Third Grade Teacher Perfectly Explains What Consent Is To Students [PIC]

A third-grade teacher in L.A. came up with a very simple chart that demonstrates what consent is, how it works, and what to do when it isn’t given.

By nowproducerdave on October 9, 2018
(Photo by VCG/VCG via Getty Images)

Consent is a big topic in the news recently. We don’t have to get into any details for you to know why. The #MeToo movement, Hollywood executives, Bill Cosby, Ford vs. Kavanagh, etc. We can’t go more than 10 minutes without seeing or hearing something about unwanted advances, some sort of abuse, unwanted touching, sexual misconduct, and everything else. This story is about one third-grade teacher who, I think, perfectly explained what consent is. She was able to do it in a neat, organized manner, and kept it clean.

Liz Kleinrock is the teacher, and she’s from down in L.A. She calls her chart “All About Consent,” and it’s designed to explain what consent in to 8 and 9-year-olds. It goes through the steps one should take when asking for consent, and gives perfect examples of things that are ok as well as not ok. She says “Whenever I get frustrated about the state of our country, it inspires me to proactively teach my kids to DO BETTER.”

To quickly summarize the chart, we’ll break it down. It asks a question like “can I [do something]?” Then gives possible answers to the question, then gives appropriate reaction examples. Here’s the chart:

It’s a pretty cut and dry idea, and it applies to everyone from kids on a playground all the way to executives in multi-billion dollar companies. Whether you’re just borrowing someone’s pen at work or going in for a kiss on a date, consent is consent. Liz’s chart perfectly demonstrates exactly that is. A lot of the time, I think kids might get confused if we give them too many examples or situations they may hear about. But I feel like this chart gives kids simple examples that they can apply to real-world situations. Would you change or add anything to her chart? Source.

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