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 be able to be understanding and accepting of their diversity.  I hope to learn from them and I hope to inspire them to be understanding and accepting as well.  Through our efforts “not only do we help change the world but also we deepen other people’s understanding of the unique needs of young children and their families” (Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2010, p. 160). 

  

One goal I would like to set for the early childhood field related to issues of diversity, equity, and social justice is to be the seed from where all positivity grows from.  When we think about diversity, equity, and social justice the topics become more serious and challenging as we get older.  When we can start influencing children to be positive individuals at an early age the better chance we have to create a more positive future for all. 

I would like to say thank you to all of my colleagues for engaging in insightful discussions, posting personal stories and sharing your knowledge with me.  This course was very special as it has led us all to reflect on ourselves and our views of others.  Thank you and I hope to see you all again in future courses.

Reference

Derman-Sparks, L., & Olsen Edwards, J. (2010). Anti-bias education for young children and ourselves. Washington, DC: NAEYC.

Creating Art

Differences we can learn to celebrate

Inward looking to uncover biases

Valuing all races, abilities, classes, sexes  

Education that is Anti-bias

Resilience in the face of trauma and disruptive life events

Sending positive messages

Influences that build our identities

Types of positive behaviors and beliefs

Young children learning to be accepting of themselves and others

Start Seeing Diversity

I witnessed an adult reprimand and silence a child after he asked, “Why are those two ladies holding hands?”  The adult said, “Shhhhh, don’t say that”.  The message that might have been communicated to this child by the adult’s response is that it is not okay to talk about it and makes the topic of homosexuality seem taboo.  The adult’s response conveys to the child that this not acceptable to talk about and that it is out of the norm.  Although the child and all children are naturally curious, they learn that they are not allowed to be curious about some things when they are silenced.  Reprimanding them reinforces the idea that it is inappropriate to talk about.  When we tell children, “We don’t say those words in class!” or “don’t say that” we give them the impression that it is a “bad word” or a bad thing to speak about which is not supportive of anti-bias.  An anti-bias educator might have responded to support the child’s understanding by not reprimanding them but addressing their concerns and thoughts.  The first thing to do is let the child know that we do not want to hurt people’s feelings when we talk about them.  Then talk to the child about diversity and how couples and families can be different and just because they’re different does not mean that they are wrong.  Using a direct positive statement about diversity both addresses the child’s comment and redirects them towards new information (Laureate Education, n.d.).  This way they can build their own ideas from a more knowledgeable standpoint.

Reference

Laureate Education (Producer). (n.d.). Start seeing diversity: Physical ability and characteristics [Video file]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu