Elizabeth (Liz) Kleinrock is a third-grade teacher in Los Angeles, California. And Liz is the absolute best kind of teacher — she's one who truly cares about her students and their education.
Liz doesn't just teach her students the basic subjects; she also teaches them about how to be responsible citizens and good human beings. In addition to math, science, English, etc., her students also learn about social justice.
Liz teaches through an antibias lens; her goal is to help her students gain a broader understanding of the world. On her website, Teach and Transform, Liz writes: "I believe that an inclusive, equitable public education is the first step towards a solution to narrowing the opportunity gap in our country. I believe that teaching our youth with a social justice focus and an anti-bias lens is not only possible, but imperative towards dismantling systemic racism and institutional discrimination."
Recently, as the topic of sexual consent has come up in the media, Liz decided to broach the subject with her students. Obviously, teaching consent to kids is different than teaching it to teens or adults, but Liz knew just how to approach the challenge.
Meet Liz Kleinrock. She's an elementary school teacher, social justice advocate, antibias educator, curriculum designer, and professional development facilitator.
Liz is passionate about her work, and she pours her heart and soul into her job. And it makes sense — if this picture is any indication, she's always loved school.
Liz knows how instrumental the elementary school years are, so she became a teacher to share her wisdom and knowledge with children.
Liz is an amazing teacher because she doesn't talk down to her students. She makes sure to teach them about important subjects like social justice.
Recently, Liz brought up the concept of consent with her students.
Instead of just telling the kids what consent means, she started a conversation with them. Together, she and the students created a chart.
Liz shared a photo of the chart on Instagram, where she wrote: "Today was all about CONSENT. We even explored the grey areas, like if someone says 'yes' but their tone and body language really says 'no.' Role playing is a great way to reinforce these skills, but they MUST be taught explicitly!"
And the conversation didn't end with the chart. Liz also asked her students why asking for consent is important, then shared their responses.
The students' responses are brilliant, and they prove that even kids can understand the nuances of consent.
The consent lessons continued after that. Liz explained: "Today we continued our lessons on consent by writing and illustrating comics that show what consent IS, and what consent is NOT. It was a fun way to check for student understanding, as well as practice including dialogue."
Since sharing her teaching methods, Liz has gotten a lot of attention from people all around the world. Teachers and parents alike have praised her efforts.
Many of the commenters thanked Liz for her work. One woman said, "This is the kind of teaching that will change the future for our students!"
Others said they had struggled to talk about consent with their kids, but were glad they had a reference now.
One thing is very clear: We need more teachers like Liz!
