Early Risers – Détails, épisodes et analyse

What if, before you learned to read, you learned to ask questions? Faith Rogow calls it a “habit of inquiry,” and tells Dianne it’s more important now than ever. That’s because the explosion of media can be confusing, overwhelming and reinforce racial stereotypes. Little learners CAN become critical thinkers. Dr. Rogow says never take media - from books to apps - at face value. Instead, ask open-ended questions to start conversations - about race and everything else.  

Episode Resources:

Media Literacy for Young Children: Teaching Beyond the Screen Time Debates (NAEYC, 2022)

Faith Rogow’s MEDIA LITERACY EDUCATION blogsite

Content Creator’s Guide to Media Literacy blogpost by Faith Rogow

Webinars featuring Faith Rogow from Early Childhood Investigations Webinars

Video: Critical Media Literacy Conference of the Americas

Discussion Guide: Early Risers Season 6 Episode 7 Discussion Guide

If you thought experiments about race were a thing of the past, Sylvia Perry has news for you. In her social psychology lab at Northwestern University, she’s trying to figure out where racial bias comes from. She is finding that talking about race with children decreases prejudice. She tells Dianne how her career was shaped by her own upbringing as a Black girl in the rural South, and she offers guidance for caregivers on how to lead these conversations, including sharing examples of how she’s helped her own Black son take pride in his heritage.

Episode Resources:

Talking to your kids about race can reduce bias, a Northwestern professor found, a radio story from WBEZ Chicago

Sylvia Perry: Understanding and Encouraging White American Parent-child Conversations about Race, a video from the Center for the Science of Moral Understanding

Disrupting Racism and Bias at Home, at School, and at Work, an article from Northwestern University’s Institute for Policy Research

Discussion Guide: Early Risers Season 6 Episode 6 Discussion Guide

Theressa Lenear was practicing anti-bias education long before it was widely known as an approach to early learning. As a young Black teacher in Alaska, she tapped into her intuition to guide her practices with young children. She created a classroom-wide deep respect for her students’ cultures. She shares her perspectives on how to support BIPOC children in underserved communities.

Guest: Theressa Lenear is an early childhood education instructor at Goddard College. She has worked with young children and their teachers for nearly 40 years. She is profiled in the book “Stories of Resistance: Learning from Black Women in Early Care and Education.”

Discussion Guide: Early Risers Season 5 Episode 3 Discussion Guide

Episode Resources:

Theressa Lenear’s  profile in the  book “Stories of Resistance: Learning from Black Women in Early Care and Education”

Theressa Lenear’s personal statement about her insights from her career in early childhood education

Theressa Lenear’s article in Exchange magazine about the conflict between two young students,  which she discusses  in the episode. (Paywall)

Many programs that offer innovation in education ask teachers to adopt a new curriculum or implement a new procedure in their classroom. But when it comes to anti-bias work, Veronica Reynoso says there is no new curriculum. Instead, you need to be in community with children and disrupt the biases and stereotypes they pick up from the world. She explains how she does this and how the children respond.

Guest: Veronica Reynoso is an early childhood teacher and mentor teacher at Hilltop Children’s Center in Seattle, Washington. She grew up in Chicago in a Mexican American family. She has been featured in articles, podcasts and a film highlighting her anti-bias practices in the classroom. 

Discussion Guide: Early Risers Season 5 Episode 2 Discussion Guide

Episode Resources:

More from Veronica Reynoso on this Embrace Race webinar

More from Veronica Reynoso in this Exchange article (paywall)

Veronica Reynoso and other early childhood teachers are featured in this film “Reflecting on Anti-bias Education in Action: The Early Years”

If we adults want to work with young children on issues related to race and racism, we first need to work with ourselves. Marie Lister describes the learning communities she facilitates with teachers to help them become aware of, and address, their own biases. She discusses how the work adults do in these communal learning spaces can benefit young children immeasurably for years to come.

Episode Resources: Marie coaches early childhood teachers through the nonprofit Before Racism

Discussion Guide: Early Risers Season 5 Episode 1

In this episode, Dianne is joined by Dr. Richard Lee, a distinguished professor of psychology and director of the Asian American Studies program at the University of Minnesota. Together, they explore some of the parenting stories featured in season four of Early Risers. Dianne and Dr. Lee also share valuable insights to help parents discuss race and racism with the young children in their lives.

Early Risers Season 4 Episodes 4-6 Discussion Guide
https://files.apmcdn.org/production/e079d17c73189c6473b07d6574350544.pdf (pdf)

In this episode of Early Risers, we delve into the parenting journey of Ayan Omar, a Somali American mother living in St. Cloud, Minnesota with her husband and two young daughters. As an interracial and interfaith couple, Ayan and her husband have faced unique challenges in raising their children. In this conversation with host Dianne, Ayan shares her experiences navigating conversations about race and racism with her daughters, and how her own upbringing in a predominantly Black community has informed her parenting approach.

