By Katie Mack
Kindergarten Teacher
In Social Studies, kindergarteners learned some important new vocabulary. To help us continue our conversation about identity and to better understand the Martin Luther King Day holiday, students thought about words including equal, fair, equity, race, racism, and advocate.
We already knew all about running a race, so this week we learned about a new type of race. We realized that we are born with our skin color, but that race is something that people invented. We learned that race was invented by people who decided that people could be divided into categories based on their outside identity, usually their skin color. We also decided that it’s a good thing to notice and celebrate the ways we are different from each other including our skin color and race, but that it’s not okay for there to be different rules for people based on our outside identities, and it’s not okay to treat people differently based on their outside identity. We found this resource to be a helpful tool in discussing race and racism with young children.
To celebrate the amazing work of Dr. King, we read Martin’s Big Words and discussed the ways that he fought to change unequal and unfair laws, many of which were about race. We learned about Marley Dias, a kid just like our kindergarteners and a modern-day change-maker, who continues to fight for a more equal world.
Hearing the kindergarten students’ passion and commitment to speaking up when they notice that something is not equal and not fair gives us faith that the future is in good hands!
By Jennifer Ferreira
Third Grade Teacher
In third grade, ee talked about race and how it is part of someone's identity. Third graders learned how race is based on a person's physical features and their physical features come from their ancestry. Students learned that physical features are things like eye color, hair texture, and hair color, as well as skin color. We discussed that we can't assume someone's racial identity, but we can explore our own identity.
To celebrate Dr. King, we read the book, I am Martin Luther King, Jr., by Brad Meltzer. This book led to discussions around fairness and race. We also read a book called A Computer Called Katherine by Suzanne Slade and it's about another change-maker called Katherine Johnson. She fought for racial and gender equality by proving that women like her can help pioneer America's first flight to space, its first manned orbit of Earth, and the world's first trip to the moon!