School Daze: Surviving elementary school:
Let’s talk about adoption, race and culture

Air Date: Tuesday, September 21, 2004

Approximately 1 hour

As our children head back to school and they settle into the routine of school days we are acutely aware of the role of their teachers and school peers in their lives. We can’t be with them 24 hours a day, seven days a week and must rely on others to continue to communicate the messages of respect and celebration that we instill at home-both orally and visually.

The first problem: most teachers, while well-meaning, are simply not prepared or trained to deal with issues and conversations surrounding adoption, race and culture and family formation. Even if they have the desire to incorporate these conversations in the classroom, they rarely have the time or resources to do so.

The second problem: parents very anxious to be ‘helpful’ can overwhelm teachers with information and ‘suggestions’ only to find that their efforts can create more tension and work for the teachers in the classroom.

So, If the thought talking to your child’s teacher(s) about the details of your family structure makes you queasy or the thought of school assignments like creating a family tree, bringing in baby pictures and/or birth weight or how to make Mother’s Day Mothers Day makes your blood run cold, then this is a must-attend event for you!

As advocates for our children, we can:
• facilitate learning for teachers
• easily and successfully continue the messages throughout the year.
• advocate without making our child feel singled out-which can make even the most well-intentioned efforts backfire.
• work with our children’s teachers and have everyone feel empowered

In this one-hour session, you will hear from the experts. Join Adam Pertman, the Executive Director of the Evan B. Donaldson Institute and Dr. Janet Stork a renowned educator from New York as they face these issues head on.

Their strategies, techniques and tools will make you the apple of your child’s teacher’s eye—without embarrassing your child by singling him out. An all-around win-win for parents, teachers and most importantly your child!

Join us and learn:

• How and why to approach your child’s teacher for great results.
• The best, most appropriate tools for teachers.
• How to use books and games to make your point.
• How to help create a diverse learning environment that will stay in the classroom to reinforce the messages of respect and celebration.
• Beware of the spotlight-how to project your child’s privacy while broadening their classmates horizons.
• Lesson planning for parents: create fun and engaging plans for problematic assignments.
• Smile, but be firm: teach the teachers positive language and insist it is used in the classroom: don’t be afraid to ‘visit’.

Moderator:
Deb Capone
CEO, As Simple As That

Keynote Speakers:

Adam Pertman, Executive Director, Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute and author of Adoption Nation
Ruth Lyn Meese, Professor, Special Education, Longwood University and author of Children of Intercountry Adoption in School
Dr. Janet Stork, PhD, Head of Hampton Day School, Bridgehampton, NY