It's true that some innocent kids have beautiful attitudes. Some posts here have suggested that we may damage that innocence and those attitudes by introducing literature that exposes them to racism.
I agree about the innocence: that will be lost. But the attitudes, I think if the educational process is handled well, can stay positive and even grow in a healthy way.
And I think it's important to make an effort to expose kids to these ideas in an environment where the ideas can be discussed and analyzed under the guidance of a well-adusted adult trained in educating young people.
I say this because they *will*, at some point, be exposed to these attitudes, one way or another. Racism is still out there. There are plenty of people running around with horrible, hateful, hurtful ways of thinking. And they are very willing to express their ideas. And they base their behavior on these ideas.
Some of these people are aggressive, some have powerful and sophisticated ways of interacting socially. (Note: powerful and sophisticated does not necessarily mean good or healthy.) When your kids come into contact with these kinds of people, I hope they have a solid sense of what they're dealing with, and how to stay strong in their understanding of the world, and are able to stand by their convictions.
What resources do they need in order to do this?
I think that seeing these ideas for what they are, understanding that they exist and learning something about where they come from, even how they work in the mind of a person engaging in them, these pieces of learning will serve them well as they go through life. They will give them something to draw from when faced with some of the uglier parts of life.
I do not think 5th grade is too early. I would be equally worried about starting too late. I would rather the teacher reach them and give them this part of their education before the day they need it. And I don't know when that day will come for each person.
Another thing. I've said that racism still exists. But even if it didn't. Even if today we were able to wave a wand and erradicate all racist attitudes and behavior from the world, would everything be fine? I think it wouldn't. Because people have lived under the abuses of racism for too long, and it has affected them deeply. If we are to be truly good, kind, understanding, and people of depth, we should try to understand the effects racism has on people subjected to it. It is our responsitiblity to learn what racism is, its history, and how it affects people, both the people seen as "less than" and the people doing the seeing as well. That makes us better people, when we learn and understand these things deeply. It makes us more capable of being compassionate and kind members of society.
And it's not just racism. I could say the exact same thing about any of the isms. Because of audism, I think people should learn about Deaf culture and history. Because of sexism, I think people should learn about the women's rights movement. Lots of groups have been marginalized and abused in our world. The menatlly ill, the poor, the disabled, people who are neurologically atypical, people who are oriented differently with regard to sexual preference or identity - the list goes on and on. I think they all deserve as much consideration as we're able to give. And that means equipping ourselves (and our children) with knowledge and understanding as best we can.
