Events & Media
Events
April 23, 2021, 8:30 - 9:30 am CDT Barriers for Black Minnesotans: An armchair conversation on needed systemic change in education and employment
Alexs Pate, creator of the Innocent Classroom, will moderate this panel. Hosted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis and NEON, speakers include: Neel Kashkari, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis Warren McLean, President of NEON Kim Nelson, retired Senior Vice President of External Relations at General Mills Alan Page, former Minnesota Supreme Court justice.
April 29, 2021, 10:00 am - 11:00 am CDT Replacing Systemic Racism with Systemic Innocence: A Conversation with the Innocent Classroom
Our children deserve an intentional, transformational replacement of the racist systems that limit their possibilities. Join the Innocent Classroom team for a conversation about replacing systemic racism in education with systems in which all children are freed from racial bias and stereotyped expectations. We will discuss how Innocent Classroom educators intentionally build educational experiences that see and embrace each child’s individual […]
May 6, 2021. 7:00 - 8:00 pm CDT The Power of Relationships in SEL and Racial Equity
Join creator of The Zones of Regulation Leah Kuypers, Associate VP & Program Trainer for The Innocent Classroom Julian Condie, and Saint Paul Public Schools Principal Chreese Jones to consider how we align our child-centered practices for the best outcomes for children of color. We will discuss how building relationships sets the tone for racial […]
Media
- Education Leadership PodcastEducational Leadership PodcastRead Article
- Educational Leadership November 2020To Be Young, Gifted, and InnocentRead Article
- Listen to PodcastWhere Do We Start?: Dismantling the Racial Barriers to Teaching Students of Color. BAM Radio Podcast with Alexs PateRead Article
- ASCD UpdateInnocence Mission: Interview with Alexs PateRead Article
- MPR NewsDocumentary chronicles struggles, successes at north Minneapolis elementary schoolRead Article
The Innocent Classroom: Dismantling Racial Bias to Support Students of Color
When children of color enter their classrooms each year, many often encounter low expectations, disconnection, and other barriers to their success. In The Innocent Classroom, Alexs Pate traces the roots of these disparities to pervasive negative stereotypes, which children are made aware of before they even walk through the school door. The cumulative weight of these stereotypes eventually takes shape as guilt, which inhibits students’ engagement, learning, and relationships and hurts their prospects for the future.
If guilt is the primary barrier for children of color in the classroom, then the solution, according to Pate, is to create an Innocent Classroom that neutralizes students’ guilt and restores their innocence. To do so, readers will embark on a relationship “construction project” in which they will deepen their understanding of how children of color are burdened with guilt; discover students’ “good,” or the motivation behind their behaviors, and develop strategic responses to that good; and nurture, protect, and advocate for students’ innocence.
Ultimately, students will reclaim their innocence and begin to make choices that will lead to their success. Teachers will renew their commitment to their students. And the current ineffective system can give way to one that reflects a more enlightened understanding of who our children are–and what they are capable of.
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