the
number one, and think of a way

that we can make the
situation better and fair.

But that's just the
kind of conversations

that we have with
these kids everyday

that it just amazes
me because they're

four and five years old.

And you know who expects a
four- and five-year-old to be

bringing up stuff like this?

Not us.

And it's like in the times
that we're living in,

it's good that they're
bringing it up.

I mean they're noticing it
when they're little babies.

But now, they're noticing
it and they're voicing it.

They're talking about it.

So, yeah, let's talk about it.

And what can we
do about it if we

see something unfair happening.

So what can we do about it?

What's in my busy box?

Shake-a, shake-a.

Finding the right balance
between bringing up a topic,

bringing up something that
has happened versus waiting

for the children to
bring it up, I often

think, what is the right way?

What should we do?

Really?

What is it?

A book.

A book.

I got this one from
my home collection.

I was really thinking a
lot about George Floyd

and his murder, and I
wondered if the children

would know about it.

I wondered if they were
going to bring it up.

And I also wondered,
should we bring it up?

Should we be proactive?

What should we do?

So I called Brian, and we had
some dialogue about next steps.

When Nadia called
me, I was actually

thinking about setting
up my classroom.

I had not thought about how
the children might be digesting

this information and
what they might say

and how the other
teachers might react.

Little did I know
that a child would

come in that first day of
school, and at snack time,

announced to all his peers
his knowledge of George Floyd.

I knew at that moment, oh, I
know what he's going to say.

I know what he's
going to announce.

Let me listen to
him and just respond

from my heart and my mind
after I hear what he says.

And he said to the
children, did you

hear what happened in Minnesota?

A white cop killed a Black
man, and people are angry.

This man didn't do anything.

This man was Black.

Did you know I'm Black?

I wanted to say, wait, hold on.

I haven't talked to Brian yet.

I'm not ready, but
this is real life.

This is young children.

I needed to respond right away.

So my response
was to mirror back

a lot of what he said and
say, yes, this did happen.

And yes, people are angry,
people are protesting.

I'm angry, too.

And I told them, when I'm angry,
I think about how can I help.

What can I do?

And I turn that back to them.

What is something
that we can do?

What is something that
our class can do together

to help make this better?

Let's think about that together.

First thing I thought
about is, OK, I

need to tell the
families what happened

and to tell them how
the children responded

and to tell them
how I responded.

I need to explain to them
why I responded in this way.

I want to invite
them to participate.

How are you talking
at home about this?

Has it come up at home?

Parents are putting a lot
of trust in us as teachers,

and so we want to do this right.

We don't just have
one family's child,

so we have this big
group of parents

who have all these
different ways of thinking

about how they want to talk
to their children about race.

So we really are taking
them into account.

We also want them to know
about what we're up to,

what we are thinking.

And so we are sharing
things that we're using,

books that we're reading.

It's key to have this
conversation go back and forth.

It's so important in
doing social justice work

to have someone who is your
sounding board, someone

who has the same values, and is
really committed to this work.

So I look to Brian when I want
to think with someone about,

what should I do?

This happened in my classroom.

Here's how I responded.

What do you think?

So getting some honest
feedback and getting some ideas

for what can next steps be.

Let's plan together.

This one is called Enough.

And then it tells
you a little bit

about what the book's about.

So under here, it tells you, 20
protesters who changed America.

So this is about
20 different people

who did different things
to help change things,

to make things more
fair in America.

Does that remind you of anybody?

Yes.

He's one of the 20
people in this book who

helped make change.

San Francisco 49ers
Football Team.

Colin took a knee to
support Black Lives Matter.

This was his way of
spreading the word

and showing people that
things are not fair right now.

Things need to change.

See how he's kneeling?

It's called taking a knee.

So while everybody was standing
up singing a song to the flag,

he knelt down to
show people, I'm

doing this to support
Black Lives Matter.

Yeah, in front of
the... oh, check it out.

Russell noticed that they're
showing all those people.

All those dots are people.

The next day I had
given them this...

I called it homework
because they

enjoy being these big kids who
are going to kindergarten soon.

I gave them their homework.

It was to think about,
what can we do about it?

What can we, as a group
of five year olds together

with your teachers,
what can we do

to help make this a better
place for everybody,

a more fair place?

So they came back the next
day, and one of the children

said, we need to support
Black Lives Matter.

And we need to
make signs, and we

need to hang them up so that
people know that Black Lives

Matter, and it's so important.

And it's like, great.

Let's look to the
children for the ideas.

Tomorrow we'll get the
paper, we'll get the paint.

