In our experience, we've found that you young children like our kids who are 7 and 10, as well as younger children, in some ways have an easier time right standing up for fairness even with their peers. We also have some resources including a very specific discussion guide for this book with some sample questions that educators could ask as they're reading the book to children. Add to Wish List. 608-257-2919 Contact Us. I read it in a church setting where kids were as young as, I would say probably about age 6 and up to about 10 or so, with teenagers listening in the back. "The other thing I want to say very quickly is at the end - you said you didn't want to give a spoiler. The Stage Manager can speak to the dead as well as the living. Danielle and Sophia picked kids to be on their teams. That might mean proposing before they read our book proposing that they read some books that celebrate diversity but don't get into racial injustice as much. The chess pieces were really proposed by the illustrator, Jennifer Zivoin. Stages in children’s development of racial/cultural identities and attitudes, Educators and Race: A Conversation with Author Ijeoma Oluo on Tackling Systemic Racism in U.S. Education. The police could harm or kill you, right, especially if you're in a targeted group. So it's in some ways easier for little kids to do it than it is for older people to do it. How does this influence the way readers interpret the text? Written for 4-8 year olds. STUDY. Immediately after delivering his little speech, he raises George's allowance, "because [he's] getting older." EmbraceRace: Thank you. I'm just wondering what's your general thinking about the way that this book promotes, understands that there are meaningful dynamics among children of color, and among adults of color as well. There is such a need and a lack of kind of #OwnVoices stories right #OwnVoices (twitter.com/hashtag/OwnVoices) that I wonder how you're differently received and whether you get questions about that? Fiction Something Happened in Our Town describes a traumatic event — a police shooting — from the perspective of a White family and an African American family. Maybe Wilder is making it clear that Stimson's not as badly off as the choir ladies thought.) 20 Jan. 2021. All positive reviews › Katsim. He's even able to bring a dead soul—Emily—back to life. Marianne: So the core content so far is that the police shooting is a mistake. As she explains, her husband thinks "It might make him discontented with Grover's Corners to go traipsin' about Europe." That's because of attention span issues and just in a large group I think there's more opportunity for misunderstandings or questions, kids have questions or confusion that doesn't get addressed. Your 5-year-old is already racially biased. Course Hero. We knew that just writing one story wasn't going to solve the problem. I've been fortunate enough to be able to go out and read our book in different settings with African-American kids and it's been positively received. Our Town Questions. Our time is at an end. Right? Rebecca Gibbs tells her brother, George, that her friend Jane Crofut has received a letter with an unusual address on the envelope. But it's been very successful to read it to 6 to 9 year olds and obviously you have a somewhat more sophisticated discussion with the older kids. What was important to us in writing the book is that it really reflects the importance of being fair and being involved in social justice and not discriminating, but also that it can be relevant to other kinds of "isms." That's just now starting up again. PreK-K, 1-2, 3-5 Genre. But also having them be proactive in their racial justice work, which I love. It might be with certain extended family or friends. March 7, 2017. Our Town Study Guide. One girl talked about the fact that since that shooting she's really afraid when her stepfather goes to work. Basically Emma says, "Did our family do those things a long time ago?" . Children are not colorblind. And then the mother's explanation. We also hear from African-American students sometimes that this part of any American history course is what they dread most. You know even though it means telling their peers to step off. Again so that people can understand the perspective from which it came. He doesn't belittle his choir, and he seems cheerful. ", And here we see, Josh who wears glasses, "Like how Malcolm sticks up for me when the kids tease me about my glasses. It includes some book lists of other books on related topics as well as some additional places parents can go for help, including EmbraceRace, of course. The narrator first shows what the town of Grovers Corners, New Hampshire, looks like in 1940, then shows what it was like in 1901. And after many discussions we ended up really liking the chess pieces. It's poignant that Mrs. Gibbs calls the money a "legacy." This! In Course Hero. Having made a straightforward request that was firmly denied, Mrs. Gibbs turns to more manipulative tactics. And so I thought about it and I said, "Something bothers me about that word." "And they don't like black men. There's Harriet Tubman, Nelson Mandela and there's a little picture of the Civil