Author: Dawn Pratson

Surprising Discoveries about Children and Race

Written on April 2, 2025. Posted in Committee News, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee, Events. No Comments on Surprising Discoveries about Children and Race

As a music educator, you know how important it is to engage children in music at an early age. Babies, toddlers, and preschoolers all respond with glee to inviting rhythms, melodies, and harmonies. They bounce, tap, sing, and swing their way into absorbing the language of music. A young child’s whole body and being is like a sponge soaking up all the musical sounds heard in their environment. As children grow, they bring these early experiences into their later years, forming their musical sensibilities and perceptions.

Children also absorb messages about race. Racial messaging is everywhere, and children are naturally curious about racial differences. They are eager to see patterns and make sense of their environment. Observations, informed by messages from their home, school, community and cultural life, become understandings and develop into concrete beliefs.

At what age do you think children notice racial differences?

At what age do you think children’s ideas about race solidify?

The answers to these questions may surprise you. They surprised me.

How to Talk with Children About Race

On February 3^rd, 2024, Isabel Cruz, Amsterdam-based early childhood educator and diversity and inclusion consultant, offered an online workshop, How to Talk with Children About Race, sponsored by the Dalcroze Society of America’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) committee. Cruz guided participants in a 90-minute session that sparked conversation and led me to unexpected realizations about young children and race.

Talking about race can stir feelings. Although I’ve been involved in DEI work for several years, a ripple of nervousness ran through me as the workshop began. What might be asked of me? Will the process make me feel exposed or embarrassed in some way? Unsure of what to expect from the online event, these thoughts arose unbidden. As the workshop unfolded, however, I appreciated Cruz’s welcoming manner. Isabel set the stage for a supportive and meaningful experience by laying out the following community agreements:

Be curious and open-minded
Lean into discomfort – it’s how we grow!
Together we know a lot
Accept non-closure

These guidelines let me know that a willingness to listen and learn was a positive start. Any uncomfortable feelings that might arise within me could be welcomed rather than feared. They meant I was in a place where growth could occur. Just like in a Dalcroze class, if you’re never challenged, how can you develop new understanding and skills?

Cruz emphasized that race is a concept invented during the time of slavery to justify the cruel and inhumane treatment of enslaved peoples by slave owners for financial gain. Although a construct that has no basis in biological fact, race plays a major role in our society. Contrary to myths perpetuated by some, children are not color blind. Young people are hardwired to notice differences and make sense of patterns they observe in the world. What are the rules? They wonder.

Children and Racial Understanding

Isabel suggested two children’s books which foster racial understanding as well as visualize and normalize interracial friendships:

Our Skin by Megan Madison & Jessica Ralli, illustrated by Isabel Roxas

The Boys by Lauren Ace, illustrated by Jenny Lovlie

So, when do children notice racial differences and solidify their ideas about race? Studies show that babies as young as 3-6 months old notice racial differences. By 3 years old, children start to make comments and by 4-5 years old, they start to show signs of racial bias. By 6 years old they identify as part of a racial group and by 7-9 years old they voice bias they have learned. At the age of 9-10 years old children’s attitudes solidify and can be very hard to change. Check out the chart below shared by Isabel Cruz which details some of the studies done involving children and race awareness.

I was struck by how young racial awareness and bias develop in children and amazed to learn that by age 9-10 years old racial beliefs are so ingrained they’re very challenging to change. Wow, even more reason to expose young children to positive racial messaging and find the courage to talk with young people about race. Isabel Cruz offered the following guiding principles:

Nurture positive racial identity
Affirm racial differences
Confront stereotyping & misinformation
Accept that mistakes will happen – Listen, learn, and apologize

Additional tips for talking about race

Affirm children’s questions and observation – “I see you noticing that…”
Ask open-ended questions: “What makes you say that? Tell me more.”
Listen and discover where they are confused so an accurate understanding can emerge.
If you don’t know, say “That’s a great question. Let’s find out together.”

Also, in responding to a child’s comment about someone’s race, Cruz said that it’s helpful to ask yourself these questions: Is it an observation? Is it a negative judgement?

Once this is determined, she guided us further on how to talk with a child about their racially biased comment.

Responding to a child’s comment about race

Think of the event as a teachable moment
Do not shame the child
Determine where the ideas are coming from by asking “Can you explain what happened?”
Be clear if harm was done – “Do you think it’s fair?”
Repair the harm – “What do you think you can do to make the other person feel better?”

Be a role model!

