I Dream Library
PHILOSOPHY
The Future of Educational Literature
Our Vision
I Dream Library™ has a goal of abundant 2SLGBTQQIA+ BIPOC representation in classrooms and libraries around the world. We feature educational tools that holistically reflect colonized communities and educate broad human value to settler communities.
Our Guiding Principles
I Dream Library is founded on the ongoing awareness shared through these 4 hashtags and human rights campaigns
#blacklivesmatter
#loveislove
#weneeddiversebooks
#ownvoices
ACHIEVING LITERARY EQUITY
Intersectional application of the following:
1. Public Safety
Visible and curricular representation creates a safe space to learn.
Visual Equity Tools
Learning tools - posters, toys, games, etc
School & classroom libraries intentionally curated to empower communities that are devalued or marginalized in traditional education models.
2. Prioritize Mental Health
People, places and experiences that feature in our daily life become our context for valuing ourselves and others.
The psychological impact of educational narratives featuring a continuum of over-represented white cis-heteronormative experience, lay the foundation for (various forms of): self-hate, racism, sexism, homophobia, ableism, body dysmorphia, the list goes on.
For young developing minds, Mental Health Awareness means sharing a diverse and inclusive vision of humanity. How can we use literature to support this vision?
ending Curricular Bias
1. The Root
Stories are fundamental to a child’s sense of self in the world. Mental wellness is a result of spiritual, mental & emotional development. Easily accessible stories that normalize diversity, inclusion and self love, help create a safe learning environment where children can establish the muscle memory for kindness.
2. The Environment
Learning environments founded on kindness support children in feeling secure with their unique value among the group. Children can practice flexing their kindness muscle through sharing their own stories, being encouraged to offer their ideas, their feelings and perspectives on the ideas of others, and by designing kindness strategies that further their collective wellness.
In Pre-Kindergarten to Grade 12, children learn how to frame themselves and “others” through the lens of collective value. In these formative years, it is far to common for 2SLGBTQQIA+ and BIPoC children to experience their identity, family structures, and history edited out of curricular value conversations.
Whether educators cite moral opposition or various experiences of lack (administrative support, quality resources, time, energy, cultural ability) as to why their classrooms are (however unintentionally) curated to overrepresent the beliefs & values of specific settler communities, these curricular biases inevitably lay the foundation for anti-social behaviors to grow.
Racism and other forms of bullying including: misogyny, sexism, sexual harassment, homophobia, transphobia, biphobia, islamophobia and ableism are anti-social behaviors that are often exhibited by children (from overrepresented communities) without the fear of recourse.
Why?
When curricular erasure is translated by children as: “other” people & identities are scary / wrong / less valuable, weaponizing those “other” identities becomes a youthful test of human survival. The child may assume entitlement, priority access, security, power or other rewards from imitating / aligning with supremacist values in their environment.
3. The Impact
The intention, or lack thereof, does not absolve the impact.
It is critical to take collective responsibility as educational leaders for the daily supremacist messaging that curricular erasure passively affirms.
Traditional administrative reactions (if any) to children engaging racism and other forms of bullying, often involve individually punishing the child(ren) - holding them 100% responsible for the larger societal impact of their language / actions. This approach bypasses the realities of the child’s interpretation of their daily environment based on their limited life experience, emotional intelligence, language, and cognitive understanding. As well, these children rarely have community relationships or prior historical education that would provide accessible context for their understanding of a larger impact.
Without school leaders acknowledging the collective harm of curricular erasure, we fall into cycles of mitigation strategies solely focused on individual victim’s and those who are part of the targeted community, a band-aid solution to a much larger problem.
PrActice accountability
Peer-Led Learning
We must see ourselves as students in the process of building an equitable foundation in our classroom communities. Connect with consultants and community groups, attend Professional Development workshops, and meet with other faculty to share resources & support as you continue this journey!
CALLING IN / CALLING OUT
Creating an aligned approach to educating diversity and inclusion will definitely involve acknowledging your own biases as educators. Do you feel comfortable having these conversations with other faculty?
Building trust with marginalized students means acknowledging where that trust has been broken and the boundary crossed, especially when perpetuated by an educator or support staff. How educational respond creates the opportunity for developing strategies that heal trust among students and educators.
Allyship
Action diversity and inclusion policy.
Set administrative and school community goals. Stay accountable with schedule progress checks throughout the year.
Witnessing and small group counsel / sharing opportunities.
Books as Conversation Starters
Curated titles to support conversations addressing the personal & group impact of erasure, oppression and other social justice issues.
Opportunities to take responsibility and begin an ongoing conversation to reframe history, equity and allyship.
3. Intellectual Equity
Literary accessibility means offering diverse learning models & tools inclusive of ability, approach, and culture.
Dyslexia is one of the most common & undiagnosed barriers to traditional literacy achievement in education environments. This fact is compounded in the racist foundation of our education systems where racialized children have been historically and systemically precluded from fair intellectual and behavioral assessments.
We recommend acknowledgment strategies as part of your first response protocol rather than public discipline, or dismissive “student is unwilling / uninterested” assessments of children. Follow up with tools that empower their unique perspectives.
Inclusive learning tools for sale and download!
4. Public Education Initiatives
Equity is by design
Equity education is a grassroots responsibility that begins with educators and administrators becoming 100% accountable for their classroom communities. Leadership is a daily practice. Source members of marginalized communities to consult and co-create changes in their schools.
Link to community members available for consultation
Link to Current Projects & Initiatives
5. Community Partnerships
Local Bookstores, Non-Profit Organizations, Social Justice Actions, Provincial, and district collaboration.
Purchasing resources within the framework of BIPOC economics.