Rights Movement with the signs from marches. Singing too loudly is a common choral mistake, and he's right to point it out. Log in Sign up. The Grown-ups didn't think the kids knew about it. Emily begins to talk about her speech at school, but then abruptly asks, "Mama, am I good looking?" I think that's phenomenal. What are some of their duties? EmbraceRace: Let me say a quick thing about that because, I think, certainly yes, people will say, "we weren't even in this country. Fast and free shipping free returns cash on delivery available on eligible purchase. Log in Sign up. And mom of course says, "You're right." The Stage Manager suggests Emily's dead companions have been "weaning" themselves from life for a long time, which would be a boring process to watch. EmbraceRace: Thank you for that. Course Hero. Marietta Collins, PhD is a clinical psychologist who worked with high-risk children, adolescents, and families as a faculty member at Emory University School of Medicine for over two decades. ", Marianne: And then Emma's reaction: "I know what a slave is. 2017. We thought this was really important to add to the story. What do you think about the challenge that, say, a 12-year-old child is probably going to have standing up for Omad in this case? Accessed January 20, 2021. https://www.coursehero.com/lit/Our-Town/. Marianne: Thank you for pointing out that text. And we introduce the concept that diversity adds value. But we thought that it would be really important to model how to have these conversations and to leave the door open for future ones. I've actually heard from both white and black parents sometimes some parents have worries about wanting their children to stay “innocent,” really is the words I've heard. First of all I totally agree that the use of the term enslave which focuses on the reprehensible actions of the oppressors is better than using nouns to describe people from a continent. Developing a Mentoring Mindset: Critical Strategies to Support Every Child >, In My Skin: Supporting Positive Racial Identity Development in Black Children >, “Mommying While Muslim”: Raising Healthy Muslim Children in a Post-9/11 World >. EmbraceRace: Thank you for that. The story aims to answer children’s questions Wilder may be foreshadowing Emily's death in Act 1 when the Stage Manager announces that Joe Crowell, the paper boy—who, like Emily, is the head of his class—will be killed in World War I. But as they go on it will become more difficult, not just to be kind themselves but to be proactive, agents for justice especially when it means confronting  peers and friends. And let me add one little bit of detail. Ann: We all worked at Emory School of Medicine together for over two decades. But it's gone fine with with all the kids in groups of those ages. EmbraceRace: We're getting a lot of questions about police and about how you all would advise people to talk to kids about police. Something Happened in Our Town: A Child's Story about Racial Injustice by Marianne Celano, Marietta Collins, Ann Hazzard, and Jennifer Zivoin. Marietta is now at Morehouse. In part, we're just starting that journey because the book came out in May. ", And her mother's response: "It was a mistake. So if you've read the book you know that the children apply the lessons that they've learned to the exclusion of a new immigrant child in their classroom at the end of the book, which we'll show you. As the audience will learn in Act 3, poor Mrs. Gibbs will get the money but never get to take the trip. All cops are not good. As you are talking about it, I'm thinking of another way we could have made it even better. Our family stories are sort of like Facebook! But my guess is that fewer people embrace the message of proactively fighting for racial justice. The story aims to answer children's questions about such traumatic events, and to help children … Another direction is maybe negotiating to introduce our book later, to a later age group than we think is required. Marietta: In these pages here, turn to the core content that we tried to portray. Readers’ questions about Something Happened in Our Town: A Child's Story about Racial Injustice. But if that's what it takes to make an institution comfortable then that may be a way to go. EmbraceRace: Thanks so much for being here, Marianne, Marietta and Ann. "I suppose she just got tired of asking you. She continues, "Am I pretty enough ... to get anybody ... to get people interested in me?" And when she was done I said, "What if instead of this word, we used this word?" Marianne: I've had one person in my family. How did I create this list of book club discussion questions? Something Happened in Our Town follows two families — one White, one Black — as they discuss a police shooting of a Black man in their community. Get the eBook on Amazon to study offline. I'll add what I think is a complementary point or really maybe underlining the same point which is this. I can say that if a school has an explicit anti-bias curriculum, if that's part of their curriculum, they have been more receptive to having us come in and they're not just interested in having us read the book. So this has happened for years. Sophia said Omad might