EDUC6358: Strategies for Working with Diverse Children “Partnering with Families”

Program Transcript

[MUSIC]

NARRATOR: In this program early childhood educators Leslie Cheung and Eric Hoffman share their professional experiences and insights with regard to fostering partnerships with families, in order to help all young children thrive.

LESLIE CHEUNG: When working with families, and building partnerships with families, it is extremely important that we honor their walk of life, their culture, where they come from. Did they come from another country and immigrate here? How did they reach our borders, and bring their children? And why have they come here? In order to allow survival, to progress, to build a better life for their children?

So in partnering with families, we find mutual ground. And mutual ground goes beyond culture. It goes beyond social economic norms, or abnormalities as people might want to look at it, but we see each other as human beings. We're able to relate to each other, and that's how we build community. And in building community, we strengthen that village. That village that we have for children, that we know so well is necessary. That a child can't necessarily be raised by just one thought form, or one way, but to experience the whole. And when they experience the whole, then it enriches their life.

So as they move into their adulthood they have these experiences of, this was my preschool years. This was a formal memory that I had of my teacher, and how my teacher related to my mother. Because my mother came here from Mexico and she was picking strawberries. And my five brothers and sisters, we slept in one bed together. And this is how my life started in my culture, and as my being. And how that grows for this child.

Because what you've done in this partnership, is that you have allowed this child to not just be a whole child. But you have allowed this family to be a whole family. And in honoring that piece of culture, that diversity that might not be your own, you learn a lesson. You learn that every walk of life has its own flavor, it has its own color, it smells different. And when you can bring that in, you've enriched not only your own life, but that compassion has now been trickled down to your classroom. And trickled down to the children. And when you have those pieces, then it grows. It's like the pebble in the pond. And that's how we build peace on the planet.

ERIC HOFFMAN: I really want to bring families into the classroom. When they start in my classroom, I want them to feel like they're partners in their children's education. I want to feel like they have some power in the classroom. And I try to use a variety of ways to do that. I want them to come in and I want to listen to them, I don't want to talk to them as if I'm the expert about what they're going to do. Because that really turns people off, and makes them feel unwelcome. I want to listen to them to hear some clues about what I can include about their child in my classroom.

I'm an expert, and have a lot of experience, with young children. But families are experts in their own children. I don't know them, and I want them to bring me that information. So maybe they're going to tell me about a particular book that their child loves, or a routine or a song. Maybe something that they like to do, an activity or art materials. I'm going to try to bring that into the curriculum, maybe I'll add a food from their, to the menu, from their home. I want to be able to go to families and say, look this is what I heard from you and this is what I did. Do you think it's going to work for your child? And build up this relationship where they feel like they have some power in

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the classroom, and that we're partners in creating this curriculum and creating the routines. And I don't do it every year the same way, because the group changes.

So I want families– I want to form a trusting relationship with them. And that can be tricky for a lot of reasons. Some families come in and they are thinking that I'm a baby sitter and they're going to tell me exactly what to do. But more often families come in, and they've had oftentimes some bad experiences with schools. They don't trust the big institutions. Even the smallest school can come across as a big institution. And so they're very reluctant to share, they maybe have had some bad experiences with teachers growing up or as parents. And so as the professional, it's my job to get some trust building.

And the way to do that is with really authentic listening, by showing respect, by building trust. And when I talk about authentic listening, it's not just listening kind of halfheartedly to what they're saying, I'm trying to understand what are the values behind what they're telling me. What are the ideas that are really going to connect us, to that family. And so to go back to them and say, I heard you and I built this into the curriculum, is a really powerful thing for many families. It's an experience that many of them have never had before. And I want to use that to build on the curriculum.

So building trust, respect, authentic listening. There's always going to be differences of opinion. And so this gets tested when the family thinks one way, maybe the school has a different value, and that's where I need to listen carefully and help the family and the school figure out something that works. A solution that works through the problem. A lot of times it involves taking a step back and say, well what are the values that we agree on.

Let me give you an example of that. I had a family, a mother came in who heard another child, not her own child but another child, swearing in the classroom. Now as a long time teacher I know that children do that for a lot of different reasons. And it's not that I want children to swear in my classroom, but it's something I expect to have happen for part of the year. She was quite upset about it, and her reaction was that if her child swore in the classroom I should slap her child's face. Now obviously I'm not going to do that. But I didn't jump in and say, you're wrong. You know this is what we do, this is why children swear. I really wanted to listen to what her ideas were, and to find out what are the values behind that. And what we came to, was that we could agree that we both wanted her child to grow up to respect all the people, to be aware of other people's feelings. And I talked to some of the things we did in the classroom to help with that, and some of the things that she did at home to help with that. And she recognizes that there was no way I was ever going to hit her child. His family had a very strong value, that he should not swear whether it was home or at school. And that I would tell that to the child.