Early Risers Season 4 Episodes 4-6 Discussion Guide
https://files.apmcdn.org/production/e079d17c73189c6473b07d6574350544.pdf (pdf)

Episode resources:

"Raising Multiracial Children" by Farzana Nayani: This book offers practical guidance and advice for parents raising children with multiple racial identities, including how to navigate conversations about race, cultural identity, and discrimination.

"Raising Race Conscious Children": This website offers resources and articles for parents who want to have conversations about race and racism with their children, including how to talk about privilege, intersectionality, and allyship.

"The Conscious Kid": This website provides resources and articles on how to raise racially conscious children and combat racism and bias, including book recommendations and tips for having conversations about race with kids.

"LET’S TALK! A Teaching Tolerance Guide": This PDF offers free resources and lesson plans for parents and educators to teach children about social justice, diversity, and anti-bias education.

"EmbraceRace": This organization offers resources and webinars on how to raise children who are resilient, empathetic, and racially conscious, including tips for talking about race, supporting children's racial identity, and combating racism.

Cecilia Amadou is a Ghanaian mother raising her son in the Fargo-Moorhead area of Minnesota. In this episode of Early Risers, Cecilia shares her experiences navigating parenthood and conversations about race and racism in a community that is over 90% white. As Black parents with roots in Africa, Cecilia and her husband offer a unique perspective on the challenges and opportunities of raising a child in a predominantly white environment.

Early Risers Season 4 Episodes 4-6 Discussion Guide
https://files.apmcdn.org/production/e079d17c73189c6473b07d6574350544.pdf (pdf)

Episode resources:

“Mothering While Black: Boundaries and Burdens of Middle-Class Parenthood” by Dawn Marie Dow – This book examines the complex lives of the African American middle class—in particular, black mothers and the strategies they use to raise their children to maintain class status while simultaneously defining and protecting their children’s “authentically Black” identities. Sociologist Dawn Marie Dow shows how the frameworks typically used to research middle-class families focus on white mothers’ experiences, inadequately capturing the experiences of African American middle- and upper-middle-class mothers.

"Raising White Kids: Bringing Up Children in a Racially Unjust America" by Jennifer Harvey - This book offers insights and practical advice for white parents who want to raise their children to be allies in the fight against racism.

"Parenting for Liberation" - This online community offers resources and support for parents of color who are seeking to raise socially conscious and empowered children.

In this episode of Early Risers, host Dianne speaks with Acacia Ward, a young Black and biracial single mother of three living in Rochester, Minnesota. Acacia shares her experiences growing up in a predominantly white community and how she's navigating conversations about race and identity with her children. As a mother of a son with a Sudanese father, Acacia offers insights on how she and her co-parent are helping their child appreciate his cultural heritage. This episode offers a candid and thought-provoking discussion on parenting, identity, and cultural awareness.

Discussion guide https://files.apmcdn.org/production/cbcec99ae3656a8fe878d98392d3a83a.pdf

Episode resources: 

Raising Race Conscious Children - This website offers resources and tools for parents on how to talk to children about race and racism. It includes articles, book recommendations, and a podcast. 

Parenting for Liberation - This website offers resources and support for parents of color, including workshops, webinars, and coaching. It focuses on empowering parents to raise socially conscious and confident children. 

In this episode of Early Risers, Dianne speaks with Kai and James Miller, a married couple raising their two daughters in Rochester, Minnesota. Kai and James share their experiences as Black parents in a growing city that's becoming more racially diverse.

Despite the demographic changes, the Millers have struggled with feeling isolated while working to ensure their daughters see positive representations of themselves in school and the community.

Even with these challenges, Kai and James are taking concrete steps to build their daughters' confidence and self-esteem. We can all learn from their insights on navigating parenthood and identity in a changing landscape.

Discussion guide

https://files.apmcdn.org/production/cbcec99ae3656a8fe878d98392d3a83a.pdf

Episode resources: 

Raising Race Conscious Children - A website and book series dedicated to providing resources and tools for parents to have conversations with their children about race and racism. The website includes articles, book lists, and discussion guides.

The African American Parenting Group is an online community for African American parents to connect, share resources, and support each other.

"Parenting in the Age of Black Lives Matter" is a resource guide compiled by the organization EmbraceRace. It includes articles, videos, books, and podcasts for parents who want to engage in conversations about race and racism with their children.

"Talking to Children About Racial Bias" is a guide created by the American Psychological Association that offers tips for how parents can talk to their children about race and racism.

The National Black Child Development Institute is an organization that provides resources and advocacy for black children and families. Their website includes articles, resources, and events related to parenting and education.