What I Have Learned

One hope that I have when I think about working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds is that I can build and form positive relationships with them. Building and forming a positive relationship will help us communicate and work together, which will benefit the children, their learning, and their growth. 

One goal that I would like to set for the early childhood field related to issues of diversity, equity, and social justice is to promote diversity more in my classroom. I could have my students complete a class book- they could each create a page about themselves. We can talk about ourselves and our favorite things. We could even do some compare and contrast activities about how we are alike and different. They could share things that make them special. This will help children learn more about each other and I will also learn more about them. 

I enjoyed this course and learning about diversity, development, and learning. Dr. Davis was insightful, and I enjoyed communicating with her in our discussion posts. 

Start Seeing Diversity: Creating Art

 Diversity 

You are you 

and I am me.

We are different 

as can be. 

Age, sex, religion, race.

We are all a part 

of the human race. 

Meanness and judging should not be on your mind.

What matters the most is being kind. 

We are all different and unique. 

That is not enough reason to critique. 

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

Children notice differences in others. Not only do they notice these differences, but they are quick to point them out. 

One time when we were at Target, I silenced my daughter. We were shopping for some new clothes, and we saw a woman with a prosthetic leg. My daughter loudly said "Mommy, where is that lady's leg? Why does her leg look like that?" My reaction was to immediately silence her and tell her to be quiet. 

My daughter meant nothing mean by this, she was simply just being curious and asking a question. By me silencing her, I not only silenced her curiosity, I also missed an opportunity to talk to her about differences. I sent the message that we should not talk about differences. This could have been a teachable moment, but instead I was embarrassed and uncomfortable. I also did not want the woman to have attention called to her and feel embarrassed (though I don't know if she would be or not). 

I think an anti-bias educator might have responded to this to support the child's understanding or a classroom's understanding by showing pictures of other people who have prosthetic legs. An anti-bias educator could also explain what a prosthetic leg is and why people may have them.