Never, in a million years, could have I imagined that I would cry while writing a social story! And yet it happened this week…
In the light of the recent events, I’ve been having a lot of conversations with my kids about what is happening around us, and we’ve been commenting on the images that the media wanted us to see. My son especially was very much into those conversations and could not understand the concept of hate and racism. He could not understand why people would hate other people, namely why white people (referring to some of the police officers) would hate black people. The conversations were very deep, and even went from Native Americans and the celebration of Thanksgiving (which, by the way, in my opinion is a story that only shows one side and should be told differently!) to sports and famous African American iconic figures that everyone holds in high regards. His question was: “… but mom, everyone loved Kobe Bryant. We saw it on TV in January when he died. If everyone loved Kobe Bryant and he was black, why can’t everyone love all black people?”
I have to admit I was at a loss for words. I really had no good explanation to his perfect reasoning! But I knew that what I could do, was to try to explain some of the terms that we’ve been hearing for the last couple of weeks, like bias, for example. I knew that I could go back and talk about history and facts. I knew I could do better. And that’s how the #BLM social story bundle came to be.
The message of this story is that while each child is different, all children are the same in so many ways, and what makes them the same is so much bigger than what makes them different. The story emphasises the fact that what makes kids different is also what makes them unique and special, but love is what unites everyone, and we should all look for the things we have in common and celebrate each other.
The story tackles the differences in kids in the form of gender differences, physical differences (color, eyes, hair, height, etc), preference differences (food, sports, etc), and ability differences (sight, motor abilities). In terms of similarities, students learn that all kids like to play, love their families, laugh at good jokes, get scared, cry when they get hurt, make mistakes, ask questions, can learn, are proud of their accomplishments.
The message of this story is that while people are different, differences are good! There are many races, ethnicities, and communities to be celebrated around the world. Each of them is unique and special in their own way. The goal of this story is to get students to acknowledge that other people have traditions, opinions, and beliefs that are different than theirs, and they need to make an effort to understand them, to learn from people that are different than them, to listen to their story and learn about their heritage, as well as to have respect for all the different things that make people unique.
Points mades throughout the story include:
– people living in different parts of the world are different, and that’s not bad;
– people living in different parts of the same country are different and that’s not bad;
-people living in the same family may look different and that’s not bad;
-people may look different becayse of they appearance (skin color, clothing, etc);
-melanin gives color to our skin (explanation and pictures included); all color skins are beautiful!
-people around the world are different because they speak different languages, eat different foods, have different beliefs, belong different ethnic groups, have different customs and traditions, etc;
-race and ethnicity are explain in simple, kid friendly terms; no groups are better than others; they are unique in their own special ways;
… And this is when I couldn’t hold it together anymore…
This story is written from a black boy’s perspective and it is meant to give voice to his hurt feelings while explaining to his classmates what bothers him. As I was writing it, my heart was breaking thinking of all the black kids that, at some point in their young, innocent lives, had to go through situations that I described in the story.
The story begins by affirming that all African- American kids should be proud of their heritage because that’s what makes them special, along with their size, color, and appearance! That’s what makes African-American kids unique. The story also acknowledges that sometimes people are mean to kids and treat them differently because of their appearance. From a young boy’s perspective, non-black kids learn that it is bothersome for black kids to have their hair touched all the time, and it is hurtful when people call them names, think they are not smart, scoot away from them, refuse to work in the same group with them, refuse to play, or, even worse, laugh at them, all because of the color of their skin.
The message this story sends explicitly is that all black kids want is to be treated like everyone else, with dignity and respect; all they want is to have friends, to be included, to be understood, accepted, and loved!
This is the last story in this bundle. I haven’t published it yet. I am still working on it because I want to make sure I have the best version of it before I release it. I want this to be an interactive story, a way for kids to practice introspection in a way that will help them understand how others’ biases affect them personally, as well as how their own biases influence the way they see others.
It is my hope that these stories will help not only special education students, but also students in general ed, understand some of the big words adults are using these days and their nuances, as well as give them a starting point in making sure they keep an open mind and they become a friend to all!
