Education

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I’m a Black mom raising biracial kids.

When my kids were younger, I was so focused on making sure they had a healthy identity that my focus wasn’t really on teaching them Black History.

While we were home together during the quarantine, I had the opportunity to focus on more of what I wanted them to learn. And suddenly I felt like I had failed.

We started talking about slavery, watching movies about the Civil Rights period (like Ruby Bridges) and my kids were horrified.

I suddenly wished I had started having these conversations earlier. I was nervous about taking away their innocence. But the beauty in being a mom to a multiracial family is that we can have conversations safely at home…in our own time, in our own way. This means ultimately I can share the truth in an age-appropriate way.

If you are looking for ways to share Black History with your children, I’ve got a few ideas for you:

Black History Month Activity Books (Oriental Trading)

If you struggle with finding accurate information and putting it together yourself, check out Oriental Trading. They have Black history flash cards and activity mats.

There’s no harm in finding things that are already put together so that all you have to do is reinforce what you read.

Go on Virtual Field Trips

Virtually visit the illustrious Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem, New York.

With travel restrictions still in place, visiting physical museums may not be an option for you. Check out what you have locally. It may be an easy day trip or something that would only take an hour of your time.

Watch Movies About Black History & Talk About Them

Last year, my girls and I watched the Ruby Bridges movie. It was a perfect way to start conversations about the civil rights era because Ruby Bridges was close to their age, and they could relate to her.

My youngest daughter cried when people screamed and threatened Ruby every day when she walked into the school. It was the perfect way to start conversations about race relations, hate, and resilience.

When they said they felt sorry for Ruby, we focused on her bravery instead.

As a young mom, I often wanted to shelter my children from the harshness of our history. However, they won’t be sheltered from the realities of hate in the world, so I’ve realized that it’s never too early to begin having these conversations.

You may even have to pause the movie to have candid conversations with your kids.

And that’s okay.

Teach Your Kids Black History Through Woke Homeschooling

I stumbled across Woke Homeschooling from an ad online. I love the vision:  to provide resources for parents to educate socially-conscious children who will grow to become wise and informed world-changers.​ If you want to teach your kids black history but don’t know where to start, this a great place to start.

There is a curriculum for grades 3-7 and also a high school curriculum. She includes 38 weeks of lessons, including 6 weeks with no assigned reading from textbooks. She encourages you to explore relevant field trip opportunities, research, or watch movies to supplement what your children are learning.

Delina also includes a list of textbooks and tells you whether the audio version is available.

And the bonus for me was that she also includes extensive information about Native American history too–not just about black history.

There is an option for online classes or curriculum you can download and print. The printable curriculum comes in 3 versions: original (biblical-based), secular (grades 3-7)  and high school edition.

Black history for kids doesn’t have to be hard. After all, it’s just history.

Many educators have a unique challenge this school year to effectively distance teach and build authentic relationships with their students.

There are so many methods of delivering content. It’s understandable why so many teachers and support staff are feeling completely overwhelmed.

To alleviate some stress, use these tips to learn how to video narrate your lesson on a PC!

Why Video Narrate Your Lesson?

Learning how to video narrate your lessons has a double advantage. First, it’s much faster than typing out everything you need students to know. In addition, it dramatically personalizes the instruction you are providing for them. As a school counselor, I want my students to know my voice and trust me!

Narrating my lessons allows this to happen. 

With seemingly innumerable options for video narration tools, I wanted to make it easier for you by choosing one that is the most educator-friendly.

What sets Loom apart from other digital tools is its commitment to providing high-quality video narration tools for those in the field of education indefinitely, not just for the duration of COVID-19.  

Given the immense pressure on teachers and students during this unprecedented time, I am grateful that companies like Loom recognize the value of this service for educators.  

Video Narration How-To For Using Loom On PC

Setting up Loom on your PC is incredibly quick and user-friendly.  Follow these steps, and you’ll be on your way to a polished video update, lesson, or interactive activity in minutes.  

First, click https://www.loom.com/education to verify your educator account in order to get a free Pro Loom subscription. 

Next, add the Chrome extension to your browser for instant video recording and exporting of Google Slides presentations, Docs, and all things G-Suite related. 

From your web page, click on the Loom extension and select whether you would like Screen + Cam, Screen Only, or Cam only for your recording options.  You can also select if you would like to record the Full Desktop or only the Current Tab. 

From the Loom extension, you can select Present to record a full-screen version of your Google Slides presentation.  

Once you’re finished recording, you can quickly share a link to post on Google Classroom or download your video to email to your students or fellow faculty members.  

Loom also has a video walk-through of this process, as well as numerous other tutorials for educators.  

