Start Here Start Now Review written by Ent on 8//2021. This post contains affiliate links, you can find out more on our policies page or in the disclaimer at the bottom of the blog. **We reviewed an audiobook copy of the book from the publisher- our opinions are our own and we recommend the book**
Know Before You Read
Book: Start Here Start Now: A Guide to Antibias and Antiracist Work in Your School Community
Author: Liza Kleinrock
Genre: Non-Fiction, Education
Pages: 321
Published: May 21st, 2021
Age Suggestion: 15 and up
Topic: Including Anti-bias and Anti-racism into everyday teaching and leading
Warnings: This book deals with mild examples of racism and prejudice shown towards students as examples of how to discuss or reform these situations. This book is written for teachers, but others still may be able to glean useful information from it, especially if you are in a position of leadership.
Quick Start Here Start Now Summary
Start Here Start Now is a book written for teachers to both encourage them in teaching anti-bias and anti-racism in their classrooms. Liza does a great job combining personal experience and a collection of expertise of other BIPOC teachers in order to create a powerful and applicable collection of advice and instruction. The book is organized by common questions from other educators as she dissects and discusses each one. It’s a quick and very helpful read that can be referenced back to.
Start Here, Start Now Book Review From a Texas Teacher
*The titles a little gimicky- because neither of us are teaching in a classroom this year in Texas for various reasons. But we do understand some of the immense pressure being put on teachers. I taught Animal Farm in 2020 and constantly felt like I was on the verge of a parent having a meltdown over it. These important and hot button topics will come up again and again. And we also want our classrooms to be more equitable and inclusive places where we ARE teaching antibias and antiracism, regardless of threats from politicians who haven’t ever taught or tried to order a history textbook.*
Start Here, Start Now is a great resource for teachers, educators, and any person in the education industry. Liza does a great job of consistently pointing out improvements teachers can make within the classroom to help refocus the lense of anti-bias and anti-racism. She reminds the reader regularly that one does not have to completely rewrite all the curriculum to incorporate these important topics. She talks about the ‘lens’ we can use to view all existing curriculum and teaching situations. If you are paying attention, a good teacher can find learning opportunities to discuss the required curriculum while also adding supplementary information that can add to these topics.
I appreciate that especially for a couple of reasons. First, because it acknowledges our creativity as teachers. We already add to the lessons. And just because we are no longer ‘required’ to teach about racism, terrorism, supremacy and more- doesn’t mean that we don’t teach it. Lawmakers might be trying to threaten us, but I doubt they’ll be coughing up the money to change the history books anytime soon (and we were already having to supplement them because they were so out of date and white-washed anyways).
And second, because it can be overwhelming to think about how to implement anti-racist curriculum and create an equitable learning environment. Especially with lawmakers threatening our jobs. The Start Here Start Now book reminds us that we don’t have to reinvent the wheel and gives practical advice.
One thing to note is that this book was not designed to convince the reader that anti-bias and anti-racism are vital to teaching. The book assumes that the reader is already interested in anti-bias and anti-racism work. If you are not sure about these issues, we would personally recommend the following reads:
–So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
–Stamped by Ibram X. Kendi and Jason Reynolds
–Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Boy (Or Man) by Emmanuel Acho
Why Read Start Here Start Now
The charge of anti-bias and anti-racism is so incredibly important and the book is a wonderful resource. It is easily organized for future reference and also provides many other great resources. At the end of each chapter, there is a ‘Don’t reinvent the wheel’ section in which Liza reminds us that we don’t have to come up with these solutions all on our own and provides resources to help.
Start Here Start Now reminds us that we don’t need to know all of the answers, but we must know how we are going to respond emotionally to inquiries or discussions about race. We know it’s going to come up. We know a lot of discussions surrounding the topic are heated. Shaming people who say things incorrectly or disregarding other people’s experiences is not going to produce of culture of discussion and openness. Overall the Start Here Start Now book is a wonderful resource for any teacher to help fight bias and racism in our schools and culture.
Thanks for reading our Start Here, Start Now Review. Check out some of our other posts for more great content:
–Stamped Review and Discussion Questions
–Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Boy Discussion Questions
–New Kid and Class Act Reviews
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