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Amidst a turbulent political climate and activist- and youth-led social movements, many educators have been wondering not only how to teach but also how to parent during these challenging times.听

Familiar with incorporating social justice themes throughout their course curriculum, several faculty听in the CU Boulder School of Education came together following the 2016 election to create a unique space for social justice exploration that is for and led by their school-age children.听

The CU Boulder School of Education has partnered with Teaching Tolerance to publish听, a comprehensive guide for educators and families interested in starting similar intergeneration social justice reading groups. Authored Ana Contreras, a PhD student in educational foundations, policy and practice, and edited by Julia Delacroix, an editor from the , the guide features multiple models for starting a tailored, local social justice reading group, including the foundations of the reading group created by School of Education families.

The School of Education鈥檚 founding group continues to meet, and alternating听parent-child pairings take turns selecting featured readings and leading monthly discussions. Ranging from ages 8-13, the kids have selected several books 鈥� including titles like 鈥淗ow I Resist: Activism and Hope for a New Generation,鈥� 鈥淲e Rise, We Resist, We Raise Our Voices,鈥� and 鈥淩ad American Women A to Z鈥� 鈥� that have now been incorporated in the CU Libraries鈥� Children and Young Adult Collection available to CU Boulder students and teacher candidates and local K-12 students and teachers.

Last spring, Teaching Tolerance staff attended the group gathering to see the youth in action and to feature the group model and educator鈥檚 guide in the spring edition of . On that particular day, the group discussed the book, 鈥淭he Tree in the Courtyard: Looking Through Anne Frank鈥檚 Window,鈥� and they examined the current student walkouts related to gun violence in the context of the coordinated civil rights-era walkouts protesting school segregation. Providing context and taking action is what the reading group is all about, says Kevin Welner, director of CU Boulder's听, who听co-founded the group with Michelle Renee Valladares, associate director of NEPC.

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鈥淲e wanted our children to look at the current situation and understand that the struggle for social justice, the struggle for civil rights, is something that鈥檚 been going on forever and will continue to go on,鈥� Welner said in the听. 鈥淭he current moment is best understood within that continuum, within that past and the need to continue the struggle into the future.鈥�

In the reading group meetings, the parents put their teaching and research expertise aside in order to center their kids鈥� voices, concerns, and reflections and respond to current issues together, a model that Dean Kathy Schultz sees as highly replicable.听

鈥淭his kind of idea not only creates community in the school and among our families, it creates a sense of possibility and critical action,鈥� Schultz said. 鈥淭he fact that this is a group of parents who are coming together with their children to explore鈥攊n a variety of modalities鈥攈ow to respond to the moment that we鈥檙e living in ... feels very unique to me, and [it鈥檚] something I hope will catch on.鈥