A couple weeks later the parent came back and said, you know I've been really thinking about our conversation and I really thought about my older child who's doing a lot of swearing. And what it really came down to was that she was very concerned about her older child's swearing, and concerned that her child was on a path that was going to lead that child into getting involved in gangs. And so we had a much fuller discussion because I was able to listen more carefully. And because I was willing to listen to her, she was willing to listen to my ideas about swearing as well. And it changed the way that she responded to that.

So that's my goal is to create that kind of trust going. The other piece is that families can give me information about me as well, if I develop that trust. So you know, I have biases and ideas that I'm not even aware of, right. We all have those. And I've had families say, for example an African American family. The mother said, Eric I don't think you realize but you talk to black children different from the way you talk to white children. I had no idea, I wouldn't have guessed that in a million years. But once she pointed it out to me, it was totally obvious to me. And it really got me

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to change, or at least work to change my behavior. She trusted enough to bring that information to me, and to know that I wasn't going to react in a way that tried to be too defensive and things like that.

So the information goes both ways if I can get that trusting relationship going. One of the biggest challenges I had with parents was teaching in a co-op program, where I was running the parent co-op. And it was for a graduate student family housing at a large university. And most of the children were foreign born, and about 1/3 of the children didn't speak any English. And many of the mothers who came to work in the classroom didn't. So a number of the families came to the classroom expecting to find a nun, and rows of desks, and reading lessons, and they got me and a pretty open classroom. So it took quite some time to establish some trusting relationships there. It's one of those experiences I wish I could do again, knowing what I know now, in terms of incorporating all the different cultures into the classroom. It was interesting because the children had no problem playing with each other, and communicating with each other, but a lot of the families had trouble. And so it was really a good experience for me in helping families connect as well. To get families to trust each other. So it was not just me and each individual family, but trying to create that group feeling that made the classroom work.

If I could advise people of anything, is to know that you're going to make mistakes. That not every family is going to respond. And you can't take all of that personally. You just have to keep working and do your best. And some families you'll never know why they are not relating to you. Some families are very private, some families come from cultures that are very private. Some families have had such negative responses from institutions that they're just not willing to bring in anything of their private life, anything of their family life. But I find that over the course of the year I can usually establish some kind of trust with each family.

[MUSIC]

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Anti-Bias Education

for Young Children & Ourselves

SECOND EDITION

Louise Derman-Sparks & Julie Olsen Edwards with Catherine M. Goins

National Association for the Education of Young Children

Washington, DC

National Association for the Education of Young Children

1313 L Street NW, Suite 500

Washington, DC 20005-4101

202-232-8777 • 800-424-2460

NAEYC.org

NAEYC Books

Senior Director, Publishing and Professional Learning

Susan Friedman

Director, Books

Dana Battaglia

Senior Editor

Holly Bohart

Editor

Rossella Procopio

Senior Creative Design Manager

Henrique J. Siblesz

Senior Creative Design Specialist

Charity Coleman

Publishing Business Operations Manager

Francine Markowitz

Former Editor in Chief

Kathy Charner

Through its publications program, the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) provides a forum for discussion of major issues and ideas in the early childhood field, with the hope of provoking thought and promoting professional growth. The views expressed or implied in this book are not necessarily those of the Association.

Permissions

NAEYC accepts requests for limited use of our copyrighted material. For

permission to reprint, adapt, translate, or otherwise reuse and repurpose content from this publication, review our guidelines at NAEYC.org/resources/permissions.

Page 23 is adapted, with permission, from Louise Derman-Sparks and Julie Olsen Edwards, “Living Our Commitments: A Pledge to All Children and Families,” Exchange (March/April 2017): 34.

The vignette is adapted, with permission, from Julie Olsen Edwards, “How to Get Started with Anti-Bias Education in Your Classroom and Program,” Exchange (January/February 2017): 78–79.

The excerpt is reprinted, with permission, from Linda Irene Jiménez, “Finding a Voice,” In Our Own Way: How Anti-Bias Work Shapes Our Lives (St. Paul, MN: Redleaf, 1999), 32–34. © 1999 by Linda Irene Jiménez.

The excerpt is reprinted, with permission, from John McCutcheon, “Happy Adoption Day.” © 1993 by John McCutcheon.

The vignettes are reprinted by permission of the publisher from Louise Derman- Sparks and Patricia G. Ramsey, with Julie Olsen Edwards, What If All the Kids Are White? Anti-Bias Multicultural Education with Young Children and Families, 2nd ed. (New York: Teachers College Press, 2011), 45, 92–93, 134– 136, 162, 163, and 165–166. © 2011 by Teachers College, Columbia University. All rights reserved.