No, Nadia.

This is really important work.

We can't wait till tomorrow.

We have to do it now.

Yes, let's do it now.

You're right, this
is important work.

It can't wait till tomorrow.

And we started this
journey on, well,

what does that mean
Black Lives Matter?

And what can our role be in
supporting this movement?

We got sticks.

We put the signs on
the sticks, and we

had a march around the school.

And again, Nadia, it's not over.

That's just in our school.

That's just walking
around our yard.

We have to go in all the
classrooms in our school

and tell them how
important Black Lives are.

They need to put our
signs up in their windows.

I told them, well, let me
check with our director,

so we can make a plan on
when that could happen.

No, we should check
with the director.

Invite him to our
morning meeting.

OK, yes, let's invite her.

You're right.

So that was really
important for me

to really just take
a step back and let

them be the leaders in this.

So I did invite our director.

Belann came in, and she
listened to their ideas

about going to all
the classrooms, too.

They were calling it
"spread the word."

So she brought in our
school's diversity statement

and gave them a little bit
of the history of the school

that social justice
has been something

that the school has been
committed to for a long time.

And she suggested to them,
what if you wrote something

to show the other
classrooms that

explained why these signs are
important and what it means.

The next week, we're able
to get everyone's word

and craft it together
into this statement

that we would deliver
to all the classrooms.

This is our Black
Lives Matter sign,

and we have a Black
Lives Matter statements.

We hope you'll hang the sign
up and help us spread the word.

The word I'm talking about
is Black Lives Matter.

Peace out.

So, Coyotes, thank you
for all of your hard work.

It's really inspirational.

And we are also
making some signs.

And I can't wait to
read your statement.

This is amazing.

You guys are doing very,
very important work,

and this is a very
important message.

Thanks, Coyotes.

The Black Lives Matter
movement is a group

of people who want to make sure
that people of all skin colors

are treated fairly.

Black Lives Matter means...

It just really gave me so much
hope that these children are

such great leaders already.

And I started calling them
social justice leaders

which really made them proud.

But right now,
Black Lives Matter

because Black people are
not being treated fairly,

and that's not
nice or respectful

of people's feelings.

We're setting the
foundation for children

to be advocates for themselves
and for their communities.

And nothing could
be more important,

especially in these days.

And it's not something that
we can gloss over or not think

about.

It's in our bones, and it's
in my bones as a gay man.

I have experienced prejudice
and violence in the world.

And so I want the world to be
just place for all children

and a fair place
for all children

and a safe place
and a joyous place.

And so those things go hand
in hand with anti-bias work.

We are like a rainbow.

And a rainbow should
have all skin colors.

Don't treat people differently
because of the color

of their skin.

We hope you can join us and
put up a Black Lives Matter

sign on your window
for everyone to see.

Love, the Coyotes.

My social identity
impacts my work everyday.

I am a multiracial, cisgender,
spiritually diverse person.

I'm Pacific Islander.

My dad is Chamorro which is
indigenous people of Guam,

and my mom is white.

As a white cisgender woman...

As a Black queer woman...

As an Asian-American...

African heritage,
Jewish, bimale...

As a disabled woman of color...

As an Afro-indigenous
coach, education leader,

advocate and most importantly
mother to two beautiful brown

children...

As a young child,
I remember being

the only Muslim,
immigrant origin,

non-white person who
spoke a different language

with her parents.

As a Black Muslim woman,
I faced extreme bias

and seen how it's
led to violence.

We have been both the
targets and upholders

of racial injustice.

I never heard stories
or played with toys

where people look like me.

I didn't fit in that
I was seemingly other

because my skin
color did not match

the color of those around me.

| experienced a lot
of racism and bias

when I went... started going to
predominantly white schools.

So I didn't have the
tools to understand

what was happening there.

I really learned to internalize
my oppression and superiority.

Now as an educator
and as a parent,

I want all children to learn
the value of diversity.

I want all children
to know that men, too,

are nurturing and
caring and loving,

and that there is more than
one way of being a quote

unquote "man."

And to help them to be
curious and understanding

about the world around them...

To teach young children how
to communicate their ideas

in meaningful ways that have
an impact on the well being

of the community...

Help them feel included,
welcomed, safe, joyful,

and most of all loved.

To give them power back while
helping build positive identity

and giving them the tools to
engage in this conversation

and understanding
how the world works...

To actively combat
racism, social injustice,

and inequality...

Creating a more just,
empathetic society...

a society that upholds
basic human rights

for every citizen...

Because this is how they
grow up to be inclusive,

accepting members
of their community...