not be good at soccer. That's what was really important to us. We have some questions that came in early about your partnership and really someone basically asking before reading the book, is anyone a person of color among the writers. But I typically have a white person who introduces him or herself by saying they grew up in the suburbs and they've led a sheltered life and so on and so forth and other people may say I grew up in that city. It was really important to us that this book served as an example of how to engage families in difficult conversations. I feel sad for the man and his family.". And everyone wants to think that they were on the side of the angels. That's the next line. But I think in our experience what most kids have come away with is an understanding that police officers can make mistakes and that sometimes those mistakes may be racially motivated. What is it about Bob Slocum that makes us love to hate him? I'm underlining Christiana's point that there are certainly some pitfalls perhaps to talking about slavery or to not talking about it well? We cover some unique issues that African-American parents may face. How do you think about talking to young kids about approaching police? See All Buying Options. By Jennifer Zivoin, Marianne Celano, Marietta Collins, Ann Hazzard. Marietta: I'd also like to comment on reading our book in a school system. His suggestion, "You leave loudness to the Methodists" shows that he has a sense of humor. In Act 1 of Our Town, why does Wilder specify that there should be no curtain on the stage? Emma and Josh are assertive in standing up for inclusion. What's happening now is I've approached one of the larger private schools here in Atlanta and the racial composition is pretty diverse but more African-American now then it was in the past. Illustrator(s): Jennifer Zivoin . So we didn't get a chance to read it to too many schools in May - schools in Atlanta end before Memorial Day. Publisher: Magination Press. And we do that because we believe that our temporary discomfort is outweighed by the need to keep them safe. Something Happened in Our Town follows two families—one white, one Black—as they discuss a police shooting of a Black man in their community. The Stage Manager mentions no individuals. That the continuation of the family discussion in the inset picture but also history in the background and continents to give some historical depth to the concept. Because it would be presumptuous of me to try to write a book that in part was targeted towards African-American families without that collaboration. And I love the fact that you have here you have Josh and Emma, a black child and a white child who are both taking the responsibility of reaching out to a child of color. Most of their ancestors were brought here from Africa as slaves. A Black man was shot by the police. I wasn't here when all those terrible things happened." Future readers of the play, according to the Stage Manager, will be able to discern from the play’s content the ways in which ordinary humans’ lives move and change “in our growing up and in our marrying and in our living and in our dying.” Hopefully it wasn't too confusing because obviously we skipped some pages. We want to link past racism, like the history of slavery and segregation and so forth, with modern day racism like racial profiling and other things. Marietta, let me start with you. Top positive review. First, I've had children who I've read the book to who really relate to that situation. Josh in particular is not simply a victim who needs to be resilient. In "the Mind of God," there's room even for the most insignificant individual. She says, "This is an important book. ", And his mom says, "You can change people's hearts by sticking up for someone who's not being treated fairly. One thing that gave me pause, however, was the introduction of slavery and the concrete associations of Africa with slavery without any positive counterbalance in terms of where African people who were enslaved by Europeans came from. And they're continuing to talk about this police shooting. And I just don't let them go anymore. I love this point. Dr. Gibbs approaches the topic indirectly, by asking George how old he is. Often when we are trying to engage institutions or families in reading the book, they haven't read it yet. 5.0 out of 5 stars Great conversation starter. It was supposed to be released in June but the publication date was pushed up to be May 1st after Stephon Clark's tragic death. Even the main characters in Our Town are relatively generic. The cop shot him because he was black." This family member said, "Well there's white slavery, too, Marianne." He "heard a funny sound," he says, and found that it was Mrs. Gibbs in the backyard chopping wood. Generally speaking, the subject of race is something that is talked about fairly early on in the lives of many African-American families. He knows which of the characters he's introducing will die and when it will happen. Our guests for this conversation were the three child and family psychologists who collaborated to write the children's book, "Something Happened in Our Town": A Child's Story About Racial Injustice.Published