Photo Credits

All photographs © Getty Images.

Anti-Bias Education for Young Children and Ourselves, Second Edition. Copyright © 2020 by the National Association for the Education of Young Children. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2019935621

ISBN: 978-1-938113-58-1

Item e1143

Contents

Foreword: Welcome to the Journey

Introduction: A Few Words About this Book

What Is in this Book

The Language of Equity and Diversity

It Takes a Village

Dedication

CHAPTER 1

Anti-Bias Education and Why It Matters

What Is Anti-Bias Education?

Why Do We Need Anti-Bias Education?

What Are Isms?

Dominant Culture and Cultural Diversity

The Four Core Goals of Anti-Bias Education

The Four Anti-Bias Education Goals Are for Adults Too

You Have Already Begun

Special Focus. Young Children and Their Families in Crisis: Immigrants and Refugees

A Promise to All Children

CHAPTER 2

Constructing and Understanding Social Identities and Attitudes: The Lifelong Journey

Personal and Social Identity

You Bring to Teaching Who You Are

Culture, Ethnicity, Nationality, and Race: What Are the Differences?

Social Identities Create Complex Feelings

CHAPTER 3

Building an Anti-Bias Education Program: Curriculum Principles and the Learning Environment

Guidelines for Your Curriculum

Guidelines for Materials

Children’s Books and Persona Dolls

Holidays in a Diverse World: Applying Anti-Bias Thinking to Curriculum

CHAPTER 4

Building an Anti-Bias Education Program: Clarifying and Brave Conversations with Children

The Hurtful Power of Silence

Holding Clarifying Conversations About Anti-Bias Issues

Brave Conversations: When Bias Undermines Children’s Development

Conversations When Community and World Issues Affect Children

CHAPTER 5

Building an Anti-Bias Education Program: Relationships with Families and Among Teachers and Staff

Building Anti-Bias Relationships with Families

When Some Families or Staff Disagree with Anti-Bias Activities

Building Collaborative, Anti-Bias Relationships with Colleagues

CHAPTER 6

Fostering Children’s Cultural Identities: Valuing All Cultures

Anti-Bias Education in Action: Every Child’s Family Culture Matters

The Big Picture: Culture Is Who You Are

Young Children Construct Ideas and Attitudes About Cultural Identity

Curriculum Guidelines for Nurturing Children’s Cultural Identities

CHAPTER 7

Learning About Cultural Diversity and Fairness: Exploring Differences and Similarities

Anti-Bias Education in Action: Everyone Gets Scrubbed!

The Big Picture: We Are All Cultural Beings

Strategies and Activities About Cultural Diversity and Fairness

Including Holiday Activities as Cultural Events

Special Focus. Religious Literacy and Cultural Diversity

CHAPTER 8

Learning About Racialized Identities and Fairness

Anti-Bias Education in Action: Preparing to Address Racialized Identity

The Big Picture: Race, Racism, and Racialized Identity

Young Children Construct Ideas and Attitudes About Racialized Identities

Strategies and Activities About Racialized Identities and Fairness

CHAPTER 9

Learning About Gender Diversity and Fairness

Anti-Bias Education in Action: Gender Role Expectations Start Young

The Big Picture: From a Binary to a Multifaceted Understanding of Gender

Young Children Construct Ideas and Attitudes About Gender

Strategies and Activities About Gender and Fairness

CHAPTER 10

Learning About Economic Class and Fairness

Anti-Bias Education in Action: Food Is for Eating!

The Big Picture: Economic Class Is Real

Young Children Construct Ideas and Attitudes About Economic Class

Strategies and Activities About Economic Class and Fairness

Classism in the Early Childhood Profession

CHAPTER 11

Learning About Different Abilities and Fairness

Anti-Bias Education in Action: When the Teacher Behaves Differently with Different Children

The Big Picture: Attitudes and Options for Children with Disabilities, Historically and Today

Young Children Construct Ideas and Attitudes About Different Abilities and Disabilities

Guidelines for an Inclusive Anti-Bias Program

Strategies and Activities About Disabilities and Fairness

CHAPTER 12

Learning About Who Makes Up a Family and Fairness

Anti-Bias Education in Action: Who Takes Care of You at Home?

The Big Picture: Family Inclusiveness

The Many Kinds of Families in Early Childhood Programs

Young Children Construct Ideas and Attitudes About Family Structures

Strategies and Activities About Family Structure and Fairness

Carry It On: A Letter to Our Readers

Checklist for Assessing the Visual Material Environment

Glossary

References

About the Authors

Index

Foreword: Welcome to the Journey

by Carol Brunson Day

As I was preparing my thoughts about what I would say in this foreword, I had one big question: Are we making any progress? As a society? As an early childhood profession? Is anything really changing?

