A Multicultural Back To School Guide: Raising Mini Global Citizens and World Changers
It's that time of year again y'all. Summer vacation is over and it's time to head back to school.
I, for one, cannot be more thrilled. Not because my littles drove me bananas or anything (never that!) but because the last few months have been a difficult time in political and social justice history.
Kids today are inundated by current events via traditional media sources and social media. Not one to shy away from difficult conversations, my husband and I talk openly to our four children about what is going on in our society.
We talk to them before they hear it from others.
Following the violence in Charlottesville, I was interviewed by the LA Times and discussed how I talked to my kids about it.
The next week I wrote a piece for Moms Rising and was on their radio show discussing the same topic.
In all of my interviews, a common question followed. NOW WHAT? People were flooding my DMs asking me what to do NOW!
It dawned on me that what folks were missing from the interviews were how to take what they were learning from the interviews and applying it with their kids and into their life.
They wanted action items: something tangible that they could do.
They wanted to be active participants; not watching passively on the sidelines.
This isn't a new topic for me. I have been in the multicultural/multiracial movement for decades. I eat, sleep and breathe this stuff.
When I teach about "culture proofing" your home, I break down into categories what parents can do to prepare their home in such a way that their multicultural children can see themselves to protect their self and identity from harm.
But parents, specifically white parents, were asking how can they do the same for their children.
I applaud them for wanting to be allies. We could use more folks that are committed to doing the work. They that want to teach their children to see and accept diversity.
They know kids have a greater worldview and are more empathetic when we introduce them to people that don't look like them. Their culture IQ is higher than those who have a myopic view of the world.
So the answer to "Now What" is to load up your home with items that encourage your children to see more diversity and to encourage inclusion.
Here's our multicultural Back To School Guide to help you raising Mini Global Citizens and World Changers.
1. World Changer Tee by Mixed Up Clothing
2-6. Mixed Up Clothing
7. Hats of Faith- A beautifully illustrated children’s board book introducing readers to the shared custom of head covering.
8. The Red Pencil- The powerful story of one girl's triumphant journey, inspired by true tales of life in Sudan
9. Bad Hair Does Not Exist!/“Pelo Malo No Existe! – is a book with an anti-bullying message that reinforces respect for individualism
10. Yuko-Chan and the Daruma Doll: The Adventures of a Blind Japanese Girl Who Saves Her Village
12. Signing in My World: Sign Language for Kids
13. Last Stop on Market Street
14. Science. It's A Thing- poster printout
16. Bino & Fino-An African cultural show for children. A fun educational cartoon. Full of facts about Africa.
17. ABC Mouse
18. Life Builders- an open-ended educational wooden toy that would encourage young children to embrace family diversity through play.
19. Mixis Dolls- Dolls representing mixed heritage
20. American Girl- “Z" (short for Suzie) Yang is Korean-American
21. American Girl- Nanea Mitchell is Hawaiian
22-25. Shea Moisture Products
29. Globe
30. KidsEmbrace
As parents, we are just trying our best. We want our kids to be happy and carefree but sometimes life has a way of reminding us that it's not always smooth sailing.
We can decrease the cultural and religious misunderstandings by learning about one another. When we focus on what unites us rather than our differences we go further...together.
Isn't that what we should want?