Storytelling with Dr. Cierra Kaler-Jones

Anti-Bias Early Childhood Working Group Meeting

April 1, 2023

Dr. Cierra Kaler-Jones joined the anti-bias early childhood education working group for their April meeting for a session about writing for Rethinking Schools and storytelling. The session kicked off with group discussion about:

• What children’s book really speaks to you/tells a story you connect with?

• What story do you wish was available when you were growing up?

• What story would you write now for your younger self?

• How do you ensure students see themselves in your classroom/school library?

People shared that they wished there were more stories about Black natural hair, or how important it is to pronounce peoples’ names. Above all, folks expressed wanting more mirrors, windows, and sliding glass doors to the incalculable number of human experiences there are that can be captured in books. 

Kaler-Jones guided folks through a writing workshop designed to draw out stories from teachers’ classrooms. Beginning with a reading of Barbara Ransby’s “A vision of where the Black freedom movement could take us,” Kaler-Jones directed participants to pen their own letter where they envision a collective future 50 years from now. Two attendees wrote letters to their daughters, specifically about ways they are imagining and working towards a future that is more accessible and where kids are listened to and respected. Folks were charged to delineate what classroom lessons, teaching practices, and political work they’re doing to help realize their vision.