Early Risers

In this second episode of a two-part series, we continue our conversation with Dr. Anne Gearity about her seminal work in developmental repair. In our previous episode we learned about the basics of developmental repair and how caregivers help dysregulated children become regulated. But what happens when a caregiver doesn’t look like the child, or is not part of their community? Dr. Gearity explains how building a “bridge” with the child can help the child feel safe and help the caregiver earn the child’s trust.We also learn what developmental repair looks like on the ground. Chantell Johnson, a practitioner of Dr. Gearity’s model, says when kids “don't have the language to tell you, they'll show you.” And that can be confusing for adults who are working with pre-verbal children. But it can be equally confusing for the child, who also may not understand their own behavior. “Kids are really doing the best they can with what they have, even when it's inappropriate.”GuestsDr. Anne Gearity earned her Ph.D. in clinical social work from the Institute for Clinical Social Work in Chicago, IL. Research from her dissertation was foundational for Developmental Repair, an intervention manual for behaviorally challenged and challenging children, written in collaboration with the Washburn Center for Children in Minneapolis. This manual is now used extensively throughout the state. She taught for 25 years at the University of Minnesota School of Social Work and was faculty of the U of M’s Infant and Early Child Mental Health Certificate program in the Institute for Child Development.Chantell Johnson is an MSW Candidate at the University of Minnesota. She’s also the Community Wellness Program Manager & Family Academy Facilitator at the Northside Achievement Zone in Minneapolis, MN.Discussion GuideEpisode ResourcesNorthside Achievement ZoneDr. Rita Pierson - Every Child Needs a ChampionDevelopmental Repair Manual (2012, Gearity)Dr. Anne Gearity University of Minnesota Dept of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

When Dr. Anne Gearity earned her master’s in social work in 1974, the field of Early Childhood was just beginning. As she puts it, “We started to pay attention and really think about what children need not just to survive, but to thrive—and that they can be resilient.” That focus on the child has guided her work ever since. Over five decades, her research led to a new approach for treating childhood trauma: Developmental Repair. In part one of this two-part series, host Andre Dukes talks with Dr. Gearity about what she’s learned from working with children and how caregivers can better understand behavior as a form of communication.GuestDr. Anne Gearity earned her Ph.D. in clinical social work from the Institute for Clinical Social Work in Chicago, IL. Research from her dissertation was foundational for Developmental Repair, an intervention manual for behaviorally challenged and challenging children, written in collaboration with the Washburn Center for Children in Minneapolis. This manual is now used extensively throughout the state. She taught for 25 years in the University of Minnesota School of Social Work and was faculty of the U of M’s Infant and Early Child Mental Health Certificate program in the Institute for Child Development. She completed a master’s in social work from the Fordham University Graduate School of Social Work of New York, NY, and has had an independent mental health practice that serves children, adolescents and adults since 1987. Her initial role in psychiatry was teaching normal child development to child and adolescent psychiatry fellows. In 2017, she started the family consult clinic to help families navigate potentially confusing diagnoses, treatment plans and related family needs, and provide fellowship with family engagement experiences.Discussion GuideEpisode ResourcesSeminal 1991 report on Childhood TraumaRomanian OrphansDevelopmental Repair Manual (2012, Gearity)Dr. Anne Gearity University of Minnesota Dept of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

The Dakota Language Nest is a preschool where children are developing their identity through immersion in Dakota culture, traditions and language. In this episode we spend a day with the children as they practice the traditions of smudging, tobacco harvesting, singing songs and showing respect and gratitude for the natural world’s gifts. We speak with lead teacher, Katie Bendickson, about the importance of keeping the language alive, and how the language and traditions are intertwined. We also speak with Nicole Cavender, a Dakota woman whose son attends the language nest: “I wanted to give them what I didn't have and wanted, which wasn't just language, it wasn't just answers to questions, but it's really about belonging, and belonging doesn't happen without community.”GuestWóokiye wiŋ | Katie BendicksonLead Teacher, Dakhódiapi Wahóȟpi | Dakota Language NestUniversity of Minnesota Child Development Laboratory SchoolWóokiye wiŋ | Katie Bendickson spent much of her young life on her mother’s reservation, Fond du Lac Reservation in northern Minnesota, before her family moved to her father’s reservation at Upper Sioux Community in southwest Minnesota. Bendickson is Sisseton Wahpeton Dakhóta. She began learning the Dakota language in high school at Yellow Medicine Senior High, but it wasn’t until college that the language truly captivated her. It transformed her sense of identity, reshaped her worldview and helped her along her personal healing journey.Her main teaching enthusiasm is nature-based and play-based learning for young children in the Dakota language medium.Episode ResourcesDakota Language NestTruth telling: Rethinking Thanksgiving: How to speak to young children about historical and racialized trauma MN Humanities Center - Learning from Place: Bdote