by the American Psychological Association's Magination press, the book follows a White family and a Black family as they discuss a police shooting of a Black man. And as the African-American author [the other two authors are White], it was really important to me that the characters look like actual African-Americans - you can see the natural hair the mom has. I agree 100%. But I think it's fair to say that the children in the story step up. And his mom says, "Yes. Wilder's message is that although Jane Crofut is one speck of life in a vast universe, she is still important and worthy of attention. In Act 1 of Our Town, what is the significance of Emily's remark, "I'm going to make speeches all my life"? Still, both she and Emily will look at George differently from now on. 15 Total Resources 2 Awards View Text Complexity Discover Like Books Grade; PK-2; Genre; Realistic Fiction; Year Published 2018. We give peer exclusion as an example of bias and injustice in subsequent pages, both for the white family and the black family. Upgrade to remove ads. When WATCHMAN opens, Jean Louise Finch --- now 26 and living in the North, in New York City --- is returning to her hometown of Maycomb, Alabama. That means putting yourself out on a limb a little bit more. Ann: This is another reservation that some families have expressed of wanting their children overall to still see the police as helpful. Besides parents, we've gotten so many questions from teachers at the Pre-K level, older, elementary school wanting to use this book or wanting to have that conversation and feeling and being anxious about their colleagues, about administrators’ reactions. One was in a school settings where they had a police officer at the school. Course Hero, Inc. As a reminder, you may only use Course Hero content for your own personal use and may not copy, distribute, or otherwise exploit it for any other purpose. Have you gotten any response to that? We won't even play coy and pretend that we don't think it's fabulous. As you were saying before we came on and as was noted in the chat by some of the folks who are watching and listening, it's a really rich book. In Africa there's so many different cultures and there's just so much more than the fact that they've figured in our history of slavery right in the United States. A Black man was shot by the police. So I lead this cultural competence 4-session sequence and I have the students introduce themselves culturally at the beginning. Good evening, everyone!The next section of our book looks at the shooting by the police officers from the perspective of an African-American family. They're engaged in the discussion and they get the message of the book- that it's not fair to treat people differently due to the color of their skin or their race. We have a question about today, bringing it back today. The news was on the TV, the radio, and the Internet. Emma, who's white and Josh who is black. Great granddad was ... whoever. "Our Town Study Guide." The illustrations are amazing. The story aims to answer children's questions about such traumatic events, and to help children identify and counter racial injustice in their own lives. The sister saying, "It wasn't a mistake. Again, Dr. Gibbs goes at his point indirectly. On another, he seems godlike. And has anyone spoken to that? He talked a little bit but it was hard to understand him. In terms of what you were saying about recognizing the not so positive parts of our history. He doesn't mean this literally; he's talking about how sad it is to see youthful potential snuffed out. Ann: I think with respect to our book specifically, we're in the early stages with this but, as we're negotiating with institutions ... Part of what you learn to do as a psychologist is meet someone where they are, so we're trying to find ways to meet institutions where they are. Marianne: I mean so many white people say, "Oh well, you know, my family, we were immigrants. And of course they take questions from the EmbraceRace community, people like you! Most of these are non-specific, designed to work for any book, (although, of course, some will work better than others for particular books). Or anti bullying books or books that promote empathy. I have a couple of mentees that are probably second graders, and they really loved the book. And then in addition to that there are some further online resources that are actually available for free to anybody at the Imagination Press Website. "I have power," Josh says. Her last speech, at the end of Act 3, is an ardent expression of the play's most important theme. The book includes many resources for parents and educators including child-friendly definitions, sample dialogues, and discussion guides. "Cops stick up for each other," said Josh's brother, whose name again is Malcolm. In the book, the chess game becomes a place to express frustrations at obstacles but as the conversation progresses, Josh starts to see a way forward, seeing what he can do. And I've also had some questions from some parents who wonder about the right age to introduce this content. We all wish we were those parents who respond so well! 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