Start Here, Start Now: A Guide to Antibias and Antiracist Work in Your School Community

by Liz Kleinrock

Most educators want to cultivate an antibias and antiracist classroom and school community, but they often struggle with where and how to get started. Liz helps us set ourselves up for success and prepare for the mistakes we'll make along the way. Each chapter in Start Here, Start Now addresses many of the questions and challenges educators have about getting started, using a framework for tackling perceived barriers from a proactive stance. Liz answers the questions with personal stories, sample lessons, anchor charts, resources, conversation starters, extensive teacher and activist accounts, and more. We can break the habits that are holding us back from this work and be empowered to take the first step towards reimagining the possibilities of how antibias antiracist work can transform schools and the world at large. We must remind ourselves that what is right is often not what is easy, and we must continue to dream. Amidst the chaos, our path ahead is clear. This is our chance to dream big and build something better.

Genres: Education, Teaching, Nonfiction, Professional Development, Social Justice, Race, School

184 pages, Paperback

Published May 21, 2021

Reviews

[Jon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredibly accessible and practical. A must-read for educators.

[Val · Rating 5 out of 5]

this was so good i love liz kleinrock, every educator needs to read this whewwww (probably most helpful for elementary ed and/or humanities!!)

things i loved:
- actionable steps for personal reflection and classroom practice (with so many examples and templates WOW)
- quotes, anecdotes, narratives from a swath of educators
- accessible language to use with students and colleagues
- saying it again: all of the EXAMPLES AND TEMPLATES, so helpful as a real guide that can actually be used
- honest, authentic dialogue around kleinrock’s own personal & professional growth
- resources for further learning (wow my TBR is growing so fast)
- inclusion of families and caregivers as stakeholders in student learning

things i wish there was more of:
- examples of when things didn’t go well and how to help your classroom community heal afterwards
- more than one chapter on abar in stem education
- more secondary-level examples
(i also would not take away any stars for the last 2 tho because these requests are fully from a selfish perspective of being someone interested in secondary stem ed — this book is definitely not positioning itself as the book that will dive deep into that, esp w kleinrock being an elementary eeucator!!)

[Elizabeth Konneker · Rating 5 out of 5]

So many fantastic ideas contained in these pages! I loved how every chapter delivered on its promise of giving actionable advice that any educator could use in their own classrooms pretty much as soon as they would like. I found this book to be immensely informative and useful in any conversation with children even outside of the classroom. It can be tough to know how to start ABAR work with young learners in appropriate and thoughtful ways, but this is a great place to start.

[Nawal Qarooni · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this for its directness without losing nuance or practicality. Liz provides a plethora of ideas for how to begin anti racist anti bias work in education spaces without relying on bandaid solutions and easy pitfalls.

[Mary Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am beyond thrilled that this book exists in the world! Kleinrock’s thoughtfulness and care for all learners, caregivers and educators is fully apparent in every sentence. The book is full of practical examples from her own teaching experience as well as quotes and examples from other educators. Each chapter tackles a commonly expressed barrier to ABAR work in the classroom and details how to get started, take action and sustain the work. I felt so many pieces of my own practice affirmed by this book and am excited to return to it again and again as a resource. I particularly loved the sentence starters/scripts she provides in chapter three “How Can I Hold Space for Difficult Conversations in My Class?”

I listened to the audio, but will definitely be reading the print again. Thank you so much, Liz for this essential contribution to foundational professional texts for teachers. If you work with children in any capacity, buy this, read this, share this!!

[Allison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anyone interested in teaching should pick up this book. It’s accessible, honest, and gives concrete ideas. Loved every second!

[CJ Simpkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this for school. Interesting information, perspectives, and ideas. I’ll hang on to and will apply this book throughout my teaching career.

[Katie Proctor · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars, only because I wanted EVEN more. This is a great start for practical lessons and the reasons behind why Antibias and Antiracism education is so important.

[Achu Aswathi · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is a must-read for people in educational institutions. We should not be a teacher following the age-old syllabus and the old method of teaching. We should evolve and teach based on the current scenario and should talk and make an interactive classroom and remove misconceptions on many topics. The author has shared her personal experience of how she reacts, how she answers, and how she makes the students understand and speak about race, color, stereotypes, consent in a way a student should understand and asking questions before explaining to know what they meant by it.

