Sociology Through Children's Eyes
Ava Park-Matt ’27 reads her children’s book, Riley the Rhino, to Pomona Unified schoolchildren during the 2023 storybook festival last December.
“Children,” bestselling author and educator Jess Lair once said, “are not things to be molded, but are people to be unfolded.”
Associate Professor of Sociology Jessica Kizer understands the value and impact of sharing important lessons with young minds. As part of her Introduction to Sociology course, Kizer often plans the class so that it culminates in a storybook festival with elementary schoolchildren from the Pomona Unified School District.
Sponsored by the Community Engagement Center, the Hive, and the Teaching, Learning, and Campus Life Committee, the festival features Kizer’s students reading from children’s books that they create and that illustrate challenges and examples of social change.
The most recent festival, which was held last December, included the books Leo’s Brave Journey: A Story of Empathy and Change by EllaWyn VanderTuig ’26, Cam’s Community Garden by Anoura Kohn ’27, Braids of Change: Michaela’s Fight Against Unfair School Rules by Jenna Coffman ’26, and Riley the Rhino by Ava Park-Matt ’27.
Kizer encourages her students to tap their sociological imaginations and turn personal challenges into public issues as stories for young readers to understand. Kizer plans to teach the class again this spring.