What’s the difference between a mirror book and a window book? For part two of our Identity through Words and Images series, we go on location to climb aboard Babycake’s Book Stack bookmobile! We learn the importance of children seeing characters that look like they do, how that impacts their sense of self, and how seeing books about others broadens their sense of community. Owner Zsamé Morgan underscores the importance of family literacy and offers guidance on how to get started. We also hear from children’s book illustrators on how they approach their work. We explore how a book’s images can shape a child’s identity just as much as the text, especially among infants and toddlers, and how illustrators think about their role when choosing shapes and hues.GuestZsamé MorganOwner, Babycake’s Book StackZsamé Morgan is the owner of Babycake’s Book Stack, a children's bookstore on wheels that focuses on family literacy, culture, language and community throughout the Twin Cities — a hub of many diverse people. In 2017, Morgan bought a 33-foot bookmobile from a library in Indiana and opened it up to the public in 2019. Her mobile bookstore carries a highly curated inventory of baby board books, children's, middle school and young adult (YA) books designed to include the culture and/or languages of Indigenous, immigrant, refugee, African American children and children of many other multicultural backgrounds.Discussion GuideEpisode ResourcesBabycake’s Book Stack Resources for Family LiteracyBabycake’s Book Stack Bookmobile ScheduleMeleck DavisYuyi MoralesRob Liu-Trujillo

Resmaa Menakem’s bestselling text “My Grandmother’s Hands” deals with the visceral impact of racialized trauma. But is it important for children to understand the legacy of these wounds? And how do we begin to take up such a weighty topic with young children? We sit down with authors Resmaa Menakem and T. Mychael Rambo to understand how a children’s book can provide an invitation for parents and caregivers to begin to acknowledge the trauma. As Menakem says, “Something happened and continues to happen to you and your people, and you have to tend to that.”GuestsResmaa Menakem and T. Mychael RamboCo-Authors, “The Stories from My Grandmother’s Hands”Resmaa Menakem and T. Mychael Rambo teamed up with illustrator Leroy Campbell to co-author a companion children’s book to Menakem’s New York Times bestseller “My Grandmother’s Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies.” Menakem is a therapist and licensed clinical worker specializing in racialized trauma, communal healing, and cultural first aid based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. His groundbreaking work has reshaped conversations on race and trauma, guiding others toward deep, embodied change. T. Mychael is a Minneapolis-based actor, author, community organizer and public speaker.Discussion Guide Episode Resources“Stories from my Grandmother’s Hands”“My Grandmother’s Hands” - Resmaa Menakem“1619 Project” - Nikole Hannah-JonesAlvin Toffler

A child’s sense of self is shaped by their understanding of where they come from: their culture, history and heritage. But how a child begins to develop that understanding heavily depends on their having the tools to study themselves and the world around them. Host Andre Dukes speaks with Gevonee Ford, founder and executive director of Network for the Development of Children of African Descent, about the importance of literacy in a child’s identity development.GuestGevonee Ford Founder and Executive Director Network for the Development of Children of African DescentGevonee Ford is the Founder and Executive Director of Network for the Development of Children of African Descent, a family education and literacy center that was established in 1997 and based in Minneapolis, MN. Over the past 40 years, Gevonee has worked in the fields of early childhood and K-12 education, specializing in program development, nonprofit management and education policy. Gevonee has been at the forefront of progressive education in Minnesota serving as a teacher, trainer, program director and community organizer. His work has been recognized at national, state and local levels. He has received numerous awards including being named a 2012 White House Champion of Change.Discussion GuideEpisode Resources:Dr Mulana KarengaDr Asa Hilliard- bioNDCAD’s Sankofa Reading ProgramNDCAD’s Parent Power Program

