Have you ever been there? In a classroom, on the playground, or in the hallway, when a student asks a question or makes a comment about a highly charged topic, perhaps related to racism, oppression, or injustice. In education, these times can be pivotal moments, where your intervention or lack of intervention can have a huge impact on students’ perspectives on the world.

For many educators, these moments can lead to anxiety or uncertainty. You may wonder what could happen if you say the wrong thing, how caregivers might interpret your intervention, or feel unqualified to have big conversations with students. These can be uncomfortable moments for all of those involved, and for a slew of reasons, these challenges sometimes lead to educators, particularly in early elementary education, gently steering away from topics like race, identity, and privilege. 

But in a recent episode of the Kwey, Let’s Talk Education, I had the opportunity to chat with educators Jessica Landry and Talya Barnes about how they use children’s books and other resources to purposefully explore big questions with young learners. This podcast was sparked by their presentation at The Association of Teachers of English of Quebec (ATEQ) Springboard’s conference. They have kindly shared their presentation slides here if you would like to learn more about the books and resources they use with their students.

Why do educators sometimes avoid difficult topics, especially with young learners?

One idea that came to mind as I spoke with Jessica and Talya is that every educator feels hesitant at times when facing difficult subjects. If you have, or ever feel, that way, please know it is completely okay. Feelings of uncertainty can surface regardless of the grade level you teach, how many years you have been teaching, or how much you have engaged in equity, diversity, and inclusion work.

Rather than viewing hesitation as negative, I think we need to take that energy as a sign to learn more and recognize that they are a natural part of navigating our complex professional role as cultural facilitators. Many educators avoid difficult topics because they are unsure whether they are addressing them appropriately and do not wish to cause harm. However, as Jessica and Talya point out, students are natural observers; they notice inequalities around them and that people are different from one another. They try to categorize the everyday world around them to make sense of it. When we step into our role as cultural facilitators, we aren’t there to provide all, if any, answers, but rather to create a shared, safe environment where those natural observations can be explored openly and constructively to build empathy, curiosity, and mutual understanding.

As Talya points out, staying silent has a cost. Kids don’t stop noticing differences just because adults refuse to talk about them. Instead, they fill that silence by forming their own assumptions and stereotypes based on whatever they absorb from the media or society.

Why Early Elementary is Actually the Perfect Time

Young children are natural categorizers; they constantly sort the world to make sense of it, and they often possess a deeply foundational sense of fairness. As Talya shares, five-year-olds inherently understand basic injustice. They easily grasp that it is wrong to deny someone a home, a school, or basic human rights just because of what they look like or where their ancestors came from. When we introduce these concepts early, we can strip away the negative values often attached to differences and instead frame them as collective strengths. 

When asked if they had perceived any differences in the students, Jessica noted that when she received Talya’s students in grade one, they were already well-versed in discussions about identity and had seen Indigenous cultures valued in books and other classroom resources. Because the students had already had opportunities to value and appreciate Indigenous cultures, when they began to learn about residential schools the following September, the students processed these truths with genuine empathy and a real understanding of what was lost.

Leveraging What You Already Know

The most liberating takeaway from Jessica and Talya’s conversation is that you do not need to be an expert to start.

While they stress the importance of taking time to learn truths from authentic sources, they also highlight that, as educators, we are trained to guide students through open-ended, reflective conversations every single day. While you may be at different stages of learning truth, you already know how to ask questions that don’t have simple “yes or no” answers, where your aim is to guide student thinking. Bringing identity and equity into the classroom simply requires applying your existing pedagogical skills to a new area.

At its heart, this work is about lifelong learning. There is simply too much to know to ever be an “expert.” Instead, it’s about building a solid baseline of understanding, leaning into your skills as a facilitator, and having the courage to learn alongside your students and colleagues.

Tools to Help You Start

If you’re looking to get started, here are a few of the excellent resources Jessica and Talya highlighted from their own journeys:

Finally, Jessica and Talya share the true power of doing this work with others. Exploring your own privileges, biases, and the complexity of anti-racism education is challenging work. They share how crucial supportive professional relationships are to this practice, reflecting on how much we can gain from casual lunch-and-learns with colleagues and active professional networks.

Tune in to the full episode below on your favourite podcast platforms.

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