Talking with your son about George Floyd

The recent appalling and deeply shocking event of George Floyd’s death, and the confronting news images of demonstrations and riots coming out of the United States are challenging but nonetheless important topics to discuss with children, especially in the upper primary years.  Some parents with sons in Years 5 and 6 have asked for guidance as to how to navigate these discussions. We are all aware that now, more than ever, news is saturated with powerful images which stir up all manner of questions and responses by young and old people alike. For primary aged children it is important to find material that presents the information in an age appropriate way. BTN is a reliable medium produced by the ABC with children in mind, to help our older boys understand and discuss the situation.

https://www.abc.net.au/btn/classroom/us-protests-against-racism/12308868

If you feel that this is something you would like to do, you and your son could watch clips like this together. It may help them understand the multiple perspectives of the different groups involved.

This below article from CNN also has some good material about talking to children about the issues.

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/06/01/health/protests-racism-talk-to-children-wellness/index.html

Life is not simple and understanding people’s actions and motivations is complex.  Our Headmaster, Michael Parker has put together some questions that our staff in the upper primary years have used to guide discussion in recent days and may also be useful for you to talk through with your son to build his understanding and perspective of this tragic series of events.

Some questions that could be asked about the current riots include:

• What do you feel/think when you see the images of the riots in these cities?
• What is a ‘proper’ form of demonstration that you agree with? Does it involve ‘complying’ with police orders? Does it involve peacefully breaking laws? Does it involve looting large department stores? Why?
• What do you think is going through the minds of some black people and some white people at the demonstrations? Does this help you understand people’s acts?
• What would you do now if you lived in the centre of one of these American cities and were 21?
• If you were the President or the mayor of one of the towns right now, what would you do?
• What more would you need to know to understand this better? How would you find it out?  

We all have a responsibility to work tirelessly to challenge, confront, reject and repel racist behaviour and disadvantage. Our focus in classrooms during Reconciliation Week (last week) has been a timely reminder of this; but for all societies and communities, ours included, there is much work to be done.

Ian Holden
Head of Wyvern House