Tick-Tock: How Soon Is Too Soon to Talk About “Race” With Students?

Teachers Aid

Discussions about race and injustice will be coming to schools this year whether we are ready for them or not. Students are seeing what’s transpiring in the nation, and they are talking with each other. In this episode, we aim to determine the age at which it’s appropriate to discuss issues of race and injustice in our classrooms.

@MattRKay @PrincipalKafele @TirrellCorbin@jonHarper70bd @froehlichm @bamradionetwork

Matthew R. Kay is a proud product of Philadelphia’s public schools and a founding teacher at Science Leadership Academy (SLA). He is a graduate of West Chester University and holds a Masters in Educational Leadership with a Principals’ Certificate from the California University of Pennsylvania. At SLA, he teaches an innovative inquiry-driven, project-based curriculum. He is also the Founder and Executive Director of Philly Slam League (PSL). Award-winning educator Baruti Kafele is a leading keynote speaker and best-selling author. His books include Is My School Better a Better School BECAUSE I Lead It?, The Principal 50: Critical Leadership Questions for Inspiring Schoolwide Excellence, and The Teacher 50: Critical Questions for Inspiring Classroom Excellence. Christy Tirrell-Corbin, PhD, is the Executive Director of the Center for Early Childhood Education and Intervention and the Director of the Early Childhood/Early Childhood Special Education program at the University of Maryland. She has worked extensively with Title I schools to increase family engagement and raise awareness of teacher beliefs and practices relative to race, culture and socioeconomic status. She has also taught courses on culture and community, as well as studied teacher candidates’ beliefs and practices around race and culturally responsive and respectful pedagogy.