You Can’t Celebrate That!

Navigating the Deep Waters of Social Justice Teaching

Find inspiration in this compelling story of an educator’s social justice journey as she partners with families to explore racial identity, religious celebrations, and racism in response to a biased comment by one child to another in her diverse preschool class.

100 pages.

You Can’t Celebrate That! is part of the Reimagining Our Work (ROW) collection. Use the ROW collection to discover how early childhood educators in the field are reimagining their work and thinking alongside children.

You Can’t Celebrate That! goes beyond anti-bias activities and reveals the critical thinking and process that goes into social justice education. Jaboneta models the self-work we all need to do as anti-bias educators—­she is curious, reflective and takes risks as she engages the families and her colleagues into the dilemma.
– Debbie LeeKeenan and John Nimmo, co-authors of Leading Anti-bias Early Childhood Programs: A Guide for Change.

A beautifully written teacher’s story about what it takes to provide children with the tools to act with empathy, respect, and fairness in the face of diversity. – Louise Derman Sparks and Julie Olsen Edwards, co-authors, Anti-bias Education for Young Children and Ourselves.
You Can’t Celebrate That! is an intriguing and gentle love story from a teacher to her community.
– Shoshana A. Brown, LMSW, Educator, Organizer, and Healer.

This book is just what early childhood educators need right now to understand our own racial and cultural biases, and to move forward to transformative teaching and learning.
– Daniel Meier, Professor of Elementary Education, San Francisco State University.

Nadia approaches her teaching with a set of values as her steady friend and guidepost and is a model to all of us, showing how true humility, honesty and openness can build bridges with families and co-workers and provide fertile soil for anti-bias education to blossom.
– Julie Bisson, Early Childhood Director and author of Celebrate! An Anti-Bias Guide to Including Holidays in Early Childhood Programs.

This book makes a compelling case for how the Aotearoa (New Zealand) approach to Learning Stories can help early childhood educators in the United States amplify the voices of children and provide a compassionate and practical way to connect family and community to the life of the classroom.
– Barbara Henderson, Professor of Education, San Francisco State University.

You Can’t Celebrate That! reinforces how important it is that we begin talking with children about race and racism at a young age. If it is our mission to prepare our students to live and succeed in our diverse and globalized world, our work begins here with intentional teaching about inclusion, equity, and identity.
– Gab Sussman, Seeking Educational Equity and Diversity (SEED) Facilitator and Elementary School Teacher.