Teaching Young Children

“What adults can learn from kids” by Adora Svitak

For our 1st Real World Wednesday of 2016, we want to amplify the voice of a young person! Nearly all of our conversations on our Facebook page pertain to young people, but we rarely hear from and listen to their actual perspectives. We recognize that this is a big problem and are committed to continuing to reflect on and address the ways in which our Forum perpetuates adultism in policy and practice.

So today we are featuring Adora Svitak. According to her official bio:

“Since the age of four, Adora has been exploring what she can do with the written word: everything from championing literacy and youth voice to working with the UN’s World Food Programme to raise awareness about world hunger. Hoping to instill her love of writing in others, she taught her first class at a local elementary school the year her first book, Flying Fingers, debuted; since then, she has spoken at hundreds of schools, classrooms and conferences around the world.

In 2010, she delivered the speech “What Adults Can Learn from Kids” at TED. The speech received over 3.3 million views on TED.com alone, and has been translated into over 40 different languages. That same year, Adora started organizing TEDxRedmond. Over the course of years of speaking, her audiences have included teachers, CEOs, entrepreneurs, artists, students, and delegates at the United Nations Economic and Social Council’s Youth Forum.”

Adora’s important TED Talk starts:
“When was the last time you were called ‘childish’? For kids like me, being called childish can be a frequent occurrence. Every time we make irrational demands, exhibit irresponsible behavior, or display any other signs of being normal American citizens, we are called childish. Which really bothers me. After all, take a look at these events: Imperialism and colonization, world wars, George W. Bush. Ask yourself, who’s responsible? Adults.”

Additional Resources

What should early educators know about ableism?

It’s the last Real World Wednesday of 2015 and we are so excited to learn from and with Ana Maria Menda!10400782_1663068440649550_4756358930619636765_n

Ana is a trilingual qualitative researcher interested in the intersectionality of bilingualism and special education. Ana has 15 plus years of teaching experience with students from the elementary to the doctorate level, and is a mother to the coolest 11 year old boy who happens to be in spectrum for Autism.

We asked Ana, what should early childhood educators know about ableism?

Here’s her heartfelt and thoughtful response:

I was sitting with a psychologist, the pre-k teacher, the school counselor and the assistant principal when I was given the news that my son was in the spectrum for autism. Professionally, I had been a public school teacher for years and was working towards my doctorate in special education, so I was not new to the schooling or diagnosing context, however, no amount of experience in education could have prepared me to be on the receiving end of my child’s diagnosis.

The multidisciplinary team was kind. Noah’s pre-school teacher knew what she was doing, and Noah had already been flagged with a developmental delay through the Birth-3 team, which made the actual diagnosis not so shocking. But it was then, in the stoic schoolroom behind the main office that I felt the floor under my chair drop.

Unfortunately, there is no intervention in the literature that can help mend a mother’s broken heart from witnessing the labeling and exclusion of their child. Because attached with that label, often times, as I am still learning, come things like discrimination and isolation. Sometimes the manifestation of isolation is as simple as never receiving an invitation to classmates’ birthday parties, or play dates. Sometimes discrimination is being told by the teacher that seeing tears in your child’s face made her happy because she realized that kids with autism have “emotions” too. Luckily, the heart is a strong muscle, and we learn though the missteps that there are also patches of solid ground to stand on and that there’s people that can support us.

So, as a mother, here’s what I wish early childhood educators knew about ableism:

  1. Discrimination is not always blatant. It can exist in tiny spaces even within the most caring and inclusive environments. When party invitations are shared, or conversations about those events are taking place. When teams are formed during playtime outside. In how kids choose to sit in the rug for whole group instruction or on how they select partners to work with. As a mom I wish I could sprinkle a dash of magic dust on my son that would instantly make him feel accepted. But as teachers, you can work some of that magic in your classes. So I wish you could explicitly talk to your class about reaching out, including and learning from friends who might be different, even outside the boundaries of your room. And that you talked to your students about this every day, in an honest way.
  2. A child’s label says little about that child. When you connect in a sincere way with your students, learn from them, and work collaboratively with their families, you might be able to see growth and potential that looks nothing like the language in their individualized educational plans. Really. You have the power to make an incredible difference. I’ve seen my son’s behavior change so drastically according to how his teachers treated him, that the goals in his IEP became obsolete. You have superpowers when kids walk into your room. You are their superhero. Use that power.
  3. Love what you do. Kids can smell the difference. If working with children with disabilities is a means to an end, your students will know. Be real, own up your desire to do something else, but don’t become the bitter teacher that dreads the kids who are difficult. Your superpowers also work in the opposite way and you could emotionally break a child who needs the right support from a genuine teacher.
  4. True and tried interventions are important, but so is your intuition and critical sense. If you have exhausted the strategies in your toolkit, reach out. Parents don’t always have the answer either, but a team can help you before things escalate. Don’t be scared to ask for help.
  5. Most importantly, believe in your students. In all of their ability to grow, to connect and to be happy. At the end of the day, that’s what we want for our children, more than the academic achievements, more than green behavior chart, we want our child to be happy, to feel accepted and to accept who they are.

