21 Day Challenge

DAY 11: SCHOOL SEGREGATION

Today we will explore that history and its continued and renewed impact on our education systems.

Districts can draw school zones to make classrooms more or less racially segregated. Read this quick article and find your school district to see how well it's doing.

https://www.vox.com/2018/1/8/16822374/school-segregation-gerrymander-map.

As the child population becomes “majority-minority,” racial segregation remains high, income segregation among families with children increases, and the political and policy landscape undergoes momentous change. Check out this study on the consequences of segregation for children’s opportunity and well-being.

https://www.jchs.harvard.edu/sites/default/files/a_shared_future_consequences_of_segregation_for_children.pdf

Local YW Connection:

YWCA Children’s Center:  Sliding Scale Fee Childcare

The YWCA of NETN and SWVA/YWCA Children’s Center provides an equal opportunity for quality early childhood education for ALL children.  Since 1987, the YWCA has offered Bristol’s only sliding scale fee program in which weekly fees are based on annual household income.  Children six weeks to five years of age are offered care on a first come, first serve basis regardless of the need for financial assistance - meaning 100% of enrollment is eligible for financial support.   In 2019, 123 children and their families were served with 74% receiving financial assistance through the sliding scale fee program.  Impacting our community for nearly 33 years, families are supported who might otherwise find it economically impossible to work.   Those economically disadvantaged remain in the workforce while having their children in a safe, dependable, high quality, and developmentally appropriate environment.

DAY 12: WHAT WE TEACH

If you’ve ever changed schools in the middle of the year, you may be able to recall minor differences in curriculum between districts. However, imagine moving from a predominately white high school in Texas, to a more diverse school in California, you may not think much about the vast ways in which the exact same material can vary depending on a pupil’s school, school district and instructional materials. Today we will examine how textbooks, authors and state legislation, collectively “what we teach,” impacts society's world view and understanding of history.

Half of all school-aged children are non-white. Of children’s books published in 2013, though, only 10.5% featured a person of color. In 2016, this number doubled to 22%, but white is still the “default identity.” Read this article to consider ways in which some educators are reconstructing the canon. https://harvardpolitics.com/culture/thecanon/

Local YW Connection:

Children's books are one of the most effective tools to engage with young children on important issues. To encourage conversations about race and diversity with your children, YWCA Children’s Center and Wellmont Child Development Center invite you check out this list of books to read together as a family.

Early Childhood Books Focusing on Diversity:  Infant – Two Year Olds

1. A is for All the Things You Are - Anna Forgerson Hindley
2. All Kinds of People - Shelley Rotner & Sheila M. Kelly
3. Babies, Babies! - Debby Slier
4. Baby Goes to Market - Atinuke (Angela Brooksbank)
5. Bringing in the New Year - Grace Lin
6. Busy Fingers - C.W. Bowie
7. Carry Me - Rena D. Grossman
8. Daddy, Papa, and Me - Leslie Newman
9. Dim Sum for Everyone! - Grace Lin
10. Dream Big Little One - Vashti Harrison
11. Everywhere Babies - Susan Meyers
12. Feast for 10 - Cathryn Falwell
13. Global Babies - The Global Fund for Children
14. Global Baby Bedtimes - Maya Ajmera
15. Global Boys - Maya Ajmera
16. Global Girls - The Global Fund for Children
17. Happy - Pharrell Williams
18. Here Are My Hands - Bill Martin Jr.
19. I am Latino: the Beauty in Me - Myles C. Pinkney, Sandra L. Pinkney
20. I Can, Can You? - Marjorie W. Pitzer
21. I Love My Hair - Natasha Anastasia Tarpley
22. Mommy, Mama, and Me - Leslie Newman
23. More, More Said the Baby - Vera Williams
24. My Friends - Mis Amigos - Taro Gomi
25. On Mother’s Lap - Ann Helbert Scott
26. Please Baby Please - Spike Lee
27. Shades of Black: A Celebration of Our Children - Sandra L. Pinkney
28. Skin like Mine - Latashia M. Perry
29. SMILE! - Roberta Grobel Intrater
30. Ten Tiny Babies - Karen Katz
31. To be a Kid - Maya Ajmera
32. Whoever You Are - Mem Fox

