DEIJB in 2023

As our faculty continues the important work of creating an anti-racist and inclusive curriculum, we are exploring deep and rich ways to discuss history, activism, and social justice with children across ages and grade levels. The summer of 2020 is several years behind us, but the need for social change remains urgent. In early 2023, we have witnessed a tragic spate of violence and injustice across our country, and right here in the Bay Area.

Before and following the holiday weekend in January, students at MWS learned about, remembered, and discussed the life and work of Martin Luther King in meaningful age-appropriate ways, from preschool to 8th grade. The middle school held the annual Martin Luther King assembly to discuss King's legacy and racial justice today, and faculty listened to and discussed a recording of King's final speech in their weekly meeting. Some of their tributes to MLK are still hanging in the windows of the classrooms, continuing to guide us through Black History Month in February (above).

Some grades classes also received a special visit from Jack, the 87-year-old father of our kindergarten assistant teacher Carolina and a lifelong activist (pictured left). He shared stories of hiding Jesse Jackson in his car while traveling through the south, attending MLK's "I Have a Dream" speech, and his current work in Bolivia.

At the end of last month, we hosted a parent meeting with Karmin Guzder Williams from San Francisco Waldorf School for a parent evening entitled: DEIJB for Waldorf Families. A parent, activist, and teacher, Karmin is compelling and thoughtful speaker, who has twice led DEIJB presentations for the Marin Waldorf School faculty. In this presentation, she focused on work that parents can do at home. That work begins with looking at ourselves and our surroundings.

“To raise an antiracist child, you must first teach them about their own culture and history. Then, you must teach them about other cultures and histories. And finally, you must teach them about the common humanity that connects all of these different cultures,” writes Ibram X. Kendi in How to Raise an Antiracist, a quote that Karmin highlighted as part of her talk.

With this in mind, Karmin discussed the history of Marin County, sharing some of the past policies and current influences that define our area, the most segregated region in the Bay Area. For many, it was a surprise to learn that Marin County was the backdrop for an influential civil rights case, Joseph James vs. Marinship, which was argued in 1944 by Justice Thurgood Marshall in front of the U.S. Supreme Court. What does understanding this history tell us about ourselves and the place we are raising our children?

Karmin also talked about the history of Waldorf education and how Rudolf Steiner’s work reflects many of the same values as the contemporary fight for social justice. In a conversation before the event, she said, “For me, there's a very clear connection between [DEIJB and anthroposophy]. There's a lot of work Steiner has done about the consciousness moving ahead into the ages and the consciousness soul, and what does that really mean? DEI work is, I think, very aligned with that trajectory.”

We hope our parents were able to reflect on and learn from this and the many other topics Karmin touched on in her presentation, and we welcome your partnership in making our school an evermore equitable and inclusive place. You can about some of our school’s past work/statements on DEIJB here and here.