READ-U

Despite an information rich environment, there is a void of books easily available to children that both reflect their life experiences and broaden their understanding of self and others. Parents and teachers are often uncertain how to find and use these diverse books as lenses to discuss challenging topics, including those such as unity, grief, identity, and friendship. To fill this gap, we have created READ-U (Reading with Empathy, Awareness, and Diversity with U). For more information go to: http://readu.utah.edu

What does READ-U provide?
In our book sets, you will find the following:

• 6-8 books
• Processing guidelines for facilitating discussions
• Discussion questions
• Activities
• Definitions for key concepts

Let’s Talk (Coming Soon)

In this upcoming KUED (Utah’s PBS) digital media series, I meet with parents to discuss how race influences our daily lives and the value of having conversations with children about race and racism from a young age.

By openly addressing these topics with our children, we are working to reduce bias and discrimination as well as to nurture empathy, compassion, and self-awareness. Talking about race can help families examine their roles in building a more racially just society.

In each episode we hear challenges parents face and the rewards in having these difficult conversations. We also discuss tips to foster ongoing dialogue about race with our kids, including “getting comfortable with the uncomfortable,” “joining in our children’s’ curiosity about race,” and remembering “it’s ok to make mistakes.”

**Image above by  Angélica Dass (Humanae Project)**