How can we create a more compassionate and inclusive environment in schools and in the larger community?
The answer is simple. Children’s books.
Books have been proven to increase empathy in general and also, specifically, between the reader and the featured character.
Source: “Novel Finding: Reading Literary Fiction Improves Empathy,” Scientific American
The children’s book collections in schools disproportionately represent the White community. The over-representation of some identities and the under-representation (or even absence) of others can keep students from the crucial understanding that we are a multicultural society with much to learn from each other.
Source: “Publishing Statistics on Children’s Books about People of Color and First/Native Nations and by People of Color and First/Native Nations Authors and Illustrators,” CCBC
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Source: “How Cross-Racial Scenes in Picture Books Build Acceptance,” School Library Journal
According to Teaching Tolerance and its recent survey of classroom teachers, acts of verbal and physical intolerance directed at children of color have been on the rise.
Source: After Election Day, The Trump Effect: The Impact of the 2016 Presidential Election on Our Nation’s Schools, Teaching Tolerance
By reading about each other we can grow to know, understand, and respect one another.