Week 8: What I Have Learned

The journey of becoming an anti-bias educator has been a rewarding experience. I have been making a difference in the lives of people: 1 child at a time-1 family at a time, while simultaneously becoming a better person each day. The journey of modeling anti-bias behavior continues with several goals.

I have the hope that building stronger teacher-family partnerships will encourage more families to discuss topics that affect them.

I have the goal of teaching all children to use nonviolent strategies such as patience, honesty and confidence to respond to teasing and unfair treatment from others.

I want to thank all of my colleagues for sharing their experience with bias, stereotypes and prejudice and making the learning environment a meaningful place to grow for all professionals!

Week 7: Start Seeing Diversity - Creating Art

On my journey to promoting anti-bias behavior I wrote a poem that accepts the visible and invisible uniqueness found in children and their families. Children can recite, sing and clap along. It is essential for Early childhood professionals to celebrate the different identities, abilities, and characteristics that are found in everyone.

 A Rainbow of Us!

Hello… Hallo…..Hola….Aloha…..Salut....

We are little…We are big

We are dark…We are bright

We are tall….We are short

We are silent…We are talkative

 

We eat chicken…We eat worms…We eat rice…We eat mice…

Crawling….Walking….Rolling….Skipping…

Learning ….Playing …Working ….Growing…

 

Together we stand as a blended family….

A blended family….A blended family

Happily Ever After…. we are free…

As long as we celebrate…you, me and my dog Hairee!

Week 6: Start Seeing Diversity: "We Don't Say Those Words in Class!"

 Teaching children with varying abilities requires extra effort and attention. Anti-bias educators will find many rewards and happy moments along the way. We may encounter challenging moments when some adults and children ask unwelcome and rude questions regarding a child’s condition. It is always a great choice to handle the situation with calmness, patience and sternness.

 I was tutoring four 2^nd grade students in the hallway of an elementary school. Seven year-old Megan is living with a condition known as cerebal palsy and requires the use of a wheelchair. Megan has a classroom job of sharpening everyone’s pencil. She enjoys doing things to help her classmates. She was one of the 4 students being tutored on this day. As I was starting the activity, I noticed that the students did not have any pencils and Megan offered to get 5 pencils. Jennifer, a girl sitting at the table, made a rude comment. She responded “Aw man…do we have to wait for her…she’s moves like a snail in that raggedy wheelchair…anyone who uses a wheelchair can’t move very fast.” Bias based on physical disabilities is any attitude that subordinates people because of a disability or other physical characteristics (Laureate Education, 2011).  When I heard her say that, my eyes turned into beach balls out of pure shock. As we were waiting for Megan, I asked Jennifer if we could speak alone for just a minute. I immediately told Jennifer that we should be positive or be quiet and that Megan has a condition that makes it difficult for her to move as fast as others and there is no reason to be rude to her. During our private conference, Jennifer apologized for making the comment and began looking toward the floor.

 I believe I communicated the message of showing respect for all people.

 An anti-bias educator could have used several strategies to support Jennifer’s understanding of people who require wheelchairs. The teacher can ask Jennifer why she thinks all people using wheelchairs move slowly. The teacher can have a series of classroom discussions in which books depict people of varying abilities being active members of society. Some books model anti-bias behaviors and help children think about how they can act against different kinds of bias (Laureate Education, 2011).

 References

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer).(2011). “Start Seeing Diversity: Physical Ability and Characteristics.” {Webcast}. Baltimore, MD: Author.