Early Childhood Books Focusing on Diversity:  Preschool

1. All Are Welcome - Alexandra Penfold
2. Children Just Like Me: A New Celebration of Children Around the World - DK
3. Clothes in Many Cultures - Heather Adamson
4. Dream Big Little One - Vashti Harrison
5. Elmer’s Special Day - David Mckee
6. Families - Shelley Rotner
7. Families in Many Cultures - Heather Adamson
8. Festival of Many Colors - Kabir & Surishtha Sehgal
9. Good People Everywhere - Lynea Gillen
10. Homes in Many Cultures - Heather Adamson
11. I Am Enough - Grace Byers
12. I Love My Hair - Natasha Anastasia Tarply
13. It’s Ok to be Different - Sharon Purtill
14. Jamaica & Brianna - Juanita Havill & Anne Sibley O’Brien
15. Jamaica Louise James - Juanita Havill & Anne Sibley O’Brien
16. Kids Like Me Learn Their ABC’s - Laura Ronay
17. Kindness Makes Us Strong - Shophie Beer
18. Last Stop on Market Street - Matt de la Pena
19. Let the Children March - Monica Clark Robinson
20. Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History - Vashti Harrison
21. Lovely - Jess Hong
22. Mom and Me - Marla Stewart Konrad
23. My People - Langston Hughes
24. One Big Heart: A Celebration of Being More Alike than Different - Linsey Davis
25. Schools in Many Cultures - Heather Adamsom
26. Shades of Black: A Celebration of Our Children - Sandra L. Pinkney
27. Shades of People - Shelley Rotner
28. Skin like Mine - Latashia M. Perry
29. Someone Special Just Like You - Tricia Brown
30. Somewhere Today: A Book of Peace - Shelley Moore Thomas
31. Thank You World - Alice B. McGinty
32. The Big Umbrella - Amy June Bates
33. The Day You Begin - Jacqueline Woodson
34. The Okay Book - Todd Parr
35. Think Big Little One - Vashti Harrison
36. To be a Kid - Maya Ajmera
37. To be an Artist - Maya Ajmeri & John D. Ivanko
38. We’re Different, We’re the Same - Bobbi Kates
39. What if We Were All the Same - C.M. Harris
40. What We Wear: Dressing Up Around the World - Maya Ajmera
41. Whoever You Are - Mem Fox
42. You and Me Together: Moms, Dads and Kids Around the World - Barbara Kerley

Additional Resources:

https://diversebooks.org/resources-for-race-equity-and-inclusion/

https://diversebooks.org/resources/where-to-find-diverse-books/

DAY 13: SCHOOL TO PRISON PIPELINE

As individuals interested in learning more about racial equity, you’ve likely heard of the term “school-to-prison pipeline,” (if you haven’t check out this infographic made by the ACLU). Most notably this term is tied to the systems that funnel African American boys out of school and into prison at alarming rates. Today we will learn more about how school disciplinary policies disproportionately affect Black students including Black girls. Stereotypes and misperceptions, which view Black girls as older, more mature and more aggressive have led to a lesser-discussed trend, the adultification of Black girls.

By age 9, the behaviors of Black girls are often seen as and treated more like adults than children. Peruse this study on the erasure of Black girls’ childhood, particularly ages 9-11 as it pertains to discipline in school.

https://www.law.georgetown.edu/poverty-inequality-center/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2017/08/girlhood-interrupted.pdf

Local YW Connection:

YWCA TechGYRLS

TechGYRLS is a STEAM based after-school program for girls. The majority of students attend low-income schools (as defined by Title I of the Department of Education), are at-risk for falling behind a grade level or more academically, or have specific emotional or social challenges. When referred to the program by their educators, school counselors or administrators, many of the young ladies may be functioning below their capabilities, with families mired in poverty, turmoil and suffering the well-documented negative effects of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES).

