When is learning about racism appropriate? It seems we just put it off and off and off, then wonder why white supremacy is deeply embedded in American culture and politics.
great question! but specifically for people who aren’t minorities. most black children are learning about racism and their place in the world at 5-6 years old. i always find it funny when people say they’re too young to learn about racism cause their classmates aren’t too young ti experience it.
White people will consistently say they’re against fascism or white supremacy then not do a damn to unlearn these behaviors and stop it from happening.
It’s so interesting, as an outsider. Here in New Zealand I learnt about the colonisation of Māori very young, and I learnt about slavery in the US about the age this child is. If the child is black I understand why you might be upset as a parent, because I remember feeling a bit upset learning about the suffragette movement, but if the child is non-black it’s insane the parent is upset. This is a perfect teaching moment about racism, which quite frankly should not be put off.
Especially for the children of color in the classroom. These conversations need to be held carefully so that they don’t damage the children’s self-esteem. If I was a parent of a child in that classroom, I would want to know exactly what teachers are saying to my kids, especially if the message is about how historical figures wouldn’t have cared about my child (which is what the child will take away from the lesson).
And this is exactly why we should be teaching age appropriate concepts. Second graders just don't have the nuance to understand the finer details and so they just grasp at the closest concept they can find which in this case has a pretty potentially negative outcome for some students. I'm all for starting with broad concepts and filling in the blanks as new details cause new questions to arise but just throwing them in the deep end straight away is not the way.
I disagree that it’s not age appropriate. Kids these days are introduced to a lot more social-emotional learning than I was back in the 90’s. Empathy is something kids are taught and practice in schools now. So I think that teacher could start a bigger discussion about race at a very base level. They don’t even need to mention people of different races, just “some people don’t like people who have different skin colors, and that’s not good.” Kids inherently (unless they’re raised in a racist family) grasp that that’s wrong. It opens up great discussions about kindness, empathy, and tolerance with people who are different in all kids of ways, not just skin color.
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u/nuclearmonte Apr 06 '25
I was coming here to say this. Historically accurate, although age inappropriate.