Posts tagged: Bias

Asking Why with Transformers One

‘Why?’ is one of my children’s favorite questions. When they were little, they asked, “Why is the sky blue?”…

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Exploring Values through Cultural ‘Holidays’

Pop up a digital calendar and you’ll likely see a host of cultural ‘holidays’ created to encourage local,…

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Dreaming about Racial Equity with Kids

During the Black Lives Matter protests of 2021, my home city (Richmond, VA) struggled with the legacy of several…

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Talking about the Israel/Palestine Conflict with Children

After the 9/11 terrorist attack, my four year old asked, “Mommy, were there children on those planes?” I responded…

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Exploring Identity with Loujain Dreams of Sunflowers

Sexism, racism, and classism are hard concepts for children to understand. Kids have a strong bias toward fairness and…

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Seeing Differences through Eyes that Speak to the Stars

Children are often curious about differences. They wonder why someone has red hair instead of brown like them, or…

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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Spirituality

My kids used to grab paper and pens and create their own comics. Their scratchy designs would tell stories about their…

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Exploring the Goodness of Most People

Stranger danger lessons, active shooter drills - these experiences can teach children that others are to be feared.…

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Exploring Spirituality with The Little Mermaid

Children have long loved Ariel, the star of Disney’s The Little Mermaid, because of her determination to live her…

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Celebrating AANHPI Heritage Month

Just a few weeks after cherry blossoms peak in the U.S. capital, Americans begin a month-long celebration of Asian…

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Rihanna Spirituality

Rihanna’s Super Bowl LVII performance is trending on social media. Several reviewers place it in their all-time top…

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Babies & Racial Bias

My nine month old daughter cowered in my arms. She clearly didn’t want to interact with the person who had just…

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Addressing Empathy Deficits

“Jamal is icky. He walks with a limp and talks funny.” “Suzanne is so stupid! She looks weird, too.” Such…

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Promoting Restorative Justice

My son’s Montessori school had a ‘peace table’ where children could go to work out disagreements. On it were a…

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Celebrating Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

Reading books about Martin Luther King, Jr. was more than an annual event when my children were young. We had several,…

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Spiritual Themes in The Door of No Return

Lessons about slavery in the United States typically begin with life on a plantation in the American South.  This…

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Exploring Community Justice with Unfadeable

In Unfadeable, Bella Fades is a fierce tween girl who loves her community and wants to see it thrive. Her strong belief…

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Reading Small Town Pride With Kids

Small Town Pride stars a tween working to understand himself, change his community and gain autonomy over his own…

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Being Antiracist with Kids

As a white researcher and teacher, I know I am susceptible to implicit bias. Even though I am committed to antiracism,…

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Exploring Power & Perseverance with Minions: The Rise of Gru

The new Minions movie has much of the silliness you expect from the Despicable Me franchise.  We watch as young Gru…

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Reading What Do You Do with a Chance?

Taking chances is risky. Some children can’t wait to explore the unknown. Others prefer familiar structures and…

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Identity Discussions with Alice Austen Lived Here

Sam and TJ have learned a lot about ‘Dead Straight Cisgender White Men’ in history. So when they have to research a…

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Replacing Hurtful Words with Kindness

“Losers! Losers!” shouted a kid on the opposing soccer team. My fifth grader and her teammates were headed to the…

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Spiritual Reflection with Turning Red

Pixar’s newest release is a coming-of-age story about a Chinese Canadian girl accepting both her changing body and…

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Exploring For Beautiful Black Boys Who Believe in a Better World

Like many parents, Michael W. Waters looked at his newborn son and thought him the most beautiful baby on earth. He…

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Books Celebrating Black Identity

Children’s spiritual well-being depends, in part, on strong self-esteem. They need to see themselves as individuals…

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Reading Fauja Singh Keeps Going

Celebrating Martin Luther King, Jr. Day on the 3rd Monday in January reminds us that society needs strong leaders:…

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Why Children Confuse God with Santa

Santa is everywhere these days. Well before Thanksgiving, store displays and commercials were selling products in his…

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Gender & Toys

“He has a doll?!” my mother exclaimed, disapproval ringing in her words. She couldn’t believe I would let my…

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Helping Kids Appreciate Facts

What is a fact? One basic definition is that facts are things that we know to be true because of experience,…

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Reading The Proudest Blue

Wearing hijab is a spiritual statement for Muslim girls and women. It is a sign of faith and a practice of…

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Encouraging Active Empathy

My daughter came home talking about a new girl in her class. Since being the new kid can be challenging, I want my…

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Teaching Tough Topics

Ruth Wills doesn’t believe in shying away from tough topics with children. A few years ago, she developed a method…

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Empathy Maps

Getting to know the children with whom we work is essential. We learn their names and perhaps ask about their favorite…

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Gender and Sexual Diversity Inclusion

My daughter returned from her third grade ‘Meet the Teacher’ with news she’d heard through friends: a boy in her…

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Why Children Won’t Ask for Help

“Go ask your teacher for help,” I told my daughter again. For a whole grading period, she had been struggling with…

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Social Emotional Learning at Home

My second child would become easily overwhelmed as a toddler. If we were shopping at the mall, she would start crying…

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Contextual Engagement

Engaging children in spiritual work is a contextual experience. Yet much of our understanding about children’s…

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Identity Portraits

Valuing who we are and respecting others’ identities are crucial to spiritual wellbeing. Every child wants to be seen…

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Critical Race Theory

When the University of North Carolina declined to tenure Nikole Hannah-Jones after recruiting her for a chair in…

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Developing Trust

When it comes to deciding what information about spirituality to trust and what to doubt, children acquire useful…

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Race & Gender Bias in Children’s Media

Children consume a lot of media. They watch videos, play animated games, and have favorite streaming television shows.…

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Class Bias in Religious Resources

Pandemic business closures, safer-at-home orders, and the move to virtual schooling have hit all families hard, but…

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