The TechGYRLS program provides the loving, caring relationships that ensure program participants build the confidence and resiliency needed to ameliorate the effects of ACES and blossom into independent, capable women who grow to be leaders in their community.  The safe and supportive afterschool environment is a primary building block for future success and improved quality of life.  Our goal is to help the children we serve understand and develop a set of values that will influence them in making healthy and positive decisions in their lives, while also focusing on improving their grades and behavior.  Through engaging activities, enriching curriculum and individualized support, the program is providing young girls an opportunity to see what they can be - educated, successful members of society.

DAY 14: TEACHER IMPACT

Yesterday we challenged ourselves to look deeper into the ways in which school disciplinary policies disproportionately affect children of color and Black girls. Today, let’s take a look at the early impact teachers have on student’s educational outcomes and their likelihood to attend college. Unconscious biases in white teachers, who favor a “colorblind” approach may cause unintentional harm to their students, while the early acknowledgment of differences can prepare students for a diverse world. Positive outcomes sparked by same-race role models can potentially shrink the education achievement gap and usher more Black & brown students into colleges and universities. 

Watch this quick video that illustrates how some California preschools are getting children to participate in conversations about racial differences at an early age. Anti-bias lessons help preschoolers hold up a mirror to diversity.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3iM7yIhde0

Local YW Connection:

Wellmont Child Development Center:  Anti-Bias & Diversity in Preschool Programs

Anti-bias education is not just activities about diversity and fairness. Anti-bias education works as a foundation, which infuses everything in the classroom, including interactions with children, families and staff.  The core principal of anti-bias education is “We are all the same. We are all different. Isn’t that wonderful!”

In preschool classrooms, educators plan and incorporate these values in an even more intentional way in their curriculums and environments.  Anti-bias and diversity is encouraged through literature, music, and activities. One educator brings in eggs of different shades and the children crack them to see they are the same on the inside. Classrooms listen to music from traditional Native American music during naptime. Another educator teaches her children sign language. After reading Talk Peace by Sam Williams, children discuss the message of peace and harmony from Martin Luther King, Jr. They then make a “Peaceful Hearts” art project and think of something that would make the classroom a peaceful place where everyone is happy and safe.

The classroom environments include dolls in home living and people in the block center with different skin colors. Males and females of different ethnicities and abilities are represented in classroom posters. Food containers, cookbooks, and menus represent a variety of foods from different cultures.

For more information on anti-bias education: https://www.naeyc.org/resources/topics/anti-bias

DAY 15: ADVERSE CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCES

Positive stress in a child’s life – like a skinned knee or the first day at a new school – is temporary. Growing up in a safe, stable, nurturing environment that includes healthy adult relationships helps children learn from challenging experiences and develop resilience. However, intense or chronic stress can be toxic and derail a child’s healthy development. Unfortunately, racism is now recognized as an Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE) - a toxic source of stress with the potential to disrupt a child’s ability to learn, relate, grow, play, communicate, and problem-solve.

Racism experienced in childhood is especially concerning because it affects how a child perceives themselves and the world around them. Even indirect or implicit racism and discrimination can influence a child’s health when policies and practices lead to ACEs like poverty, neighborhood violence, and parental incarceration that disproportionately affect children of color. It is no surprise that children of color are more likely to experience racism in comparison to their white peers, and that their exposure to racism increases as they grow older.

View this info-graphic that explains how ACEs, like racism and community violence, without supportive adults, can cause what’s known as toxic stress.

https://gallery.mailchimp.com/f7c3e8c5c5cbc6cd069cdecd3/files/f871b0a3-0ff4-4f93-966e-dcea47829101/ACEsInfographic_080218.01.pdf

Pediatrician Nadine Burke Harris explains that the repeated stress of abuse, neglect and parents struggling with mental health or substance abuse issues has real, tangible effects on the development of the brain.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95ovIJ3dsNk