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
You are right Stacy, young children are unpredictable you never know when and how they will say or do something that in our eyes or others might be offensive or disrespectful. It is our responsibility to model ways of approaching, asking or discussing differences. As well as let them know that differences are everywhere and need to be able to accept and respect all.
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