And what came to mind was the opening line in Charles Dickens’s famous book A Tale of Two Cities: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times …”

I want to believe that anti-bias work is making forward progress. After all, doesn’t this new edition of Anti-Bias Education for Young Children and Ourselves mean that this work is still vital? Even more significantly, anti-bias work with young children has permeated the field. It’s rare to find a publication —no matter the topic—that doesn’t mention bias or focus on diversity in some way. And the NAEYC position statement “Advancing Equity in Early Childhood Education,” released in September 2019, is very strong and so very significant.

Yet it also seems like the worst of times. Our country is deeply divided. Inflammatory words and actions daily add fuel to the fire of bigotry and bias. What does it mean when white supremacy groups are not universally condemned? What does it say when we delay putting Harriet Tubman’s image on the 20-dollar bill? What does it tell our children when they see or hear others mock people who have a disability? One’s politics notwithstanding, this is a time of strife in public discourse around race, culture, gender, religion, and sexual orientation and discrimination around these and other identities. The discord surrounds us all—and without a doubt, it penetrates the lives of young children.

Children are listening. Children are watching. Children are learning from what is going on around them. And so my concern about progress notwithstanding, I remain thankful for this book, this anti-bias tool, as a resource to help children grow up strong.

In this spirit of thankfulness, what I said in the foreword to the previous edition of this book bears repeating: “What if someone told you that you could contribute in a small but significant way to making the world a better place? Would you want to do it? Of course you would. Then read on, because that is what this book offers—a chance to make the world fairer and more humane for everybody. And it offers the chance to achieve that grand goal from a place where you have already chosen to be—in your daily work with children and families.”

In 1989, Anti-Bias Curriculum: Tools for Empowering Young Children hit the early childhood education field like a bombshell; both it and its 2010 successor, Anti-Bias Education for Young Children and Ourselves, have remained vital and provocative in the decades since. I expect this new edition to likewise generate both contentious debate and penetrating growth. That’s because it is so compelling and inviting, filled with stories about real experiences of real teachers with real children and real families, simply and honestly told. And it asks the reader to interact with the text and reflect on deeply held beliefs and practices.

So be prepared to work hard, for the authors are demanding. They repeatedly ask you to try and try again. They challenge you to go deeply into issues such as class bias, and they want you to push past your comfort and ease. But rest assured, they are also gentle and supportive, offering reassurance along the way. Especially at the most precarious points, they provide scenario after scenario, walking with you step by step to capture and explain the subtleties of this anti- bias work through concrete examples. Becoming a strong anti-bias educator is a journey, and no matter how much you might already know about the topic, there’s always more to master, more challenges ahead.

Our responsibility as early childhood educators to anti-bias education becomes more compelling in a period when racism and other isms are more overt in

rhetoric and policies and are seriously harming children. In many ways, this work requires faith that we can make a difference, because it may be hard to see progress. But I offer a quote on perspective from Michelle Obama’s book Becoming, made after a conversation she had with Nelson Mandela: “Real change happens slowly, not just over months and years, but over decades and lifetimes.”

Stay strong and welcome to the journey.

Introduction: A Few Words About this Book

All children have the right to equitable learning opportunities that help them achieve their full potential as engaged learners and valued members of society. Thus, all early childhood educators have a professional obligation to advance equity. They can do this best when they are effectively supported by the early learning settings in which they work and when they and their wider communities embrace diversity and full inclusion as strengths, uphold fundamental principles of fairness and justice, and work to eliminate structural inequities that limit equitable learning opportunities.

—NAEYC, “Advancing Equity in Early Childhood Education” (position statement)

Since the publication of Anti-Bias Curriculum: Tools for Empowering Young Children (Derman-Sparks & the A.B.C. Task Force 1989) and the subsequent first edition of Anti-Bias Education for Young Children and Ourselves (Derman- Sparks & Edwards 2010), early childhood teachers across the United States and internationally have embraced anti-bias education (ABE) as a central part of their work. This third book about anti-bias—the second edition of Anti-Bias Education for Young Children and Ourselves—builds on the first two books. Its underlying intentions remain the same: to support children’s full development in our world of great human diversity and to give them the tools to stand up to prejudice, stereotyping, bias, and eventually to institutional isms. To achieve this for children means that as educators it is not sufficient to be nonbiased (nor is it likely), and it is not sufficient to be an observer. Rather, educators are called upon to integrate the core goals of ABE in developmentally appropriate ways throughout children’s education.

What Is in this Book

This book has two major parts. Together they provide the information and strategies needed to i