In addition to the Chrome extension, Loom has a desktop app for PowerPoint and Keynote Presentations. Within the desktop application, you can also annotate your screen to walk your audience through processes, lessons, and other key ideas. 

Examples of Video Lessons for Schools Counselors

What video lessons should you share with your students and staff? Here are some ideas for your virtual classroom!

Social-Emotional Learning Lessons (SEL) – Share growth mindset and character lessons with your students to help support their social-emotional growth. This is especially important in times of school closure and distance learning.

Anti-bullying lessons – Teach your students about being kind online and in person. Share the differences between rudeness, being mean, and bullying with engaging video narration.

Course/club overview- Often, school counselors have registration and activity support roles. Get your students involved with videos that explain the courses and clubs your school offers.

Self-care- Give your staff some self-care lessons to help support teachers during this time. Think meditation or just positive messages!

Books/Story Time-find books that address specific social skills that can lead to open discussion.

Other Video Narration Tools

Screencast O’Matic-Basic version is FREE and annual subscription is $19.80/year

Screencastify–Basic version is Free and the annual subscription is $29/year for educators

Whether you choose to use Loom or another video narration tool, my hope is that the results will be increased virtual interaction and understanding and a jump-start to the kinds of relationships you will continue to build with your students and co-workers over the course of this crazy year. 

Did you know that education is dominated by women? Especially in elementary schools?

Given all the tragic events that are happening in our country, learning how to empower black males is more important than ever.

I’ve been an educator for 12 years and I’ve worked in Title I schools for many of those years.

My heart for empowering black males begins with my own family. I am the oldest of 4 children, and my three younger siblings are black males.

They are all bright, competent, and friendly. I’ve witnessed their struggles in the education system and when I became a school counselor, I vowed to be an advocate for all children, but especially for children who were at a disadvantage (because of their race, socioeconomic status, home life situations, or anything else that presented itself as a barrier to their success).

I remember my mom telling us a story about a teacher that had called home and spoken to my dad. She later called my mom and told her that she had spoken to some man at our house and inquired about the man.

My mom informed the teacher that the man she spoke of was her husband and my brother’s father. The teacher was silent and obviously embarrassed. Her bias about black families and specifically black males had been exposed.

I’ve heard some people say that Black people talk about race too much. And that if we stopped focusing on it, everyone would be able to move on.

The unfortunate thing about that statement is that we don’t address our biases, we cannot move forward to true equality.

This is so important for everyone, especially educators to recognize. Here are 5 ways you can empower Black males in your classroom:

Provide Racial Mirrors

The easiest way to do this is by providing books, posters, and visual representations of Black males in your classroom. When you have the opportunity to have guest speakers, invite Black males.

Click here for a few book recommendations.

Even if you are a virtual educator, providing a racial mirror is possible. If you are arranging guest speakers to talk to your class about a particular subject, seek out Black males.

It is so important for the boys in your class to fight against the prewritten narrative/stereotype that all Black males are thugs, father multiple children by multiple women, and are uneducated.

Advocate

As an educator, it is your job to advocate for all of your students. If you notice discrimination happening in your school, it is your job to advocate for your students!

Discrimination can also take place by sympathy instead of empathy. Black boys are often seen as less capable. I’ve heard educators say, “His home life isn’t great, so I don’t push him that hard.”

Giving your Black boys “a break” and not pushing them to exceed expectations is hurting, not helping. When they grow up to be Black men, no one will be issuing them a break, so it’s important to push them to excel, regardless of their home life situation.

Open Discussions about Body Norms

Having conversations about self-esteem and positive body confidence is a subject that people often assume is solely for girls.

Boys have moments of insecurity too. Being the smallest boy (or largest) in a class or grade level often makes a boy an easy target.

Boys feel insecure about wearing glasses/braces, being the tallest, acne….all the things that girls often speak openly about.

You cannot control how others perceive your students, but you can empower them through affirming statements like:

You are worthy.

You can do hard things. 

I am capable of overcoming.

Life is tough, but so am I.

Feel free to add your own affirmations to the list!

Empower Black Males by Practicing Cultural Competence

This one is probably the hardest because it requires a bit of self-reflection. And self-reflection doesn’t always feel good because it can expose our flaws.

Demonstrating cultural competence  also involves demonstrating cultural sensitivity(be aware of personal bias, beliefs, misunderstandings, prejudice both conscious and unconscious)

Many school are not equipped to meet the needs of their diverse student bodies, but that doesn’t mean that your classroom has to follow the status quo.

Having a poster or two with someone non-white on the classroom wall isn’t enough. Diversity simply means recognizing the positive differences in the world around you.

Being an educator comes with massive responsiblity.

Creating an inviting classroom environment (whether face to face or virtual) is an opportunity to empower ALL students, especially black males.