Rethinking Early Childhood Education, Edited By Ann Pelo

Rethinking Early Childhood Education, edited by Ann Pelo

Part One: Prioritize anti-bias, culturally sensitive teaching and learning
·  “What Color Is Beautiful” by Segura-Mora pp. 3-6: Read and discuss. Have Nina Bonita available for reference as well. Discussion questions: How can you encourage positive images of black and brown in the classroom? Work in groups to generate ideas and refer to the book “Creative Resources for the Anti-bias Classroom” by Nadia Saderman Hall – pp. 115 “Brown is Beautiful”, pp. 144 “It Looks Like Spilled Cocoa”, pp. 148 “Fun With Paint Chips” – these ideas can be immediately implemented in the classroom. (Reinforces anti-bias skill – “To strengthen a positive association with the color brown.”)
·  Children’s books to read aloud that strengthen a positive association with the color brown:
o  Shades of Black by Sandra Pinkney
o  Black is Brown is Tan by Arnold Adoff
o  Niña Bonita by Ana Maria Machado
·  To follow up, review article by Rita Tenorio – “Raising Issues of Race with Young Children” – pp. 17-21 – Also has specific activity activities – supports a process of self-reflection.
Part Two: Make ample time for play and exploration
·  Begin with Olfman’s article “What About Play?” – pp. 61-64. Think about a few key curriculum components/skills that must be taught at your grade level. Then, think about incorporating learning centers into your classroom, such as art, blocks, dramatic play/house, sensory table, manipulatives/math. Can you think of 2-3 ways to support the curriculum components/skills in these learning centers? How can you teach the skills through large motor activities, music, and movement? Also, consider allowing a time in the classroom during the day where children are able to “burn off steam” – see last paragraph on the left-hand side of p. 63.
·  “Literacy Work Stations” and “Practice With Purpose: Literacy work stations for grades 3-6,” both by Debbie Diller provide concrete in-class activities that students can use to learn literacy skills through exploration while incorporating other curricular domains
Part Three: Use curriculum approaches that are responsive to children’s developmental and intellectual pursuits
·  As a cohort, read the article, “Why We Banned Legos”. A point of reflection can be to review their process for discussing a complex topic with their children (in this case, power and ownership). Think if this process is possible to replicate in your classroom/school—what other kinds of issues could be discussed in this manner? Think of specific conflicts in your classroom. How would using these techniques help to address these conflicts?
·  The related article, “’Lego Fascists’ (That’s Us) Vs. Fox News” could be added in the conversation—why the vitriolic reaction?
·  Examine material used to help children become readers. Upon reflecting on the article “I Just Want to Read Frog and Toad” Teachers can ask questions of material in their classroom. Questions can include: is it appealing to children? Do materials reflect subjects interesting or pertaining to children’s lives? Do story lines offer interesting characters, ones that do not replicate stereotypes? Consider how much real literature is being offered to students—if not enough, determine what can be done to make sure children are interacting with real books.
·  Several articles in this section, (“Testing Tots”, “Testing Lang”, “Think less Benchmarks”) deal with standardized testing and how that negatively affects teaching and learning in our classrooms. The final article of the section, “From Critique to Possibility: New Zealand’s Radical Approach to Assessment” offers quite a different approach to assessing students. In a group discussion teachers can examine what may work with this type of assessment—what are the benefits, what are the drawbacks? Teachers can ask themselves if this is a form of assessment they would find valuable or think of other forms of assessment that would support their educational goals. Then, how can educators work to change the current situation of assessment and make better methods a reality?
Part Four: Cultivate a sense of place – of belonging to a particular patch of earth and sky – and a connection to the earth and its creatures
·  Follow the example in the article “Bringing the Earth Home,” by Ann Pelo of screening the short film, “The Story of Stuff” (available free online at www.storyofstuff.org) and upon reflection, read through the “value” statements those teachers created adding additional statements as necessary. Review list of possible activities for staff and families. Discuss which suggestions are possible for the school community. Brainstorm other possible activities.
·  Read the children the story of Dear Children of the Earth by Schim Schimmel. Use suggested curriculum activities or other related activities. Have the children compose a letter in return to the Earth.
·  In planning fieldtrips or outdoor activities for the school year, read Ann Pelo’s article, “A Pedagogy for Ecology”. Try planning multiple fieldtrips to the same place as she suggested and observing with the children how things change over time and helping them build a connection with a ‘place’.
