- Do you ever feel like
there are things you need to talk about with your students
but don't know if you should?
Topics that might seem touchy or controversial?
Something you know the students should have an understanding of,
but unsure if it's the right time or place?
Yup, we're talking about race.
- Melissa: My name is Melissa Statz.
I am a fourth-grade teacher in Burlington, Wisconsin.
- If Melissa's name or face seems familiar,
you might recognize her from the national news story that broke
when she brought a Black Lives Matter lesson
to her fourth-grade students.
With Melissa's teaching background,
talking about race and racism was a regular occurrence.
- I came from teaching in Chicago and I, you know,
this is something that would--
wouldn't bat an eye at teaching, you know,
about race or about Black Lives Matter movement.
So, when I first decided to teach it,
start talking about it,
I was a little naive, and I thought, you know,
maybe I'll have a couple of parents
who want to have a conversation or a couple of emails,
but I never really expected
the type of backlash that I have received.
- Melissa's lesson came
shortly after Jacob Blake
was shot by police
in Kenosha, Wisconsin,
just a half-hour away from the school in Burlington.
She saw this as an opportunity
to have a conversation with her students about race.
- I knew it would come up.
I never expected in the first week of school
that we would be talking about it,
but it was, you know, a teachable moment
and it was just, like, responsive teaching.
They were talking about it.
They were asking questions.
So it seemed like, "Well, this is happening now.
"I don't really get to choose when it happens.
"And so we're gonna-- we need to have this conversation
when it's relevant and when the kids want to learn about it."
- Talking about race can be uncomfortable
for elementary school teachers because, at such a young age,
there may be an urge to protect students
from knowing about racism.
But for some of Melissa's students,
they're already facing.
- I had one of, um, one of the Black students
in my class telling us about, you know,
how someone called her the n-word,
and she was trying to share it,
and some of the kids were just, like, shocked
and like, "What?! You can't say that!"
And then other kids were like, "What is that?
"What is that word? What is that?"
Had no idea.
So there's definitely, like, a huge spectrum of kids.
So, you know, I figure if they're old enough
to be experiencing this every day,
then their classmates
are old enough to be learning about it.
And we just, you know, have to do it
in a way that is accessible to them.
But they really, I mean, I really do feel like
they want to learn,
and they want to have these conversations.
And so, what better time than now, you know,
when they're young, and they are open,
their minds are still open,
and they're ready to learn
all of these different points of view.
- Sharing different perspectives and points of view
is a vehicle Melissa uses to help kids approach
an early understanding of racism on their own.
- I think trying to put it in a way
where the kids come to that conclusion themselves,
um, you know, when we talk about systemic racism,
like, before saying the words, just kind of like asking kids
like, "Well, where do you notice
that people are still being treated unfairly?"
And, you know, they kind of can come to that conclusion
on their own.
And I say, "Well, that's actually called
systemic racism."
Like this, this is where that comes from.
- This simple acknowledgment
of the struggles of some of her students
has helped some of her students feel more comfortable
and develop relationships with Melissa.
- When I taught that initial lesson on racism, I had...
You know, we have very few students of color
in our district, but I had--
One of the Black boys in my class
came up and gave me a huge hug.
And we had known each other for one week.
And he-- Now, I've gotten to know him very well,
and he is not the type to just give hugs.
So, like, that was really meaningful.
One of the Black girls in my class came up and said,
"Thank you so much for teaching our class about racism."
So just like those moments were really huge and really awesome.
And since then, I do feel like they are really open with me.
I feel like the relationships that we've built
are really strong.
- That affirmation from her Black students
can also came with some heavier emotions from other students.
- Kids would be like, "This makes me sad,"
or like, "I don't like talking about this,"
or "I don't, you know-- I feel bad."
And so I just kind of try to be open with that.
Like, "Hey, guys, some people have told me, like,
"this makes them upset, or this makes them feel sad or down.
"And that's okay
"because this is a really uncomfortable conversation.
"Like, what people are dealing with
"is really uncomfortable and sad,
"and it's okay for you to feel that way.
That means you're empathetic."
You know, trying to show them,
like, if you're feeling these emotions,
it's probably because you feel bad
that this is happening to someone.
You feel bad that this is happening to your friend.
- Melissa has created a safe environment
for students to express their feelings
by creating open lines of communication
and multiple means of communication.
- I've had students who have, like, they know,
like they can write me, they write me notes on Post-it notes,
like, when they're upset or something,
or like when something's bothering them.
I do special lunches with the kids.
So, twice a week, I have like a small group who comes in
and, you know, we chat and get to know each other better.
So kids aren't going to open up
and be able to have these types of conversations
unless they feel safe and comfortable.
So just really trying to help students, like,
feel safe in their classroom environment and feel seen.
I think they're ready to, like, have these conversations.
They're open to it, and they're open to still listening
and, you know, wanting to hear other people's point of view.
Even if I'm saying something
that might not be exactly what they're hearing at home,
you know, saying like, ”Your parents are...”
”You know, we all have our own opinions on things,
"and it's my job to present the information to you,
"you know, all different sides of it.
"And then, you get to come to your own conclusion based on,
"you know, what I say, what you read, what you see on TV,
what your parents tell you.”
So, just trying to give them that full perspective.
- Whatever way you decide to communicate,
there are plenty of resources available to you
when it comes to race and racism,
even if you're unsure where to begin.
- There have been times where I've told them,
"Hey, I don't have the answers,"
or "I don't know the right thing."
And like, "I'm going to try to figure this out with you."
There's just so many resources out there
that I feel like when people, like, say,
"I don't know where to start."
I'm like, "You-- You're just not trying then
because, like, it's everywhere if you want to learn."
- What are the ways
you're talking about race and racism with your students?
? ?