I thought it could be fun to write this blog in Spanish because why not? And I need the practice! Shout out to my Spanish speaking readers!

I attended a presentation about how to talk to your kids about race and racism. The presentation was interesting especially since it got me thinking about how I want to talk to my own kid about racism. The spanish portion of this blog talks about what tips I liked and which I thought were kind of odd. One of the major tips I liked was to be open and honest with your children.

Yo fui a una presentación sobre cómo hablar con tus niños sobre raza y racismo. Especialmente ahorita, es difícil poder hablar sobre racismo sin ofender gente. Muchas veces padres piensan que no hablar sobre estos temas es mejor pero nos mostraron que a seis meses los bebés empiezan a distinguir diferencias raciales. Por esta razón, aconsejan que hablan con sus hijos temprano. Estoy un poco confundido como saben que los bebés distinguen “diferencias raciales.”  

Me parece raro que aconsejan actividades para hablar sobre raza con sus hijos. Muchos de los consejos realmente requieren que los padres sean honestos y cómodos con sus hijos. Mi consejo favorito es “Be active.” Uno no debe tener miedo de hablar con su hijo! No dejes que un niño en el colegio le enseña sobre raza. Yo quiero ayudar a mi hijo entender racismo y hablar sobre las muchas dificultades del mundo.

Educating children is super important. I have so much respect for educators because they have a big responsibility. The other day someone told me that the knowledge professors have does not necessarily mean they are good professors. This means a professor does not have to know anything to teach someone something. I don’t know if this is completely true but it is interesting to think about. We learned language on our own. Nobody moves our mouths to make sounds. We figure that out on our own. So in that case I can understand the merit of throwing someone to the sharks and letting them figure out what they think for themselves. I think that educating a child should be a combination of guidance but also throwing them to the sharks and figuring it out for themselves.

I went to a deliberation that is very relevant to me. It was about teen and young adult pregnancy. I am going to start with what I found distasteful. First they made it seem like every young parent is unprepared but, at least in my experience, there are many factors that determine the readiness of the parents. I do think the group addressed the major issue which is about unprepared young parents who end up screwing their innocents child’s lives. They came in with statistics in relation to income and poverty levels.

I went to a high school where 60% graduated. I saw many young pregnancies some work and others don’t. I have found that it is dependent on the decisions made up until the pregnancy. Many people feel trapped or like their life has come to a halt. Luckily for me, I have Penn State as a big safety net for me. If I did not have that then I think I would be in a completely different situation. One thing is for sure though, the child is innocent and the parents have a responsibility for the innocent being they created. The group focused on the inability of young women to find good help. This drove the discussion for a while because two community members where activists on the issue.  

Something I liked about their deliberation was the set up. It was just a bunch of chairs in a circle. I found this to conduct discussion fairly well. It might have to do with the fact that everyone is on the same playing field to express their thoughts. This deliberation made participation easy and effortless.  I think this was one of their strongest assets.

I did feel like there was not a lot of experience in the group that presented nor did they interview or ask someone with experience. It felt like a lot of “I feel that this is blah blah blah.” It made it feel a little bratty. I don’t know maybe I am a little hypersensitive to the portrayal they made. I am also happy that I did not fit the portrayal of the “young parent.” In my eyes, at least, this has and will be a blessing that will test me and has forced me to grow up.