Teaching for Better Humans
If you haven’t seen it before—and even if you have—I encourage you to watch Liz Kleinrock’s TED Talk, “How to Teach Kids to Talk About Taboo Topics,” before reading this article.
Answering Hard Questions
More than ever, parents are navigating tough questions with their children. From local events to global issues, kids are surrounded by information and trying to make sense of it all. Even if we don’t bring up every topic at home, children notice what’s happening around them—and they naturally have questions.
Children’s questions can range from “Why is the sky blue?” to “Why does that person look or sound different from me?” or “Is that person a boy or a girl?” Each of these moments is an opportunity to build understanding and empathy.
At WHPS, we believe these moments are powerful opportunities to help children grow as thinkers and compassionate human beings. The best approach is often the simplest: answer questions openly, honestly, and in age-appropriate ways. It also helps to ask what they already know: “What have you heard about that?” or “What made you think of that?” Listening first gives us a better sense of what they’re really asking.
When we make space for thoughtful conversations at a young age, it removes some of the mystery or discomfort that can surround complex topics later in life.
“Accountable Talk”
“In a time when public discourse can feel increasingly divided, helping children learn how to talk and listen to one another might be one of the most important lessons we teach.”
One way we support thoughtful conversations at school is through Accountable Talk—a set of classroom norms introduced and practiced regularly, often beginning in Morning Meeting. These norms help students learn how to engage respectfully with one another, even when they disagree. At each grade level, students build on this foundation, practicing with sentence starters that guide them in listening, questioning, and responding thoughtfully, such as:
“I see what you’re saying, but I wonder if …”
“Could you give me a few examples of what you mean?”
“I haven’t thought about it that way before—can you tell me more?”
“I agree with part of what you said, and I’d like to add …”
“Can we look at it from another point of view?”
These shared norms remind children (and adults) that curiosity and respect can coexist, even in complex or sensitive discussions.
Building Perspective and Empathy
As children move through the grades, they learn to explore ideas, history, and literature from multiple perspectives. Guided discussions like these help students practice curiosity, respectful dialogue, and independent thinking—skills that extend far beyond the classroom. These lessons aren’t about teaching a single point of view, but about helping children listen, question, and understand the experiences of others.
A Shared Goal
Whether the conversation is about fairness, feelings, or difference, our goal is the same: to help children become thoughtful, compassionate, and engaged learners. When students carry those habits of empathy and respectful dialogue beyond the classroom, that’s the best measure of success.
How We Build Perspective in Upper Elementary
In our Upper Elementary program, one example of this work is our exploration of Stamped (for Kids)—an age-appropriate adaptation of the acclaimed book by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi. Students also study A Young People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn, which helps them examine American history through vignettes that highlight the diverse experiences of many social and ethnic groups.
The goal of this unit is not to teach a single interpretation of history, but to help students recognize that multiple perspectives exist and that every story has depth.
Through guided discussions, journal writing, and research, students practice Accountable Talk and learn to analyze how different voices contribute to a more complete understanding of history. They also connect what they learn to their own values of fairness, respect, and kindness.
This work is part of our broader mission to help students think critically, listen generously, and engage in meaningful conversations about the world around them.
Further Inspiration
If you’d like to see how powerful these kinds of conversations can be in practice, here are a few resources we love:
🎥 MUST WATCH: Ms. Liz’s Allies – a 10-minute short film from educator Liz Kleinrock’s fourth-grade classroom here in Los Angeles, showing how young students learn to talk about identity, empathy, and inclusion with confidence and care.
📚 Stamped (for Kids) – an interview with Dr. Sonja Cherry-Paul, author of the children’s adaptation, about helping young readers understand history and perspective in empowering ways.
✏️ Teaching for Better Humans 2.0 – a follow-up reflection on how we continue nurturing empathy, curiosity, and critical thinking in our WHPS classrooms.
