MindShift Podcast KQED

For parents and teachers looking for a resource on how to talk about race with kids, there's a new book called "Stamped (For Kids): Racism, Antiracism, and You." It's written by educator Dr. Sonja Cherry Paul and is for 7 to 12 year old children. This book is an adaptation of Dr. Ibram X. Kendi and Jason Reynolds' book "Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You."

As a child, Connie Williams learned to read using the “whole word” strategy, which has since been disproven as an effective technique. She graduated high school in Oakland, Calif., but she was functionally illiterate. Since then, her children and grandchildren have attended Oakland public schools, all of them struggling to learn to read. And it wasn’t just her family -- the district is failing thousands of kids. Now, Connie Williams is part of a movement of families advocating for phonics instruction, hoping that different teaching strategies will help their kids finally learn how to read well enough to access the rest of their education. After all, equal access to education is supposed to be a civil right.

For many students, writing can be tedious, especially after years of boring grammar, spelling and structure drills. But for kids who have discovered fan fiction, writing about something they’re already passionate about can ignite countless hours of creative writing, music and art.

Culturally relevant teaching strategies help make learning more meaningful to the lives of students and address some of the equity issues in curriculum. When schools closed in March because of COVID-19, about 150 teachers from around the country began creating a resource document to share ideas that would engage students in learning through the events happening in their lives. Students at Washington Heights Expeditionary Learning School in New York City were at the heart of the worst outbreak in the country. English Teacher Anthony Voulgarides assigned pandemic journaling to his students, never imagining how crucial those assignments would become to students as they process their feelings and document the loss and isolation COVID-19 has had on their families and their community.

Seniors missed out on prom, signing yearbooks, sharing the news of college acceptances with friends and teachers in person, and walking across the graduation stage in front of their family and friends. Juniors took AP tests at home and worried what this would mean for their futures. Hear what students recorded in their audio journals as they adjust their expectations for this school year and the future.
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This episode was reported by Katrina Schwartz. MindShift is produced by Ki Sung, Katrina Schwartz, Jessica Placzek, and Seth Samuel. Additional support from Erika Aguilar, Kyana Moghadam, Ethan Lindsey, Vinnee Tong, and Holly Kernan. Special thanks this week to Genevieve Schweitzer, Julisa Gomez Reyes, Qadir Scott, and Taila Lee.