The author has given the resources that can be used to improve your way of teaching and be an ABAR educator. There are some problems faced by ABAR teachers because it may not be part of the curriculum and how to add as a part of it and how the administration supports or deny it and how to caretakers and parents think of it. There are a lot of things and that is explained and it is worth reading(hearing) guys.

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book had been sitting on my TBR, so I was lucky when I was asked to lead a (remote) book group this summer/fall on it - what a great excuse to pull it off the shelf! Kleinrock does a great job of making ABAR work immediately accessible. Often, I feel as though texts such as this do not provide actionable advice (what can I say? As a teacher, I prefer to be told exactly what to do sometimes, I can't lie) or are dense and difficult to understand. This text was neither, with terrific examples of what ABAR work can look like at all grade levels, with CCSS standards included, and was written in a totally reachable way for those of you out there like me whose brains are fried.

I recommend this to any educator looking to improve upon their practice/do better by their students.

[Malisa Spencer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love how accessible this book is! There isn't much theory or talk about what antiracism is or shaming you into feeling bad if you haven't begun your journey in teaching as an antiracist but every page is practical. Liz includes anecdotes from her personal experience, student samples, templates and forms you can use, along with ways to directly involve parents in the work. This is something every single teacher should read.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've followed Liz for a long time on various social media platforms and was so excited to hear she was writing a book. This book is full of practical suggestions for getting started with ABAR work in schools. There is even a chapter about how to address these topics while teaching in a predominantly white school. I've already begun to put my game plan together for when caregivers complain about lessons on gender or race. (They are most definitely in the standards I'm required to teach.)

[Kyle Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Focused largely on elementary classrooms, but the principles remain the same. Helpful reminder of concepts that were familiar, and useful responses to all aspects of beginning ABAR work in one’s classroom. Is it a “How To” checklist book that leaves the reader feeling 100% prepared? Absolutely not. But when it comes to this work, if it purported to be, it wouldn’t be effective in its job.

[Robyn Russell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I honestly learned a lot and have SOOOO many ideas. I’m glad I got a hard copy of this because I know I’m going to go back. I teach 1st grade so most of it is geared towards older grades but after the chapter on teaching to younger students I feel better about how to scale issues down to an appropriate level.

[Abigail Jackson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Did less reading this book all the way through and more using it as a reference for specific strategies, tools, and resources. I’ve used the identity chart section the past two years and found it an especially helpful framing tool to start the year, get to know students (and applicable to discussing characterization in novels).

[Jeanie Phillips · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book for educators beginning a journey towards more just and equitable teaching practices. There are many great resources embedded in the text as well as Liz's reflections on her own experience exploring identity, racism, and bias in the classroom. Highly recommend.

[Brynne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book had lots of models (of ways to approach standards, discussion questions, tools for communication, etc.) that teachers could adapt into their own classrooms, which is something people ask for frequently, but it still brought in the bigger picture of ABAR work.

[a.rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

this was excellent and I need to own it

[Kaitlyn Williamson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can’t wait to expand on some of my current practices with the very tangible tools, activities, and lessons in this book.

[Rachel Polacek · Rating 5 out of 5]

An incredible resource for teachers! ABAR work is more than necessary and Liz Kleinrock helps give language for supporting this work with students, parents, and administrators.

[Jenelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am so glad I decided to get this book! I admit, I thought it would be things I have already read or heard, but the fact that it applies things in a simple, straightforward, no-nonsense way is what makes it such a gem.

For people who are really unsure where to begin, when to speak up (or how to speak up) against bias, prejudiced, or stereotyping, or how to incorporate anti-bias and anti racist work into their lessons or school, this is a perfect place to start.

For people who have been doing the work, this book has lots of great lesson ideas and ways to make kids feel welcome and accepted, feel a healthy sense of curiosity about others (rather than fear and hate), understanding consent, how to appropriately teach littles, and ways to call in rather than create embarrassment for words spoken out of ignorance.

Another book I recommend you move up to the top of your “to read” list!

[Kelly Begy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Immediately useable and helpful tools for increasing the fidelity of antiracist work in schools.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

“One of the most annoying representations of diversity is the image of people from different backgrounds standing in a circle holding hands. Diversity and multiculturalism are far too often presented as ideals” rather than the realistic messiness of being different. MLK had a dream; how will we help our children dream of something better than what’s on the screens in front of them?