New host Andre Dukes sits down with Early Risers’ founding host Dianne Haulcy to reflect on the origins of this podcast. Just days after the murder of George Floyd, Haulcy penned a wakeup call to her peers in early childhood education on the realities of racism and implicit bias in how we raise our children. That message ultimately became Haulcy’s personal call to action, and the foundation for the Early Risers podcast. Haulcy shares her favorite podcast episodes and offers advice to Dukes as he takes the reins. We also learn about Dukes’ uniquely personal connection to the location where George Floyd lost his life, nearly 50 years earlier, well before it became George Floyd Square. GuestDianne HaulcyFormer Host, Early Risers Assistant Commissioner, Minnesota Department of Children, Youth, and Families Following the killing of George Floyd, early childhood leader Dianne Haulcy wrote a blogpost in which she called on colleagues and peers to wake up to the realities of racism and implicit bias in how we raise and teach our children. That message planted the seed for Early Risers, a podcast about racial equity in early childhood and the hope of raising a generation who will bring a new dawn of racial equity for the future. Dianne hosted Early Risers until 2024, when she was appointed Assistant Commissioner of Early Childhood at the Minnesota Department of Children Youth and Families. Discussion GuideEpisode Resources:  How Children’s Books can be Tools for Resistance: A Conversation with Dr. Ibram X. Kendi  We Are the Same and We Are Different; How to Talk about Diversity with White Kids in White Communities Louise Derman-Sparks What If All the Kids Are White?: Anti-Bias Multicultural Education with Young Children and Families by Louise Derman-Sparks Understanding Racial Identity in Young Children Dr. Toni Sturdivant Navigating Parenthood as Black Parents in a Growing Minnesota City Kai and James Miller  

What if, before you learned to read, you learned to ask questions? Faith Rogow calls it a “habit of inquiry,” and tells Dianne it’s more important now than ever. That’s because the explosion of media can be confusing, overwhelming and reinforce racial stereotypes. Little learners CAN become critical thinkers. Dr. Rogow says never take media - from books to apps - at face value. Instead, ask open-ended questions to start conversations - about race and everything else.  Episode Resources:Media Literacy for Young Children: Teaching Beyond the Screen Time Debates (NAEYC, 2022)Faith Rogow’s MEDIA LITERACY EDUCATION blogsiteContent Creator’s Guide to Media Literacy blogpost by Faith RogowWebinars featuring Faith Rogow from Early Childhood Investigations WebinarsVideo: Critical Media Literacy Conference of the AmericasDiscussion Guide: Early Risers Season 6 Episode 7 Discussion Guide

If you thought experiments about race were a thing of the past, Sylvia Perry has news for you. In her social psychology lab at Northwestern University, she’s trying to figure out where racial bias comes from. She is finding that talking about race with children decreases prejudice. She tells Dianne how her career was shaped by her own upbringing as a Black girl in the rural South, and she offers guidance for caregivers on how to lead these conversations, including sharing examples of how she’s helped her own Black son take pride in his heritage.Episode Resources:Talking to your kids about race can reduce bias, a Northwestern professor found, a radio story from WBEZ ChicagoSylvia Perry: Understanding and Encouraging White American Parent-child Conversations about Race, a video from the Center for the Science of Moral UnderstandingDisrupting Racism and Bias at Home, at School, and at Work, an article from Northwestern University’s Institute for Policy ResearchDiscussion Guide: Early Risers Season 6 Episode 6 Discussion Guide

What was it like to work at Sesame Workshop back in the day? How about Nickelodeon? As a proud Chinese American, Courtney Wong Chin was thrilled to help the companies find ways to talk about race and culture. In this episode, Chin pulls back the curtain on content creation at Noggin and Sesame Workshop. She talks about the challenge of finding language and images that are culturally specific but not confusing, and the importance of noticing and celebrating diverse identities to help build children's' self-esteem. Chin says she learned that kids’ stories work best when they’re specific enough to be authentic but not so complicated they’re overwhelming.Episode Resources:Coming Together: Family Reflections on Racism at Sesame WorkshopDiscussing Race with Young Children guide from Sparkler Learning, OK Play, and Noggin.Building Characters, Blending Cultures from EmbraceRace's 2023 Reflections on Racial LearningPanel discussion on content creation for children at the Children’s Media Career Symposium 2022, hosted by the Center for Media and Information LiteracyEarly Risers Season 6 Episode 5 Discussion Guide

