Christopher Colombus discovered America.
The Tulsa massacre didn’t happen.
Slavery was beneficial to black people.
C’mon, really?
It’s way beyond time to teach kids what really happened.
Let’s take a look at your options for including the truth in your homeschool social studies lessons.
Reconsider Your Lesson Plan Materials
Start by making sure the social studies curriculum (history, geography, etc.) you picked matches your values.
Unfortunately, there are lots of homeschool curricula out there that only educate kids about the lives of mainstream populations (white, male, able-bodied, straight). Think about how these types of lessons can confuse your child because it’s not what they’re seeing in real life.
Set the record straight. Your child needs to know that the world is made up of all different kinds of (good) humans.
Here are some questions you can ask yourself to make sure your lessons don’t repeat outdated stereotypes:
- Are people with disabilities represented in the lessons?
- If there’s a conflict in the storyline, are characters with a different skin color blamed?
- Does the curriculum encourage my child to connect to their real-life experiences, communities, and cultures?
- Are there references to different cultural traditions, languages, religions, names, music, and clothing?
- Are diverse family structures (i.e., single parents, adopted or foster children, same-sex parents, other relatives living with the family, etc.) represented?
- Does the curriculum expose my child to a group of diverse authors, characters, identities, and cultures?
- Are people of different cultures, skin tones, and abilities central to the stories being presented?
If your answer to the majority of the questions above is ‘no,’ modify your social studies lesson with material that doesn’t repeat lies from the past.
Consider the options below.
Continually switch out ‘old school’ books
You’re not actually required to use the non-diverse books suggested by whatever homeschool curriculum you chose. For example, you could substitute (or supplement) books about traditional white male historical figures with more culturally-relevant books about notable female figures like Mother Theresa, Rosa Parks, Harriet Tubman, Amelia Earhart, and Eleanor Roosevelt.
After you decide on new historical figures to study, think about what type of conversations you could have with your student about why schools traditionally offer lessons about white males.
Talking about historical stereotypes is a big conversation, and of course it’s up to you as a parent to decide when your child is developmentally ready.
Food for thought.
Whatever you decide about stereotype conversations, keep subbing in multi-cultural books throughout the schoolyear.
Teach the right words
Substituting outdated books with more culturally-relevant lesson material isn’t the end of the road; there’s more you can do.
When you’re teaching culturally-relevant material, use language that matches what you’re teaching. For example, if you’re teaching a lesson about U.S. history and slavery, you could explain that we use ‘primary’ bedroom today instead of ‘master’ bedroom because the idea of masters and slaves is such a deplorable (but true!) part of American history.
Language-related examples like this usually go a long way towards getting your point across. Educate yourself on the latest culturally-appropriate language.
Maintain a steady pace
You don’t have to use all of the suggestions above at one time. You can start slowly— the key is to keep it consistent.
Here are some examples.
- Keep assessing each lesson plan before you start teaching to make sure it aligns with your values.
- Only substitute/supplement one book at a time.
- Progressively explain and use current lingo whenever you’re talking about cultural awareness.
Continue making curriculum adjustments that align with cultural fairness.
Keep evolving!
Note: Whether your kids are currently elementary school students or high school students, the information in this article applies to every level.
More Resources:
- How to choose the best homeschool curriculum
- 18 History Lessons Your Teacher Lied to You About
- Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Glossary
- 12 Culturally Appropriative Words and Phrases To Stop Using Today
…
This article was originally published on https://www.deiforparents.com
—
This post was previously published on medium.com.
***
From The Good Men Project on Medium
What Does Being in Love and Loving Someone Really Mean? | My 9-Year-Old Accidentally Explained Why His Mom Divorced Me | The One Thing Men Want More Than Sex | The Internal Struggle Men Battle in Silence |
***
Join The Good Men Project as a Premium Member today.
All Premium Members get to view The Good Men Project with NO ADS.
A $50 annual membership gives you an all access pass. You can be a part of every call, group, class and community.
A $25 annual membership gives you access to one class, one Social Interest group and our online communities.
A $12 annual membership gives you access to our Friday calls with the publisher, our online community.
Register New Account
Need more info? A complete list of benefits is here.
—–
Photo credit: Markus Winkler on Unsplash