Teaching Our Children Humanity

With all that is going in in our world today . . .

"We should teach humanity in school. Our children need to be taught how to be compassionate to themselves, to others and to our world. Education is universal. We are missing the greatest opportunity to teach our children what is most important: kindness, compassion, self-love, and equanimity. They were born with it but life has buried it."

From the September 8 Daily JAM

The Light We Carry

If you have not read Michelle Obama's The Light We Carry, do find it at your local library, borrow it, or buy it. And, if you don't have the time to read the whole book, do get to the library or a book store and at least read Chapter 3 — "Starting Kind." She also does a nice job on explaining the life of "When they go low, we go high" statement she made at the 2016 Democratic National Convention.

Class versus Caste via a Middle Reader

"Class versus Caste" was my March 12, 2021 blogpost, highlighting Isabel Wilkerson's fabulous book Caste The Origins of Our Discontents. 

Class Act by New York Times bestselling author, Jerry Craft, is a follow-up middle reader to his 2020 Newbery Medal winning book New Kid, a book presented in my February 21, 2020 blogpost — "New Kid - 2020 Newbery Book Award."

Class Act is a terrific graphic novel that does an admirable job in helping students learn/understand some of the class issues they face in school and life, especially as they work their way through preadolescence. 

Meet Author Jason Reynolds

In case you have not already met author Jason Reynolds, I read three books by him and cannot recommend him enough. What impressed me the most was his 2015 book All American Boys and how he captured the May 25, 2020 George Floyd disaster long before it occurred.  

This 10-minute video of Jason Reynolds being interviewed by Stephen Colbert gives a great impression of who Jason is as an author dedicated to middle/high school students and young adult readers . . . 

I Color Myself DIFFERENT

 I Color Myself Different by Colin Kaepernick is a fabulous NYTimes bestseller book in the way it reaches preschool through middle school children, helping them AND adults better understand families of mixed races. The fact that Colin was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) AND was the player who taught everyone how to "take a knee" (Sept. 2016) during the playing of the pregame national anthem speaks volumes on helping us understand that we are all humans and should not be treated differently, particularly when it comes to law enforcement practices.

When you get a chance, view the Netflix series "Colin in Black and White"

The 1619 Project

The 1619 Project created by Pulitzer Prize-winner Nikole Hannah-Jones is a powerful, inspirational book made up of 18 chapters built on individual essays and poems to help us understand how humanity evolved in the US from when the enslaved people from Africa arrived in the British colony of Virginia to where we are today. Chapter titles include DEMOCRACY, RACE, FEAR, CAPITALISM, POLITICS, PUNISHMENT, MUSIC, HEALTHCARE, and others.

This PBS video with reporter Amna Newaz interviewing the author gives a strong overview of the book, its powerful message, and how it has been received.

Black or White?

Toni Morrison's one and only short story that was published in  An Anthology of African-American Women CONFIRMATION by Amiri Baraka (LeRoi Jones) & Amina Baraka (1983) is now a book on its own entitled Recitatif.  It is an intriguing story about two eight-year-old girls who spent four months together at St. Bonaventure shelter. There, Twyla and Roberta—one who is African American and the other white and from different backgrounds—get to know one another. What Morrison does so cleverly in her story is that she never lets the reader know which child is black and which girl is white.

What enhances the book is the introduction by Zadie Smith. 

Learning More About Humanity

 

I am a huge fan of author, Yuval Noah Harari. He has such a clear understanding of humanity—where it has come from, where it is now, and where it is headed. His latest book Sapiens: The Pillars of Civilization, A Graphic History Volume Two is due out on December 21. Harari's popular books history follows:

Sapiens The Birth of Humankind Volume 1

Sapiens Homo Deus

21 Lessons for the 21st Century

His October 31 interview on 60 Minutes is an excellent overview of where he has been and where he is headed regarding humankind. You can also get an inside look at his brilliance in the NYTimes interview "Yuval Noah Harari Believes This Simple Story Can Save the Planet" by David Marchese. (Nov. 7, 2121).

Humankind: A Hopeful History

If you want a better understanding of where we — humans — are in getting along with one another, read the book Humankind: A Hopeful History by Rutger Bregman. I found the book to be a perfect follow-up to the book Sapiens a Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari. 

In chapter 15 entitled "This Is What Democracy Looks Like" Bregman gives a brilliant comparison of democracy and communism. 

