What I have Learned

One hope that I have when I think about working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds is to provide them quality resources that includes their culture as well as I hope to become a high quality anti-bias early childhood professional by becoming informed about the various cultural ideas about child development and how those ideas will better accommodate the individual needs of children and their families across all cultures. 

Concluding this course, I will challenge myself to continue to research on various cultures and disabilities.  In addition, I will reassess my learning environment periodically to make sure I am incorporating all children and their families I into the curriculum and environment. 

                Finally, thank you to all my colleagues who have accompanied me throughout this journey.  I really appreciate all the insights and perspectives.

Seeing Diversity through Anti-Bias Education

Anti-Bias

Allowing children to be curious about their own and others’ physical and cultural characteristics

Nurture children’s journey of developing their sense of self

Taking time to allow children the opportunity to make sense of all they see and hear

Implementing a culturally responsive curriculum that encourages children to construct a personal sense of self and multiple social identities

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Build relationships with families by learning about each families’ desires for their children’s identity development

Inviting families to share their strengths regardless of socioeconomic statues

Analyzing children’s book for racism and sexism

Support children and their families by providing diverse visual images in learning environment

My anti-bias poem focuses on the needed tools and skills we as early childhood professionals should keep in mind when working with diverse children and their families.  The poem provides a framework addressing topics such as children’s identities development, the ways in which identities are impacted by bias, discomfort, and trauma.

I have learned that becoming an anti-bias early childhood educator can be challenging because we must stay calm and interested in children thoughts and ideas without making assumptions.  In addition, anti-bias early childhood educators should stay in tuned with their own biases as an attempt to stay objective while addressing children’s curiosities with child friendly language that addresses the curiosity and allows children to developmentally understand one’s response.  I find staying objective can be challenging when children’s curiosities are triggers for our own biases.  However, I feel compelled to challenge myself to create an anti-bias learning environment that will influence me to interact with children in emotionally supportive and developmentally appropriate manner.  In addition to challenging my own biases, I feel obligated to make changes to my classroom that encourages families to feel welcome as well as have children and their families contribute to the learning environment by including their culture into the classroom through various visual aids, diverse learning materials, and curriculum planning.  

Start Seeing Diversity Blog: "We Don't Say Those Words in Class!"

I remember a time, while in the grocery store witnessing an adult reprimand a child after she pointed out someone that she saw as different due to the woman’s physical appearance.  A young girl was walking with her mother down the aisle.  An obese woman walked in front of her and bend over to select her chosen item.  The young girl told her mother, ‘’Mommy that lady has a fat butt!’’.  The young girl’s mother replied, ‘’You will not talk like that! I am so sorry for my rugrat.  Cindy that is so rude for you to say that about that woman.  We don’t talk like that!’’.  The obese woman did not respond.  Cindy’s mother grabbed her arm firmly and left the store.

After observing this interaction, I noticed that Cindy’s mother sent her a message that her comments were not going to be tolerated due to the mother’s embarressment.  The obese woman’s lack of a response did not communicate any message to Cindy due to her lack of verbal response.  I also didn’t notice any none verbal cues given by the obese woman.  It was as if she did not her or chose not to listen. 

An anti-bias educator might respond to this situation in a different manner than Cindy’s mother by telling her ‘’yes baby… we all come in different shapes, sizes, and colors’’; and then tell the obese woman ‘’Children…and the things they say.  I am so sorry.  She doesn’t mean any harm’’.  Young children do not say malice comments intentionally.  They are using their words to describe their environment which can be embarrassing at times for us adults because we understand what is considered socially appropriate.      

Gender, Gender Identity, and Sexual Orientation

Throughout our society, homophobia and heterosexism permeate the world of young children through various books, movies, toys, stores, culture of early childhood centers, and schools by only encouraging heterosexual relationships.  For example, children’s toys tend to be gender specific that focus on boys doing more hands-on activities to promote masculinity and girls toys that focus on nurturing and cleaning.  In early childhood centers, the visual aids in the classroom environment tend to show women taking care of others; whereas, the men are displayed by working in construction or working with some form of tools.  These various bias in children’s learning environment are only encouraging one life style that is created by the dominate culture of society.  I am completely against allowing the dominate culture to determine what is in the best interest of children during early development due to the fact that children should be free to explore all aspects of society and not be sheltered from ideas that are different from the dominate culture.  In my opinion, people who are against exposing children to homosexuality are doing it out of fear because they believe by exposing children to such ideas will determine their sexuality.  These conclusions are false and we as early childhood professionals should share with families and their children the realities of early development as an attempt to be a better resource for children and their families.