·  When discussing plants or animals with young children take up the challenge to use specific language, since young children have a keen sensibility for acquiring new vocabulary, making early childhood a great time to learn names of various plants, trees, and insects. “A Pedagogy for Ecology” has many ideas of how to do this, under the section “Learn the Names”. Think of other ways to introduce children to a variety of species through materials in the classroom.
·  As a group of teachers, consider ways of bringing nature into the classroom (especially if multiple fieldtrips are not an option). Have young children become stewards of classroom plants and animals. Create experiences with nature that appeal to a variety of senses, such as food preparation with fresh fruit and vegetables. On page 127, Pelo has many suggestions how to do incorporate the natural world in an early childhood classroom, under the topic, “Embrace Sensuality” (from the article, “A Pedagogy for Ecology”)
Part Five: Emphasize children’s social-emotional learning
·  Read aloud Katie Kissinger’s piece -- about inclusion and solidarity -- and ask people to identify how the concept of “inclusion” manifests itself, or could manifest itself, in their own teaching. -- Katie's story is short enough to be read in a workshop setting and is a poignant introduction to Rethinking Early Childhood Education.
·  Relate concepts of inclusion and solidarity to those of fairness and justice (or conversely, exclusion and unfairness/injustice) Discuss and share ways to help young children connect classroom experience/personal experience with larger issues of social justice and ultimately feel empowered to take action.
o  Share literary examples of children taking a stand for justice. (In “Fairness First” two examples include reading from The Young Martin Luther King Jr.: “I Have a Dream, specifically about his experience as a child on a segregated bus and The Story of Ruby Bridges) Martin’s Big Words may be another choice—Also, share stories of other people or movements that have struggled for social justice. (Find examples relatable to children. If using a biography emphasize information of that person’s experiences as a child) Other examples are A Sweet Smell of Roses by Angela Johnson (illustrates children’s involvement in Civil Rights Movement in a very visual way without a lot of detail) and Lakas and the Makibaka Hotel by Anthony D. Robles, a bit more complex story about gentrification and a child’s involvement in that struggle.
o  Have a discussion of what it means to move towards action. If we go beyond discussions of fairness/unfairness in our classrooms, to historical or larger social examples of justice/injustice then what is a developmentally appropriate way to move towards action? What hesitations do teachers feel? What are ways to alleviate those hesitations? What ideas have people tried/would like to try? Teachers can also give students the tools to address issues in daily occurrence. The book Say Something is a great example of a story that encourages children to ‘speak out’. Young children especially (ages 3-6) can act out ‘skits’ or role plays practicing how they would respond to an injustice they see or experience.
Part Six: Learn from and stand with families
·  Review “Principles for Anti-Bias Holiday Practices” in the article by Julie Bisson (“Holiday Lessons Learned in an Early Childhood Classroom”). Teachers can consider their own classrooms and how those principles relate to actual practice. Develop ways of getting to know students’ families (questionnaires, open house events, classroom visits, etc). Then, think of ways to utilize that information, integrating it into the classroom environment.
·  Use literature that reflects diverse family structures. Some good examples include: Who’s In a Family by Robert Skutch and Laura Nienhaus, The Family Book by Todd Parr, and Loving (Around the World Series) by Ann Morris. These can be used to stimulate discussion with children about their own families, what they look like and how families are similar and different.
·  Reflect as a cohort on the school environment and what are best practices for being welcoming to all families. Teachers can read the article “Heather’s Moms Got Married” to begin discussion.
Part Seven: Advocate for children, families, and early childhood workers
·  Read article “Who Cares for Our Children”. Review the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which establishes children as ‘right –bearers’, especially article 18 which specifically discusses the issue of childcare. Have a discussion amongst teachers how this right is guaranteed or denied in Milwaukee or the US as a whole.
·  Reflect on ways that childcare workers and public school teachers share a vested interest or where there would be conflict. Why should early childhood and elementary teachers care about the quality or availability of childcare? Read the article “Caught in a Quagmire” paying special attention to the table on page 204 that compares the hourly wages of elementary teachers and childcare workers. Again, why is it important for teachers to be concerned with the wages earned by childcare workers?
·  Discuss ways educators are advocates for children. How can we become better advocates? Read the article, “It’s All of Our Business”. Have discussion on a wider policy issue such as paid sick time or healthcare reform and how teachers relate in those struggles. Keeping in the forefront the benefit such policies could have for our students, what is the teacher’s role in organizing and speaking out on such issues?