ANTI-BIAS EDUCATION GOALS
©Louise Derman-Sparks, 1992
Revised, 1997 (modified in 2007 for this exercise)
Applying the Goals for Adults
The specific issues and tasks necessary for working towards these goals will vary for members of your work group depending on your CULTURAL backgrounds, ages and life experiences. Focus on the following Anti-bias Education Goal as a work group and discuss the expectations for implementing this goal as an Early Childhood Educator and for Children.
Spring 2009
CDES 122 Principles Classes Initially Brainstorming (no editing or consolidating)
Goal #1
• NURTURE CONSTRUCTION OF A KNOWLEDGEABLE, CONFIDENT SELF-IDENTITY AND GROUP IDENTITY
This goal mean creating conditions in which you are able to like who you are without needing to feel superior to anyone else. It also means enabling yourself to develop bi-culturally –to be able to effectively interact within your home culture and within the dominant culture. What is meant by group identity for you?
- to feel good/confident about yourself in a group/work environment
- to feel important when in a group activity or that your ideas are valued
- to feel accepted in a multi-cultural group
- to interact, be more social, and be more open to other’s ideas and culture
- working as a team and compromise ideas
- having a seating arrangement of boy, girl, boy, girl…by doing this (kids have to learn to help and interact with the other gender allowing no one to feel superior to the other)
- having group projects where the group is changed for every project allowing for interactions with other kids who are not the same, bringing together cultures even though home culture could be different
- a way to help with self-identity could be such ideas as culture day where everyone comes together to share each others differences
- to instill confidence, assigning certain students tasks allows them to feel a sense of belonging, but not superiority because each week or month certain tasks change allowing other students to have a chance.
- Creating educational conditions – weekly or daily change of jobs – each child gets a chance to do each job
- Child correcting or giving directions to other students/tattling (boasting/bragging and dictating/always wanting to be the leader).
- Play – introducing toys/dolls of different ethnicities – exposing children to different cultural foods/games/traditions, celebrating different cultural holidays, team-building activities.
- Team-building activities/centers/small group activities (everyone contributes/no one left out – everyone has an equal yet important role)
Goal #2
• PROMOTE YOUR COMFORTABLE, EMPATHIC INTERACTION WITH PEOPLE FROM DIVERSE BACKGROUNDS
This goal means developing of the cognitive awareness, emotional disposition, and behavioral skills needed to respectfully and effectively learn about differences, comfortably negotiate and adapt to differences; and cognitively understand and emotionally accept the common humanity that all people share. What do you have to do to achieve this?
- neighborhood pot luck (bring cultures together – share traditions)
- culture share day (children share cultural experiences/put in different groups every time)
- heritage dolls of self (make dolls representing where their family came from)
- cultural themes (giving the play area a different cultural theme monthly) – celebrate a different cultural/holiday every month
- have someone come in from community to teach more in depth of culture
- breaking the ice games (tell something about yourself, your family, etc.)
- photo areas --- (bring photos from home…family…where they live, food they each @ home, etc.)
- different kinds of dress up clothes (from cultures)
- Food day ---have children bring in food for the class
- Play together (observe them interacting with each other)
- “share day” like show & tell.. but they share
- Different types of music
- More than one language….labeled in more than one language
- Brainstorming with the children – since each of them thinks different (small groups or as a class)
- Activities where they talk about things they have in common
- Asks open ended questions
- Create activities that involve different cultures
- Show and tell about their culture or family
- Introduce cultures to the children from around the world to familiarize them with cultures that are not represented around them
- Creating activities that correct stereotypes
- Using persona dolls to do story telling and have discussions with the children.
Goal #3
• FOSTER YOUR CRITICAL THINKING ABOUT BIAS
This goal means developing of the cognitive skills to identify “unfair” and “untrue” images (stereotypes), comments (teasing, name calling), and behaviors (discrimination) directed at one’s own or others’ identities (be they gender, race, ethnicity, disability, class, age, weight, etc.) AND having the emotional empathy to know that bias hurts. What steps will you take to achieve this goal?
- group activity that identifies what makes them feel about someone saying about them
- having them sitting down thinking about what they did is right or wrong -- then talking with them of making better choices
- getting on their level of asking them about hurting someone’s feeling if it’s ok to do, or how they would feel if it happened to them.
- Doing a class demonstration “puppet show” (persona doll) to ask the children which is the right and wrong way of behavior to have –how they would feel
- Observe the bias of the class, and sitting down with children reading a book with a child of disability needs
- Kids tease a lot about eight, intelligence or differences (ask the child to describe what they mean by what they say to help come to a better understanding. Ask questions to lead them to understanding the hurt they caused
- Define what self esteem and feelings are
- Bring in examples of the bias (pictures, etc.)
- Celebrate other cultures
- Do your own reflective thinking to think of your own biases
- To not tolerate bias in the classroom
- Ask the children how they feel respected and come up with a set of classroom roles of conduct
- Model
- Open dialogue – speak to the child – how would you feel if someone said this to you, etc.
- Speaking with parents
- Books to be read, role playing
- Rewarding when empathetic
- Be persistent and consistent
Goal #4
• CULTIVATE YOUR ABILITY ABILITY TO STAND UP FOR YOURSELF AND FOR OTHERS IN THE FACE OF BIAS
This “activism” goal includes learning and practicing a variety of ways to act: (a) when another person acts in a biased manner toward you or others, (b) when you act in a biased manner toward another person or group. Goal four builds on goal three: Critical thinking and empathy are necessary components of acting for oneself or others in the face of bias.
- don’t be judgmental as a teacher, be open minded to opinions and views. Teach children to be knowledgeable and accepting.
- Don’t react too fast to a situation, think it through. “Diversity should be embraced, accept differences
- Creating empathy in the classroom. Make the child realize that what he is doing is right or wrong. “Treat others how you want to be treated.”
- Provide interaction and learning about each other through group activities.
- Be a critical thinker
- Encourage acceptance of diversity or differences
- Teaching communication between the children
- Problem solving
- Support sense of justice
- Teach self esteem and teach children to stand up for themselves
- Show example through books or other lesson plans of activity for oneself or others.
The four Anti-bias Education Goals interact with and build on each other. Their combined intent is to empower each person to resist the negative impact of racism on their development and to grow as adults who will want and be able to work with others to eliminate all forms of oppression. In other words, the underlying intent is not to end racism in one generation by changing attitudes and behaviors, but to promote critical thinkers and activists who can work for social change and participate in creating a caring culture in a world of differences.