Programming Pause

07/04/22 • 2 min

Belonging

Erica pauses programming and encourages us all to think deeply about Independence Day and what it means to be free.

Erica pauses programming and encourages us all to think deeply about Independence Day and what it means to be free.

Previous Episode

Episode 04: Homeplace

Erica reconnects with her third grade teacher, and tells her that her classroom was the first place she felt she belonged in school. The idea of a “homeplace” is further explored with an educator in Queens who established a Black affinity group at her school, and with three students who are part of that group.

Next Episode

Episode 05: The Invisible Child

What happens when students’ identities are not reflected in the curriculum? Erica connects with an Asian American mother concerned with the lack of representation of Asians in the curriculum. The mother questions her own child’s teacher in Brooklyn, and students from a tiny school in Colorado who brought the local history of Chinese exclusion to light, and want to learn more about Mexican-American local history. These stories examine how culturally affirming curricula that offers students “windows, mirrors, and sliding glass doors” reduces racism and bias.