The ABCs of Diversity: Helping Kids (and Ourselves!) Embrace Our Differences

by Carolyn Helsel, Y. Joy Harris-Smith

Overview

Learn the language of diversity and raise kids who respect differences and honor similarities. The ABCs of Diversity equips parents, teachers, and community leaders to have intergenerational and intercultural conversations about the differences between us. In addition to discussions of race, intercultural dialogue involves understanding our differences related to political affiliation, gender, class, religion, ability, nationality, and sexual orientation. This book helps parents and teachers of children, youth, and young adults navigate conversations about differences so they can raise up individuals committed to respectful civic engagement. Such intercultural dialogues can support communities as they work for the mutual well-being of all. This book includes specific resources and activities for persons of various ages that parents and community leaders can employ to encourage compassion and empathy. An ideal resource for teachers, parents, ministry personnel, non-profit leaders, human resources directors, and librarians.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780827200937
Publisher:	APG Sales & Distribution
Publication date:	06/19/2020
Pages:	208
Sales rank:	1,139,318
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Carolyn B. Helsel, PhD, has focused her research on different approaches to talking about diversity. Helsel speaks regularly at churches and conferences on the subject of helping white people talk about racism, and she is currently working with her local school district to increase its cultural competence. Raised in Texas, she has worked as a chaplain in a hospital at the US-Mexico border, as an administrator in a seminary in Princeton, as a pastor in Central Texas and New England, and currently as a professor in Austin.


Dr. Y. Joy Harris-Smith is adept in dealing with issues of communication and culture. She is a trained New York City special education teacher and has over 17 years of experience teaching junior high school youth through graduate school. Her wealth of experience, excellence in teaching and scholarship have been demonstrated in the classroom as well as in two books and top journal. Currently, Dr. Harris-Smith serves as a full-time Lecturer in Speech Communication in Ministry at Princeton Theological Seminary.

Table of Contents

Preface ix

Introduction 1

1 The ABCs of Diversity 5

2 Identities We're Assigned at Birth 17

3 Identity and Diversity in Action 30

4 Disentangling Gender and Sexuality 45

5 Relearning Race 60

6 Fears of Fitting Out: Religious Differences 78

7 Social Media and Diversity 91

8 Old Enough to Know Better 106

Conclusion: Choosing Our Place in History 116

Acknowledgments 120

Appendix A About the Authors-Autobiographies of Culture 124

Joy Shares: Cultural Adjustments from Germany to North Carolina to New York 124

Carolyn Shares: Cultural Sampling from Across the Country 128

Appendix B Books to Read to Develop Greater Empathy 135

Picture Books 135

Nonfiction Resource Books for Older Children 136

Middle-Grade Chapter Books and Graphic Novels 137

Books for Older Teens and Young Adult Novels 147

Book Lists for Parents 149

Websites 150

Appendix C Curriculum Activities for Teachers and Parents of Children and Youth 152

Activities for Young Children 152

1 Begin with Words Kids Can Understand: Bias and Unfairness 152

2 Goals and Activities for Educators of Young Children 153

3 Activity about Gender Norms: Who Gets to Make the Rules? 156

4 Scripts for Parents: When Our Kids Say Embarrassing Things 157

Activities for Older Children and Youth 165

1 Increasing Empathy with Youth: Living in the World HOUSE Activity 165

2 Building the World House: The ROCKS of our Foundation 171

3 Relearning Our History: Challenging Traditional Curriculum Lessons 172

Bibliography 179

Editorial Reviews

09/01/2020

This guide for parents and educators intends to break down the language of diversity for social justice newcomers and the more experienced alike. There are some good ideas—in particular, the titular mnemonic for responding to difference by moving from "Automatic ABCs: Afraid, Back Away, Control" to "The ABCs of Intentional Engagement: Acknowledge, Be Present, Come Closer" to "The ABCs of a More Just Society: Access, Build, Cultivate." Harris-Smith, a Black academic, and Helsel, a white pastor, trade off sections, sharing autobiographical anecdotes. This approach works well at times (illustrating concepts such as "being a good host and guest" as a metaphor for respectful cultural learning) but can distract from the sharing of key concepts from well-selected background readings. Occasionally the scope of topics is broader than the authors' expertise. Gender and sex are briefly conflated, and the freighted term preferred pronouns is used once. Teachers are rightly encouraged to eschew superficial or exoticizing classroom activities in favor of lifelong learning and self-reflection. But strategies given for discussion or implementation are uneven. Sample scripts for asking strangers to explain their identities to one's curious children are problematic. Readers will need to dig into the referenced works for more research-aligned ways to help youth of different ages engage with diversity and activism. VERDICT An appealing invitation to learn more, with some powerful personal insights and strong synthesis of others' work on diversity, equity, and inclusion; not a primary resource for curriculum or hands-on activities.—Miriam DesHarnais, Towson Univ., Baltimore

School Library Journal