What I Have Learned...

One hope that I have for children when learning about diversity is just to help see that everyone is different, and that this is ok! When children walk into my classroom, they come to me as a "mini me" of their parent. Of course, they have picked up on their parent's bad habits first instead of good. I hope to teach children that it is ok to think for themselves, so they can decide to accept the black person just like the white person or the hard working custodian just like the teacher.

One goal that I would like to set for our field is to implement more hands on learning that can expose children to diversity. I realize now that this is so easy to do. It can be done by simply using pictures, videos, but I would really like to have people come into my classroom if possible. Children need to see that a woman can be a doctor, and a man can be a nurse, etc. Anti-bias education is something that our field needs, and it can be done with something as simple as adding a few lessons to our curriculum.

I would like to thank all of you again for your professional support and encouragement! I have learned a lot about myself in this course as well as a lot about each of you. I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy Holidays for those who do not celebrate. I cannot believe we are two courses away from graduation!!!

Creating Art

I am young, and she is old.
I see the beauty in it now.

I have brown skin, and she has black skin.
I see the beauty in it now.

I am short, and he is tall.
I see the beauty in it now.

I am a professional, and he is a custodian
I see the beauty in it now.

I am Christian, but she is a Muslim.
I see the beauty in it now.

She has a mom and a dad, but he just has a mom.
I see the beauty in it now.

I am right handed, and you are left handed.
I see the beauty in it now.

You are different, and so am I!
I can have started to see diversity now.

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

My five year old son says all sorts of things all the time! I never know what he will say, and I never know when he will say it. It is hard as a parent to teach him not to say these things because he will go to school sharing them. At the same time, I can censor what my son says, but he also comes home with new words or sayings that were inappropriately said by his friends. As an educator and parent, I will do my best to make sure to teach my children and students to be unbiased. “If we want children to thrive in a diverse world, and choose to stand up for themselves and others, then we must choose to help young children make sense out of the confusing and often emotionally charged messages they receive about themselves and other” (Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2010, p. 87).

Recently, my son pointed out in public that one family was black and white. He was so confused and said that this man was could not be this girl’s father because he was a different color. He mentioned that his friend Kaitlyn is Black, but her brother and parents are also Black. I was so embarrassed, and I do not know who heard because I immediately grabbed him and walked away. I can only hope that the family did not hear since they did not stop me and give me an ear full of their opinions. I told my son that everyone’s family is different. I said that families can come in all different colors, and he just said ok. He was content with my answer. He still notices what color people are, but since that day he has not verbally said anything.

I think I did a great job of answering my son in an anti-biased way. If he were older, I could have elaborated more about the many types of different families like blended, single-parent, and guardians, etc. If this occurred in my classroom, I could have read books or used puppets to talk about diversity like seen in, “Start Seeing Diversity: Physical Ability and Characteristics” (Laureate Education a, 2011). One teacher in, “Start Seeing Diversity: Race/Ethnicity,” used photographs of people of different colors to teach about diversity (Laureate Education b, 2011). We have learned a variety of ways to teach in an anti-bias way, and I really plan to implement newfound knowledge starting with my own children.

References:

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

Laureate Education a, Inc.. (Producer). (2011). EDUC 6357: Diversity, Development, and Learning. [Video]. In Start Seeing Diversity: Physical Ability and Characteristics. Retrieved from http://sylvan.live.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=6060948&Survey=1&47=7996221&ClientNodeID=984650&coursenav=1&bhcp=1

Laureate Education b, Inc.. (Producer). (2011). EDUC 6357: Diversity, Development, and Learning. [Video]. In Start Seeing Diversity: Race/Ethnicity. Retrieved from http://sylvan.live.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=6060948&Survey=1&47=7996221&ClientNodeID=984650&coursenav=1&bhcp=1