".. so how/what would you teach a preteen white kid about slavery" Mon Jun-01-15 05:03 PM by PG
I don't talk about race here much.. but as a person trying to raise kids I want to make sure they get right about it at all costs.
I was talking to my kids the other day and learned that my 10 year old daughter recently did a unit in social studies on slavery and the underground railroad.
I asked her a few questions and quickly realized how little she grasped or was even taught.. I mean ok she's 10 but there was a total disconnect on major points like the fact that we're really talking about the slavery of black people taken from Africa... there were also ridiculous ideas like that slaves were usually criminals or such.. SMH.. I tried to explain some of these essential points to her and her older brothers who suffered many of the same misconceptions... then put on PE's Can't Truss It video and told them to listen and pay attention.
I'n all seriousness though I don't want my children to grow up ignorant, their mother already has them in a biblebelt rural area with about a .005% non-caucasian population and if you can complete a fricking social studies unit on slavery and the underground railroad without even realizing you're talking about black people there's a problem.. like a systemic racist one...
so put me up on some books or other things that might be appropriate to help me educate these kids.. I don't want to blow their minds with the horror of the whole thing, I'm looking for something age appropriate. Anybody able to help?
6. "So the deficiency is in the textbooks used by the school system?" In response to Reply # 0
I mean, the easiest/default answer is to show them the first two episodes of "Roots" and take a Q/A afterward.
I dunno if I'd go much further than that and a generalized history of slavery hitting historical figures (essentially in the same summerized format used by the textbook, albeit with the facts corrected). If the child themselves asks to learn more info, then one could go into slave narratives and books specifically about slavery, but I think the first key goal should be correcting the textbooks at the textbooks' level.
8. "honestly not sure at this point if it'as the text books, the teacher or" In response to Reply # 6 Mon Jun-01-15 07:06 PM by PG
simply my own kids level of engagement in their studies.. It just came up this weekend in casual conversation so I haven't had an opportunity to see the textbook etc.. I just tried to explain some of what it felt was missed..
I'm going to give this some more thought because you're right I don't want to drown them in an overwhelming amount of information but I do want them to be aware of some of the main points and not entirely niave and ignorant.. if they want to learn more in great depth, good, if not, ok, but they need to have a good understand and appreciation of the basics... which right now I'm not confident they have.
I just watched the 4th grade spring concert which celebrated the Constitution and Bill of Rights, all of which was made possible by... COMPROMISE! And while there was some stuff about the population vs equal representation argument, there was NO THING about the fact that population counted a slave as 3/5 of a human. Or that you were only 'equal' if you had property. Etc. etc.
Last year when he was in 3d grade my oldest had to do an independent project on Daniel Boone. Not a single book he checked out on Daniel Boone said that he was a slaveholder. They also all skirted the fact that the land Boone helped settle west of the Gap was forcibly taken from natives, that that was the reason Booneville was constatly under attack by natives. My son didn't actually believe me on either of those two points until we went to the Daniel Boone homestead museum. Even then he was uncomfortable including them in his patter for the parents-visit-the-classroom-for-famous-Pennsylvanians day. At least the museum guy talked him out of wearing a coonskin cap and buckskins.
The temptation to sanitize history for kids is definitely strong, especially when school board officials are elected and you're in a very conservative suburb, but I find that kids are pretty resilient and don't mind learning the bad along with the good.
I'll have to think about books... I know there are some that are good for stuff like this. Will try to get back to you tomorrow.
10. "Tell them the whole truth" In response to Reply # 0 Mon Jun-01-15 07:16 PM by Selassie I God
Maybe not all at once (since you said Preteen), but as they get older, inform them of facts.
Like how Triangle Slave trade worked. How Africans took part in the practice. How a large population of Native Americans and Irish were also slaves during the early period on slavery in the U.S. (though not in the huge numbers comparatively) The mental part of slavery, and how that mental slavery still impacts black people to this day.
Also, I recommend a film called "Goodbye Uncle Tom". Much more realistic than "Roots" and it is based on slave journals from the era. (Hard to find, but well worth it. You may want to view it alone first, kind of graphic at points)
Kudos to you for making the effort to educate your kids to things that the educational system refuses to address. Learning helps to bridge gaps.