Nicol Russell is vice president for implementation research for Teaching Strategies, a professional development company for early childhood educators. She has taught young children, managed a childcare center, and worked in state government, consistently striving to promote self-esteem and a positive cultural identity in both children and educators.Nicol Russell started hearing about race when she was a little girl. Her parents were from two different backgrounds and made sure she was proud of them both. They gave her language and tools to understand her identity. Now Dr. Russell shows teachers of young children how to communicate to build kids’ cultural identities and self-esteem. Russell says adults should run toward–not away from– topics that may make them nervous. Episode Resources:NAEYC profile of Dr. RussellVideo: Talking About Race and Power with Young Kids from Embrace RaceVideo: Tiny Talk - The Joy that Binds Us from Embrace RaceEarly Risers Season 6 Episode 4 Discussion Guide

Wouldn’t it be great to play games for a living? That’s a big part of John Sessler’s job for PBS Kids. He tells Early Risers host Dianne Haulcy the work is fun, but not simple. PBS Kids content is required to meet learning goals while also expanding what children know about race and culture. PBS Kids starts with diverse teams of content creators and ends with children as active and curious consumers of media.Guest: John Sessler is Director of Professional Learning for Ready To Learn at PBS Kids. Sessler has spent 20 years designing experiences that develop young learners’ empathy, curiosity, reflection, and critical thinking skills.Download the Early Risers Season 6 Episode 3 Discussion GuideEpisode Resources:Lyla in the LoopPBS Kids video on playful learningPBS Kids: How to Talk to Children About RaceSesame Workshop: Explaining Race

Media companies like Cartoon Network consult Dr. Kira Banks to help ensure they portray diverse families accurately and respectfully. When Michael Brown was killed by police in Ferguson, Missouri, Dr. Banks and her family had just moved to nearby St. Louis. The psychology professor was teaching her two young sons to be proud of their African American heritage. After the crisis, she doubled down on her commitment to change the narrative kids hear about race. She says the work starts with the stories we tell babies and continues with the stories we tell children.Episode Resources:Dr. Banks' podcast, Raising EquityTedX talk on systemic changeFaculty websiteDr. Bank’s website: https://kirabanks.com/LinkedIn: Dr Kira BanksInstagram: @‌DrKiraBanksFaceBook: @‌DrKiraBanksTwitter: @‌DrKiraBanksTikTok: @‌DrKiraBanksDownload the discussion guide

What if you COULD tell a book by its cover? What if the pictures and design were as important as the words? That’s the idea behind Megan Dowd Lambert’s “Whole Book Approach” to reading. As a mother to five children of color and two white children, Dowd Lambert promotes reading “with a race-conscious lens.” As a professional storyteller, she explains why it’s important to read with children, and not just to them.Episode Resources:Megan Dowd Lambert’s websiteBooks inspired by Megan Dowd Lambert’s daughters: Every Day With April and MaeVideo demonstrating Whole Book Approach with preschoolersVideo presentation by Megan Dowd Lambert for Embrace RaceMerge for Equality video interview with Megan Dowd LambertCooperative Children’s Book Center at University of WisconsinDiverse Book FinderDownload the Discussion Guide:Early Risers S6 E1 Discussion Guide

“Racial identity” refers to a person’s understanding of different racial identities, one’s preferences for a particular racial identity and how identities are ranked in their family, their society and in their own mind. Toni Sturdivant has spent her career developing a library of books and a collection of teaching ideas for the early childhood classroom that will help young children establish a positive racial identity. In this episode, she talks about her work and her particular focus on boosting the confidence and resilience of young children of color.Guest: Toni Sturdivant is director of Early Learning and Head Start for the Mid-America Regional Council in Kansas City, MO. She is also a parent, coach, professor and author who focuses on young children’s racial identity. Discussion Guide: Early Risers Season 5 Episode 6 Discussion GuideEpisode Resources:More from Toni Sturdivant: her books and other interviewsToni’s personal statement: https://www.naeyc.org/about-us/people/governing-board/elections/toni-sturdivantVideo: Unpacking parenting with Toni Sturdivant2021 Scholarly research report from UNC: “Ethnic-Racial Identity Formation in the Early Years” More resources on positive racial identity in BIPOC children

