I have learned that anti-bias education is essential in the early childhood field. We need to support children and their differences.
I have learned that each family is unique. We cannot judge a family because they do not fit into our idea of what is "normal".
I have learned about "age-ism". Early childhood professionals can teach children that the stereotypes of older people are not always true.
I learned about "sexism". Anti-bias education enables us to teach children that they can be anything they want to be. Boys do not have to do "boy" jobs and girls do not have to do "girl" jobs.
I learned that early childhood professional staff must put their biases aside in order to support all families.
I learned about "class-ism". Children can learn through stories about various classes. This can help to eliminate bias.
I learned about able-ism and racism and through discussion with children many of these biases can be eliminated.
Anti-bias education helps everyone respect one another for their differences.
Marla, I love the pictures that you picked out, especially the one that has the different types of families. I think this would be a great poster to have in the classroom becuase it will make every child see that there is nothing wrong with their family. You also have a picture from the Three Little Pigs and it reminded me of how surprised I was that this could teach children classism. Even with all of our anti-bias education, I had not thought about how the different houses could classify a social class. I also didn't associate the houses with the different ways that people live around the world. This really gets me thinking more about how much we must think about the books we are about to read and what hidden biases they can be teaching. Great post!
ReplyDeleteMarla, What a great way to teach others what this class is all about. I found it as almost a power piont presentation, to show what you learned and the pictures truly add to the great examples. Awesome post!
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