As teachers, we can speak up about racism and model respect for all peoples.

Knowing that children absorb racial messaging at a very young age, it’s important that we become more aware of these issues. As music educators we can be a voice for racial justice and equality. We can be a vehicle of positive change in our classrooms and communities, planting seeds of respect and cooperation among people of different backgrounds and experiences.

We Shall Overcome

At the end of our time with Isabel, a question came up about working with the civil rights anthem, We Shall Overcome. Some individuals wondered how, or if, to present such a song in their classroom.

Isabel Cruz offered respectful ways to share this song with children, especially if the students and/or teachers are not Black.

We Shall Overcome is a song that has great cultural, historical and spiritual significance to the Black community. I believe it is important to honor this by providing age-appropriate information about the origin of the song before presenting it to children. As music educators, this is also an opportunity to teach children about the power of music (i.e. protest music) to make social change. When teaching about music, such as Black spirituals, where we lack the lived experience, it is respectful and enlightening to invite those with lived experiences to teach the topic (ex: invite a guest artist/speaker). If that is not possible, use sources that come from people of that cultural group.

Children’s book that could be incorporated into a lesson: We Shall Overcome by Bryan Collier

Book review: https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/55977822

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDKG0kt0kYc

Background info on We Shall Overcome: https://www.kennedy-center.org/education/resources-for-educators/classroom-resources/media-and-interactives/media/music/story-behind-the-song/the-story-behind-the-song/we-shall-overcome/

I will leave you with Isabel Cruz’s invitation to take a step in the direction of racial equity:

Tips for next steps:

Start with yourself
Avoid colorblind language
Normalize talking about race
Accept that mistakes will happen
Be a lifelong learner!

What action step are you going to try?

Updates from the DEI Committee

Written on January 13, 2025. Posted in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee, News. No Comments on Updates from the DEI Committee

Recently I attended a reunion of the k-8 school where I taught from its founding in 2005 until 2016. The Folk Arts-Cultural Treasures Charter School was founded by a group of primarily Asian American but also African American social justice activists and folk arts advocates. The vision of the school is to teach through a lens of social justice and folk arts, supporting primarily immigrants and communities of color in center city Philadelphia. And it is going strong as it enters its 20^th year.

The folk arts emphasis is truly brilliant. The school provides both introductory and immersive experiences in African music and dance, Cambodian dance, Indonesian dance, Vietnamese zither (dan tran), African story-telling, Mexican craft and culture, Chinese opera (the physical, martial arts component), plus more. Students are guided to respect and honor their own and other cultures. They learn the values inherent in the arts – team building, discipline, creative expression, mind-body connection.

The music class and choirs emphasize learning songs and music from a variety of cultures, and singing is a central part of the many, school-wide “ritual calendar events” throughout the year. These include the mid-autumn festival, coordinated with Philadelphia’s Chinatown, “many points of view day,” coordinated with the holiday once known as “Columbus Day,” among many others. We created a song book, now in its 3^rd printing, of the songs sung throughout the school year. One favorite song is included here.

Difficulties are not absent

It is not utopia. There are cultural clashes, among other challenges that come with a mixed urban population. One that stood out for me was what I perceived to be the cultural clash between the Asian American and African American students. A dynamic in that clash was the use of voice volume. I found that some of the Asian American children tended toward using a softer speech volume and some of the African American students used a louder speech volume. Also, I believe I observed some cultural differences in use of personal space and eye contact, and sometimes all of these cultural differences resulted in the African American students getting called out more for being disruptive. In fact, if you walked by the dean’s office at any one time, chances are you would see Black students being disciplined.

Attending the reunion was one Black male, whom I will call Akim, who, as a kindergartener, already evaded eye contact with me and who acted in a manner that I thought at the time was oppositional. This began what I perceived to be a clash between him and me that waxed and waned until he graduated from 8^th grade. In addition, I heard from several African American students that they felt unfairly singled out and disciplined.

At the reunion, I stood back and looked at the room of about 60 students and staff, noticed the group of young, Black men clustering in one area of the room, and I thought about all the thinking, talking, reading and listening I have been doing around DEI. I felt a strong sense that we are evolving, that we do not have all of the answers nor have solved all of the problems, but our conversations are moving us forward, and, as is taught in many somatic practices, awareness is key.

Perspective shifts

In researching the topic of cultural differences in the classroom I found an article called “Cultural, Ethnic Differences and Educational Achievement of African Heritage Students: Towards Employing a Culturally Sensitive Curriculum in K-12 Classrooms: A Literature Review,” by Patrice Juliet Pinder.