____ Some will tell you that they love you but they've got an ulterior motive - Oh what a shame They will tell you that they need you but they've got an ulterior motive - Personal gain
12. "Did you not bother to read my ENTIRE post?" In response to Reply # 11
The VERY FIRST LINE is:
>>>Maybe not all at once (since you said Preteen), but as they get older, inform them of facts.<<<
Then near the end, I clearly said about the movie;
>>> (Hard to find, but well worth it. You may want to view it alone first, kind of graphic at points)<<<
So, anything you decided to mention, I already addressed.
Have a nice day.
____ Some will tell you that they love you but they've got an ulterior motive - Oh what a shame They will tell you that they need you but they've got an ulterior motive - Personal gain
15. "it should be out of the question altogether." In response to Reply # 12 Mon Jun-01-15 09:59 PM by b.Touch
It'd be a waste of time to even sit and watch it "first" to decide if it's appropriate to show to a child. The answer is no, both for purposes of content and that it's not going to be accessible to a kid that age. Or possibly of any age; I wouldn't sit my mother in front of "Goodbye Uncle Tom", because it's too out-there to be an effective viewing experience for her or the average audience member in general.
That's something for a college-age student, and one in particular looking to study how other cultures (since the film is Italian) saw American slavery.
It's not terribly effective as an educational tool as well unless you were teaching film and not history, given its high stylization.
25. "RE: it should be out of the question altogether." In response to Reply # 15
>It'd be a waste of time to even sit and watch it "first" to >decide if it's appropriate to show to a child. The answer is >no, both for purposes of content and that it's not going to be >accessible to a kid that age. Or possibly of any age; I >wouldn't sit my mother in front of "Goodbye Uncle Tom", >because it's too out-there to be an effective viewing >experience for her or the average audience member in general. > >
Given fact that kids watch zombies, vampire shows, and other assorted mass murderous crap, how this is "out of the question" is beyond my comprehension.The only part that is probably too much is where the dudes go into the slave quarters to rape the women, but damn, shows on over-the-air TV show as much sex and violence as that just about every day. If you watch with the kids and take the time to teach while watching, the movie could easily be a teaching tool. Of course, you have to know your kids and if they are ready for it, which is why I said to view it alone first.
____ Some will tell you that they love you but they've got an ulterior motive - Oh what a shame They will tell you that they need you but they've got an ulterior motive - Personal gain
13. "if nothing else teach them that slaves weren't 'slaves'." In response to Reply # 0
They were enslaved Africans. They were people who underwent a horric experience.
It's hard for people to relate to 'slaves' because they think that is just what they were meant to be. But anyone can be enslaved. Make sure you emphasize their humanity because it wont be assumed.
________________________________________________ R.I.P. Soulgyal <3 SUPA NERD LLC. Knowledge Meets Nature Musica Negra #13irteen
17. "I don't have any friends except worms" In response to Reply # 14
I don't socialize a ton with anybody but I have a few black friends and my kids have met and interacted with them it's basically a non-issue... heck the lack of context as per this poast may be a huge factor there.
I have friends of a lot of other races too.. and again the lack of context means that I don't think my kids feel that anybody is really any different and certainly no less or more.. I don't think they think about it at all
but when they start talking about this social studies unit on slavery and none of them seemed to have really put anything together I gotta wonder and make sure that I don't fall down on the job.
btw if you're ever in Vancouver you best be coming for dinner.
Atillah Moor Member since Sep 05th 2013 13825 posts
Tue Jun-02-15 08:30 AM
24. "I'd argue that you don't at this point. " In response to Reply # 0
Your kid(s) are pre-teen so they'll soon be thinking and caring about things not related to people that are not related to them. It would be one thing if they were interested in the subject in which case I'd suggest maybe Amistad or that they read some children's books about it. There's one in particular I can't recall the title of but it was something Ike "they raised their hands to the stars" or something.
If this is something you're really concerned about (because your kids will be fine either way) then the best course of action (imho) is to have them get involved in activities where they can make friends who aren't white, all they need is one good friend of a different background to give them some perspective.
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Everything looks like Oprah kissing Harvey Weinstein these days
Pbs is a really great resource with several options. Back in the day I checked Eyes on the Prize out from the library. They may carry the others.
As for how to speak about it, factually. I wouldn't shy away from it but at the same time you have to balance your delivery out with your child's innocence level. At 10 I wouldn't draw a parallel between then and now but in their teen years I would.
