Our kids.
These kids.
Our population.
The kind of kids we work with.
These kinds of kids.
Kids like ours.
Any of the above preceded by:
Well,…
What you have to realize/think about/understand about…
Especially when you consider…
The thing about…
Taking into account the kinds of homes ______ come from…
Considering…
Given what _____ go through…
Such talk robs our students of their personhood, their individuality, and their right to the best learning experiences we know how to create. These words are often followed by rationalized arguments for keep the top-shelf teaching for the other kids, the ones we refer to by name.
Add to the list “those kids” or “those families,” or all the ways we use us/them language to marginalize, stratify, and ‘other’ those in our communities.