Although too complex to give a thorough overview here, Pinder discusses theories that explain how some students are unable or unwilling to code-switch from their home culture to mainstream (White) culture, and sometimes this presents as oppositional behavior. This perspective might have helped me as I began teaching in public schools.

At the reunion, I made a point of going over to Akim. He stood taller than me, wearing a hoodie that made it a little hard to see his face, but, as I approached, he looked up and made eye contact with me, then reached out and hugged me hard. It was great to hear about his life, his accomplishments, and to feel the warmth between us.

I imagined how I would have – or would now – respond to a student like Akim, now that I have a deeper understanding. I imagine that I might feel less tension in my musculature, less holding, as I might take a deep breath and make gentle efforts to intentionally build a relationship with him. I don’t think there is a formula for what to do, but I know that our attempts to understand, our conversations, our reflection of our own privilege and an attitude of humility helps.

We continue to meet on Zoom on the last Sunday of each month for “Conversations on Undoing Racism.”

Conversations on Undoing Racism (May 2024)

Written on July 5, 2024. Posted in Committee News, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee, News. No Comments on Conversations on Undoing Racism (May 2024)

The DSA began our monthly “Conversations on Undoing Racism” in August of 2020, in response to the events surrounding the murder of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter movement. We have met every month, except one, since then. Here is an excerpt from a participant’s email response to a recent session:

THANK YOU for such an engaging conversation this morning! Although I was limited in responding in real time while driving on the road, I so enjoyed considering the nuanced layers and multiple contexts involved in how we conceptualize diversity; several of you brought forward such interesting points and reflections on the videos and articles Dawn shared – much food for thought here!! I also continue to appreciate each individual’s personal experience, wisdom, and willingness to share her own perspective; I find this kind of authentic dialogue ESSENTIAL in moving the needle forward during our times…

The above comment describes how I often feel after these conversations. We have a small, committed group of around 8 – 10, five to six of whom come very regularly. The sessions are open to all DSA members, their friends and acquaintances. We have been meeting the last Sunday of each month on Zoom, from 10-11 AM, Eastern Time. The sessions are not recorded, but I take notes. For our session in April, I had prompted the group to watch a couple of videos about “The Doll Test.”

The Doll Test was designed by Kenneth Bancroft Clark and his wife, Maimie Phipps Clark, two African American psychologists, who ran experiments in the 1940s to measure what they hypothesized were the psychological effects of segregation on Black children. The Clarks’ “Doll Study” became the first psychological research to be cited by the US Supreme Court in its decision to end school segregation; it was notably influential in the Brown vs Board of Education decision. The findings pointed to Black children’s perceptions that White dolls were preferable, nicer, prettier/more attractive than Black dolls, even though the children correctly perceived themselves as Black. Another Black educational professional, Dr. Toni Sturdivant, ran a related study in 2021 and found similar results. In our discussion about these videos and this phenomenon, one of the participants shared her experience as a White woman living in the US Virgin Islands, a predominantly Black society, and explained that she was surrounded by “Black Excellence,” and a sense that Blackness was truly celebrated. She said that melanin – the substance in our bodies that produces skin, eye, hair pigmentation – is celebrated. I imagine that running the doll test in that community would demonstrate very different results. During our conversations, we weave our experiences as music educators into our discussions. We ask the question, “What can we do, as music educators, to move our society forward toward “undoing racism?

One teacher shared the following anecdote: in a NYC high school, the music teacher was not thrilled with the chosen Disney theme for a choir production. So, she chose to use the opportunity to address, with her students, the Disney princess stereotypes. She had her students watch and discuss a video about “The Doll Test.” Then she asked them to reflect on the historical representations of characters such as princesses, and to consider how these representations did or did not reflect their own identities. She then invited the students to invent their own version of a princess, allowing them to include their cultural identities, such as racial, LGBTQ+ and non-binary identities. This story inspired hope and a sense of optimism among our participants. Our conversations have broadened to include diversity, equity and inclusion topics other than race; we have read articles and discussed issues of ableism, gender and different kinds of bias, including the bias that places musical genres into a hierarchy, with classical music on top. We have shared how heartening it is to witness the increasing diversity taking place within music institutions and the hope that we are, indeed, moving forward toward undoing racism. Come join our conversation. We meet at this Zoom link on the fourth Sunday of each month, 10 – 11 am, Eastern Time.