27. "White folks are devils hell bent on" In response to Reply # 0
creating a permanent underclass they could exploit, rape, serve as entertainment and discard of when ready. See the prison industrial complex also this is why they love dogs anything domesticated and denatured to fill their lost sense of humanity.
35. "All white folks are not evil WHITENESS is" In response to Reply # 34
It's time to come back to humanity.
John Brown is a G along with all those involved in the Underground railroad that risked neck and limb to end a system of exploitation and dehumanization.
29. "I was 10 when I read the Autobiography of Malcolm X..." In response to Reply # 0
and that led me on a whirlwind of research about my history. So, that age is not too young to understand these concepts. I mean, you know your child best. So, you know what they can take in, but I reject the notion that 10 is too young to learn about the complexities of racism and slavery in America.
Atillah Moor Member since Sep 05th 2013 13825 posts
Tue Jun-02-15 01:43 PM
33. "But you are also not white" In response to Reply # 29
A white kid would have to be a young Tim Wise to actually get introspective like that and why would they with a culture that can so easily distract them?
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Everything looks like Oprah kissing Harvey Weinstein these days
42. "well aside from just being an amazing individual story..." In response to Reply # 39 Tue Jun-02-15 03:04 PM by philpot
it exposed me to ideas and a world that i was not fully aware of and did not fully understand (not to imply any subsequent level of "full understanding")
it made me realize what a large portion of the history i had learned to that point was manipulated or false and how people i had been raised to view as heroes were really villains...
i think an understated thing about Malcolm was that he knew how to communicate to white folks, i think that's why the media latched onto him, his charisma and ability to make anyone understand what he was saying.
________________________________________________________________ whenever you did these things to the least of my brothers you did them to me
52. "I was into British monarchy and Greek/Roman history" In response to Reply # 33
and the issues of class that arose in literature surrounding those cultures. So, it's possible for someone to be interested in cultures not directly associated with them, mainly because they are just interesting. I'm not saying it's the norm, but it is definitely possible for a preteen to grasp those concepts and be interested enough to explore them further.
This document supplements Episode 2 of the History of American Slavery, our inaugural Slate Academy. Please join Slate’s Jamelle Bouie and Rebecca Onion for a different kind of summer school. To learn more and to enroll, visit slate.com/academy.
so maybe that for the summer? ~~~~ When you are born, you cry, and the world rejoices. Live so that when you die, you rejoice, and the world cries. ~~~~ You cannot hate people for their own good.
47. "The problem w that type of kid is" In response to Reply # 44
As unlikely to read they'll be just as unlikely to watch docs
~~~~ When you are born, you cry, and the world rejoices. Live so that when you die, you rejoice, and the world cries. ~~~~ You cannot hate people for their own good.
Atillah Moor Member since Sep 05th 2013 13825 posts
Wed Jun-03-15 11:53 AM
49. "I'd venture not miserable at all just aware of the stats and culture " In response to Reply # 48
Which pretty much says white kids are not likely to be interested in things not related to them or that otherwise don't affect them.
It's just the way it is. There is like zero reason for a white person grown or not to give 2 cents about African history. Kudos to those that want to be educated, knowledgeable, etc., but to act like white supremacy is without benefit is absurd.
If this country wanted well rounded world citizens it would create them and certainly would have by now.
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Everything looks like Oprah kissing Harvey Weinstein these days
There are less and less readers Kids are less and less likely also to watch docs
Odds are really really good that a kid who isn't interested in history esp at-am history or reading it's pretty unlikely they will watch a doc
~~~~ When you are born, you cry, and the world rejoices. Live so that when you die, you rejoice, and the world cries. ~~~~ You cannot hate people for their own good.
-DJ R-Tistic- Member since Nov 06th 2008 51986 posts
Tue Jun-02-15 03:55 PM
45. "I still remember being in 6th grade History class." In response to Reply # 0
And it covered American History from maybe the 1400's to the 1900's? Whatever it was..........they gave TWO paragraphs about slavery. And I remember it saying some shit exactly like "most of the slaves were treated great, because it lead to them being more productive." We read it, and I was too timid to call it out for real, but just asked the teacher, "is that true?" and he completely played it off and said "well....that's usually how it was." Thing is, my class was half Black, and NONE of the Black kids questioned it, or even mentioned it.
I wish I had been more like I was in High School...I might have thrown the book down and started a scene, just because that shit was all the way out of pocket.
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