I must say, I have been guilty by this. I remember my youngest son was 3 and we saw a young man with one arm. Loudly he says, "mommy what is wrong with his arm". I told hime to quiet down and that he may have lost his arm with a accident. The young man told me it was okay and he told us what happened.
I certainly did not mean any direspect or anything but explained to him that some people may be born with some abnormailities and this was okay.I did not want to imply that you avoid and live them alone by saying be quiet. We want to ensure we teach our children that it is okay that people are different. We do not want to shy away from someone because of their differences. In the 1st grade, he had a best friend in a wheel chair at school. He cannot understand why other kids pick on him because he can't walk. He says he and "Ryan" enjoy recess and everything together. He can do just about everythinig including playing basketball as the other kids, but just have to sit down. He told me I was right and that we need to give everyone a chance. "The thought of including kids with disabilites in the classroom wuld help the preschoolers make meaningful connections with people who are different from them" (Pelo, 2008, p 148).
An anti-bias educator can teach children about the differences that each person may have. Eric Hoffman explains how he found ways to talk about how people are same and different as a foundation. Things came natural to the children as this was integrated in the curriculum. He used puppets, dolls and flannel stories (Laureate, Postive Ways ECE Settings Can Respond to Bias). Teach them to understand and allow the child to ask questions in a respectful manner, so that we can help them learn to respect those who may be different from us.
We need to be a role model for the students and make a positive connection with the person so that they will learn to like and respect everyone regardless of their differences. "Childrens books are another important tool in an anti-bias approach.some stories provide opportuntities how they would react in anti-bias approach" (Laureate Media, Start Seeing Diversity).
Reference:
Laureate Media. The Positive Ways ECE Settings Can Respond to Bias.
Pelo, A. (Ed.). (2008). Rethinking early childhood education. Milwaukee, WI: Rethinking Schools.
Rhonda,
ReplyDeleteA friend of mine has a son who uses a wheelchair since being 7 years old –he is currently 31. This friend told me that her son’s life changed a lot after being sick with meningitis, because now the whole family was target of uncomfortable comments, questions, and glances. The same as the mom I shared about in my post, my friend would like the people to ask her about his son. This way, his son would not be seen as an unusual person.
As teachers, we can help families, children, and thus influence the community, to start seeing diversity as the differences among ourselves and others, which give us our identity and uniqueness. Certainly, reviewing the classroom materials and choosing those that would help children overcome their inherited bias (Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2010) is vital in the attainment of our anti-bias education goals.
Derman-Sparks, L., & Olsen Edwards, J. (2010). Anti-bias education for young children and ourselves. Washington, DC: NAEYC.
Rhonda,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your post and your experience with your own son. I think it is a natural reaction to say “shhhh” in the beginning. We do this as a defense to not get embarrassed or to try to access the situation first. I see mothers always taking their child’s hand and moving them behind them or staring at me when children say something about my son. Fortunately, I live in a small community so most people know me and my son. You either are well liked and appreciated or hated, there is really nothing in between. I liked that the man at least was not angry and was able to explain his disability. Some people are very rude and don’t want to talk about what happen, this is sad to me. Thank you for your post again.