Articles by Bret
Teaching Kindness Isn’t Enough
Teaching kindness is a staple of elementary practice, but that isn’t the same as teaching justice.
Teaching First-Graders About Microaggressions: The Small Moments Add Up
For younger students, understanding that identity-based microaggressions pose a heavier burden than other painful moments is critical to developing anti-racist, empathetic behaviors.
Open Secrets in First-Grade Math: Teaching About White Supremacy on American Currency
Studying money is a staple of first-grade math. This teacher used it as an opportunity to educate about—and push back against—sexism, racism and white supremacy.
When a First-Grader Is Called a Racist
When the word ‘racist’ brought out some strong feelings in a first-grade classroom, this teacher helped the students examine the word’s complexity.
Reframing Gender Helps Kids See Beyond Other Binaries
Teaching gender as a spectrum has far-reaching consequences: Beyond helping students form a more complex understanding of gender identity, it helps them—and educators—see more nuance across a wide range of subjects.