On the next episode of Classroom Matters, Kristy speaks with Jeffrey Blair, co-owner of the bookstore Eyeseeme (along with his wife, Pamela) in St. Louis, Missouri. Blair talks about the benefits of children seeing themselves reflected in the books that they read and needing more resources of this type for all children.

“If they don’t see themselves in the books or the curriculum then no wonder they get disengaged.”

“Research shows when children see themselves– when African American children are taught about their history, they do better academically.”

“The more I think– especially with this world becoming more and more diverse– I think it’s important that we prepare our children for that diverse world… It’s just beautiful to see all these different perspectives. There’s different ways to tell a story. It’s like, imagine just having one type of food all your life. That’ll sustain you, and maybe you have some favorites, but what a beautiful thing it would be to try different types of foods.”

–Jeffrey Blair, The Classroom Matters Podcast

Check out the full episode September 5th!