What’s on Your Child’s Classroom Bookshelf?

Greetings,

Recently in recognition of Black History month /(year), I have had the opportunity to speak to elementary and middle school students about some of the countless significant contributions of Black Americans.  Regardless of the school’s ethnic composition, location, or grade level the looks on their faces as I shared knowledge of Black inventors were priceless!

Visiting these schools provided me the opportunity to observe individual classrooms which included the selection of books readily available for children to read during their silent reading time.  As you would know if you have read “Single And ApParent” reading to your child is one of the most important steps a parent can take to encourage their child’s overall emotional growth and development.  As their brain is being stimulated through this activity they are absorbing far more than science can determine. Skills such as word familiarization, formation of proper sentences, phonics, pronunciation, and much more.

It is critically important for parents, particularly parents of color to ensure there are books in their child’s classroom that depict what their child looks like. Books with people of color on the cover are extremely important for the healthy emotional development of not only your child, but all children.

So please visit your child’s classroom and take a look at the choices your child has available to them.  You will probably find many books but you need to keep in mind the question, “do any of these covers reflect my child?”  In addition, is the selection of books something your child would be interested in reading?  If the answer is “no” to both questions, I urge you to have a conversation with your child’s teacher/teacher’s regarding your observation and go a step further by purchasing and donating a couple of books on your own.  I did this throughout my son’s education and each teacher he had was welcoming of my concerns and my effort to make his learning environment as racially inclusive as possible.

Remember, YOU are your child’s first teacher, and it is a parent’s responsibility to be very familiar with the classrooms your child attends.  So I hope you make it a priority this week to drop in, take a look, and donate a couple of self reflecting books if necessary.  Your child will be ever so grateful and I’ll bet your child’s teachers will too.

Let me know how your child’s school bookshelf  looks!

Peace~