Also, in chapter 14, I love how he explains what is best for children: "Over the past five decades, the intrinsic motivation of children has been systematically stifled. Adults have been filling children's time with homework, athletics, music, drama, tutoring, exam practice — the list of activities seems endless. That means less time for that one other activity: play. And then I mean play in the broadest sense — the freedom to go wherever curiosity leads. To search and to discover, to experiment and to create. Not along any lines set out by parents or teachers, but just because. For the fun of it." (page 280)

Finally, view Bregman's TED Talk where he talks about poverty not being a lack of knowledge; and view his interview with Dan Pink.

Black Like Me

John Howard Griffin wrote the book Black Like Me in 1959. I read it for the first time about 20 years ago and never forgot it. Well, I read it again this summer and was moved once again. Back then, the author changed his skin color, and now as a black person, he ventured through several racially segregated southern states so that he could experience just what a black person experienced in life. 

Click on the title above to get a further insight via Wikipedia; then you can check out the trailer of the 1964 movie below.

Caste versus Class

 

I have always been intrigued about the difference between "caste" and "class." I wrote an article back in 1999 in Independent School magazine, "Class Bias—The Real Enemy" that gave my thoughts on class. . . back then. Well, the book Caste The Origins of Our Discontent by Isabel Wilkerson explains it all and in such an understandable way. This NYTimes bestseller—28 weeks on the bestseller list—is a must-read book by all. 

It really takes the wonderful book Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari to the next level in helping us understand the importance of "humanity" in any culture.

Here is an excellent seven-minute video review of the book with Isabel Wilkerson from the PBS News Hour.

Uncomfortable Conversations With a Black Man

Recently in a book club, I was introduced to Emmanuel Acho (former NFL player and now a Fox Sports analyst) and his book Uncomfortable Conversations With a Black Man. After rapidly reading the book — it is so good — I then discovered his series of YouTube videos with the same title. He is an amazing person and speaks so well about racism and all of the many issues that go along with it.

Get to know the author via one of his many YouTube videos:

Dedicated to Doing What is Best for Others

The book group I am a part of read Reading With Patrick by Michelle Kuo, and we could not believe the devotion and dedication the author demonstrated throughout the book. How she and Patrick endured the crass racism and inhumanity is difficult to believe. To give you a quick overview on the setting of the story and how some things just do not change in life, read this article from the November 15  NYTimes "No One Should Have to Live Like This" by Catherine Flowers.

You can get to know the author better by watching her TEDx Talk . . .

Learning More About Critical Racial & Social Justice Education

White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo has been on the NYTimes BestSeller list for 21 weeks and as of this post, is #7. Robin is an academic, lecturer, author, and has been a consultant and trainer on issues of racial and social justice for more than 20 years.

Here is an introduction to the book: "Referring to the defensive moves white people make when challenged racially, white fragility is characterized by emotions such as anger, fear, and guilt, and by behaviors including argumentation and silence. These behaviors, in turn, function to reinstate white racial equilibrium and prevent any meaningful cross-racial dialogue."

The interview below will give further insight into her take on race and her powerful book.

Here is a link to an interviews with the author: Teaching Tolerance Interviews Robin DiAngelo: White Fragility in the Classroom (30:28)  

Finally, here is an extensive article that she wrote back in 2012, "Nothing to Add: A Challenge to White Silence in Racial Discussions" you might like to dive into for more good thinking by Dr. DiAngelo

A Must Read for School Communities

I'm Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness by Austin Channing Brown is a powerful best selling book. It is currently #4 on the NYTimes Bestsellers list. The book is a perfect read for school communities. Faculty, middle and high school students, and parents will learn so much about race, class, dignity, DEI (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion), and humanity. This would make for subsequent healthy virtual discussions within a school community.

You can get to know Austin by watching this amazing video.

New Kid - 2020 Newbery Book Award

“Jerry Craft won this year's [2020] Newbery Medal for the most outstanding contribution to children's literature for New Kid, a book focused on the struggles of a seventh grade student of color who has been sent to a prestigious private school with little diversity.” (From npr reporter Colin Dwyer)

Meet author and illustrator, Jerry Craft, of this fabulous book . . .

Teachers Supporting ALL Students in Our Schools

A Keynote speaker at the NAIS People of Color Conference and author of How to Raise an Adult and Real American, Julie Lythcott-Haims brings so much to the world of children, diversity, and parenting. Also see a recent post about her book How to Raise an Adult and her excellent TED Talk.

Millennials Do Make a Difference . . .

. . . more than ever. They are the most popular generation, now outnumbering Baby Boomers. Also, they will be the ones who will help us get closer to building humanity as presented in the book Biased by Jennifer L. Eberhardt and stop being a nation divided by different tribes and class. The book states “[Millennials] are the most diverse adult generation in American history. About one-third are foreign born and almost half are non-white.” (page 278)

Here is a neat, popular video that tells about the Millennial reputation. Listen carefully to what they have to say . . .