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Slavery

There is a blog post I want to share, from a blogger I really like, because it reminds me of some interactions I've had with some of my students.  This blogger talks about her (black) kids going to a slavery exhibit and getting really scared.  It felt to real to them and the fact is, if they had been born into a different time, they might have been put on a real one of these ships.

Kids don't really understand timelines.  I've had many students, in all seriousness, ask me if I had slaves as a little girl.  Or if Martin Luther King, Jr. freed the slaves.  Or if they lived in Africa if they would have been captured and sold.  It's interesting, because in many ways, we try to "child-proof" history, like I've talked about before - making fun little Underground Railroad mazes and word searches.  But history is really scary in many ways.  Is it better to protect kids or to explain the truth to them?
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