One of the hardest parts of teaching is managing the classroom to promote learning, keep order and inspire students. Many approaches to classroom management are punitive and reproachful. Reddy describes a different approach that–at its core– celebrates students and gives them opportunities to practice their identities.Guest: Shawn Prakash Reddy was an elementary school teacher in Chicago public schools for nearly ten years. He is now Associate Director of Teacher Development at National Louis University in Chicago and a field coach for teachers in training.Discussion Guide: Early Risers Season 5 Episode 5 Discussion GuideEpisode Resources:This study explores how teachers can be taught “racial noticing” to increase awareness in the classroom.This webinar is from the “Cultural Competent Knowledge Cafe” series that Shawn Reddy is facilitating with the National Louis community.More from National Louis University on their work to train teachers to be conscious of race, racism and bias. 

Structural racism is different than interpersonal racism. It is the set of policies and practices that put BIPOC communities at a disadvantage from the earliest stages of life. So how can we work in our early childhood communities to identify structural racism and make change so that young people - BIPOC and white - are no longer harmed by structural racism? Jen Neitzel shares examples from her work in communities across the United States.Guest: Jen Neitzel is the executive director of the Educational Equity Institute based in North Carolina. Neitzel works with educational communities across the United States to deconstruct whiteness, dismantle racist policies and identify opportunities to introduce equity into classrooms and other community spaces.Discussion Guide: Early Risers Season 5 Episode 4 Discussion GuideEpisode Resources:More information about the Educational Equity InstituteMore from Jen Neitzel on the anti-racism work at the Educational Equity Institute

Theressa Lenear was practicing anti-bias education long before it was widely known as an approach to early learning. As a young Black teacher in Alaska, she tapped into her intuition to guide her practices with young children. She created a classroom-wide deep respect for her students’ cultures. She shares her perspectives on how to support BIPOC children in underserved communities.Guest: Theressa Lenear is an early childhood education instructor at Goddard College. She has worked with young children and their teachers for nearly 40 years. She is profiled in the book “Stories of Resistance: Learning from Black Women in Early Care and Education.”Discussion Guide: Early Risers Season 5 Episode 3 Discussion GuideEpisode Resources:Theressa Lenear’s  profile in the  book “Stories of Resistance: Learning from Black Women in Early Care and Education”Theressa Lenear’s personal statement about her insights from her career in early childhood educationTheressa Lenear’s article in Exchange magazine about the conflict between two young students,  which she discusses  in the episode. (Paywall)

Many programs that offer innovation in education ask teachers to adopt a new curriculum or implement a new procedure in their classroom. But when it comes to anti-bias work, Veronica Reynoso says there is no new curriculum. Instead, you need to be in community with children and disrupt the biases and stereotypes they pick up from the world. She explains how she does this and how the children respond.Guest: Veronica Reynoso is an early childhood teacher and mentor teacher at Hilltop Children’s Center in Seattle, Washington. She grew up in Chicago in a Mexican American family. She has been featured in articles, podcasts and a film highlighting her anti-bias practices in the classroom. Discussion Guide: Early Risers Season 5 Episode 2 Discussion GuideEpisode Resources:More from Veronica Reynoso on this Embrace Race webinarMore from Veronica Reynoso in this Exchange article (paywall)Veronica Reynoso and other early childhood teachers are featured in this film “Reflecting on Anti-bias Education in Action: The Early Years”

If we adults want to work with young children on issues related to race and racism, we first need to work with ourselves. Marie Lister describes the learning communities she facilitates with teachers to help them become aware of, and address, their own biases. She discusses how the work adults do in these communal learning spaces can benefit young children immeasurably for years to come.Episode Resources: Marie coaches early childhood teachers through the nonprofit Before RacismDiscussion Guide: Early Risers Season 5 Episode 1