“Racism is the product of power and prejudice...with whiteness perched on the very top.” Yet “If educators solely rely on diverse learning materials without modeling conversations and actively engaging with their students, we intellectualize the idea of diversity.” Racial literacy “means recognizing how your own race impacts your perspective and lived experience.” Like reading, we build a foundation of racial literacy by breaking down vocabulary, developing daily fluency, interacting with partners and small groups, asking comprehension questions to check for understanding, and applying what is learned to the world around us.

“Toxic environments are created when adults witness biased actions and words from children and fail to address them...We cannot fix problems we do not talk about.” Free speech is not consequence free speech; “in ‘safe’ spaces, you either hide what you want to say or hope that no one seeks to hold you accountable if you say something problematic” while “in ‘brave’ spaces, you say what you want and take responsibility for saying it.”

Our district motto is “Always Learning, Always Growing.” “When we get to a place where we think we’ve learned all there is to know...we stop growing.” Rather than arguing to win, we teach our children to seek to understand. Our purpose is not to change minds but to the possibility of a change in perspective.

[Bill Batson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Having lived in mixed race environments most of my life along with black, japanese, mexican in our family; race race has never been an issue. What has been an issue is culture. This constant desire to say Whiteness is the problem is in itself very racist. The issue is culture not color. This might be the reason that American blacks lead the number of killings and its by other blacks. And all these are done within their own communities. Blacks that live in mixed race areas rarely if ever get attacked. Once again this is due to culture not race.

[Emma · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is probably more useful for those with an elementary school focus than MS or HS. I think it mostly had a great tone, great message, great ideas, but didn't push my thinking forward in the ways I need.

[Kristi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent. Very practical, easy to read, and great resources to take away and use immediately in the classroom. Highly recommended.

[Ariel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anyone working in education or related fields should read this. Kleinrock does an amazing job describing ABAR nuances and strategies succinctly and in a digestible way. Each chapter discuss all the barriers (e.g., parent attitudes, admin challenges, colleague concerns) and showed concrete and reasonable responses. The lesson plans were helpful and really made ABAR work more approachable and less daunting. It's funny to me that the book is very meta in a way, it's using teaching strategies to teach teachers ... how to teach. But that in itself illuminates how far we have to go with regard to integrating ABAR in everyday life. There were parts that were so intuitive that it made me realize just how deeply racism cemented itself into education and our culture, that doing this is viewed more radical than the norm. I also appreciated the incisive dwscriptions of phenomenon we see everyday (e.g., "tourist curriculum" like lessons about different holidays where white people leave feeling worldly and BIPOC people leave feeling unseen). Overall not an expensive book that is well worth the purchase. I'm going to ask if we can get this author to guest speak at my institution, wish us luck!

[Gordon Eldridge · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great little book for teachers who are unsure where to start the work of embedding DEIJ (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice) into their classroom practice. Liz Kleinrock is an elementary school teacher who shares her experiences of doing this work in this book. The book contains numerous concrete examples of things she has done in her classroom, complete with artefacts created by her and her students. This is very much an entry level book (as the title suggests), so you may not find it as helpful if you are more advanced with the work. The examples in the book are also almost exclusively drawn from the author's own fourth grade classroom, so if you are looking for concrete examples relevant to higher grades, you will need to think through the possible adaptations yourself. Having said that, the examples are varied and cover multiple subject areas and also include work with parents.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Start Here, Start Now says that it is a practical guide to antibias and antiracist (ABAR) work in your school community and it is exactly that! Tackling everything from making time, working with families and admin, and making sure that the work you are doing is developmentally appropriate in a bite-sized, accessible package.

It's a great introduction to beginning or moving forward with ABAR that makes it feel possible. I'll admit that this year, I have not been able to dedicate time to this type of work as I've found myself drowning in the everyday tasks of teaching. Start Here, Start Now reminded me that it's crucial to make time for this work while also taking care of myself. Quotes like the one above are just nuggets of wisdom littered throughout this book that have helped inspire to tackle the rest of this year with new energy.

[Cindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

My mind is swimming with possibilities!!!

"Who you are personally, is how you show up professionally." - Sonja Cherry-Paul.

The goal of teaching for equity and inclusion is for ALL students to feel seen, heard, valued, and respected. It encompasses so many research-based best practices in teaching. When done correctly it has the power to transform communities/world. When done incorrectly can cause harm, but making mistakes along the way is not a reason to stop (or outlaw) the work that needs to be done to make our world a better place for everyone. I am reminded of my friend Shana Frazin’s words, “being human is a cooperative act.”

This book is FULL of SO many practical ideas to co-create a classroom environment that is grounded in humanity.