Thank you so much, Ana!  Your perspective is so important!

What is Christian hegemony?

It’s Real World Wednesday and this week we get to learn from both Talia Cooper & Hadar Harris!!

Talia has been working as a Jewish youth educator and organizer for the past nine years, first as the executive director of Jewish Youth for Community Action, and now as the program director for Ma’yan and a youth trainer for Jews for Racial and Economic Justice. 1929869_1659933880963006_4840128724977366613_nShe is currently reading Paul Kivel’s book “Living in the Shadow of the Cross” and is excited to share some of her learnings about Christian hegemony and how it connects to our work with youth.

Hadar currently works as the Executive Director of the Northern California Innocence Project where she works to to create a fair, effective and compassionate criminal justice system and to protect the rights of the innocent. From 2002 – 2015, she was the Executive Director of the Center for Human Rights & Humanitarian Law at American University Washington College of Law. She is also the mom of two young boys.

This week, we asked them: What is Christian hegemony? How does it show up in schools? How does it impact kids? And what can teachers do about it?

Here are their incredibly thoughtful and thought-provoking responses:

Hello awesome people. My name is Talia Cooper.

So what is Christian hegemony? It’s a fancy sounding term that basically means Christianity is considered the norm while all other religions and peoples are, well, other. Christian hegemony is also the larger term that encompasses anti-Semitism, islamaphobia, and the oppression of other religious minorities. Note that a person doesn’t have to be a practicing Christian to still benefit from the bigger system.

Christian hegemony says things like, “Christmas is a normal, American holiday.” (Christian hegemony is also intertwined with white supremacy, which would say, “normal Americans are white.” Paul Kivel goes into more detail about the connections between Christianity and whiteness). I brought up Christmas because it’s often easiest for people to notice Christian hegemony during this time of year. But the reality is that Christian hegemony runs much deeper, affecting each and every one of us year-round, both institutionally and interpersonally, all the way down to our core psyches.

So how is Christian hegemony showing up in schools & affecting kids? Some examples include: requiring kids to make Christmas ornaments and sing Christmas songs, having no school on Christian holidays, giving tests and quizzes on other peoples’ religious holidays, and having SATs on Saturdays.

But it’s even more complex than that. Here’s one way Christian hegemonic thinking shows up in schools:

It is a Christian ethic that hard work is good and will be rewarded (and conversely that laziness is bad and will be punished). This ethic in Christianity often refers to the afterlife, but in a secular Christian culture the concept shows up as reward and punishment in this life (we see this in political rhetoric all the time, like with the notion of “welfare queens” being lazy good-for-nothings). In my Jewish culture, for example, we believe that there is inherent goodness in all people and no one needs to work hard to prove this. I should say that I know plenty of Christians who also believe this, but what I’m talking about now is the dominant Christian narrative that has invaded all of our institutions and thoughts—not individual Christians. (I’m really not trying to get down on Christians here, and neither is Paul Kivel).

Paul Kivel always used to say to me, “Hard work is just hard work. It’s not inherently good.” Dictators work hard. Donald Trump works hard (sometimes). Oil companies work hard. So are they doing good things for the world? No.

And yet we continue to teach kids the virtue of hard work.

Does that mean that we should instead teach them to do hard work that is actually good for people and the planet?

I suppose that would be an okay next step.

But for me, I believe that people inherently want to work hard and contribute to their communities. This is because doing nothing is boring. Being connected to people, deepening those connections, and finding our strengths and passions—now that’s a fun life!

I don’t think we have to drill it into our kids that they have to work hard, because most people are capable of figuring out on their own how to lead an engaged life. My friend, Megan Madison, reminds me that she has never seen a lazy baby; young ones are constantly squirming around, making eye contact and engaging with their environment.

But we don’t foster this. Instead we latch on to the dominant Christian ideology that hard work is good and should be rewarded. Then we administer rewards and punishments as needed. Kids who don’t fit the education system are told it is their fault and are punished. Kids who do succeed work themselves tirelessly. This is a disservice to everyone.

Here’s an example of how “hard work” plays out in our education system: a kid who does lots of community service and volunteering is rewarded in the college admission process. A kid who really focuses on taking care of their health and on building amazing friendships will not be rewarded in this process (and likely punished for not having extra-curriculars).

So what can we do about it? Well, big picture, I think we need to reshape the entire education system, from pre-K through graduate school so that we’re not simply producing hard workers, but instead fostering connected, curious, loving, liberation-minded beings. Let’s work together towards that!

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And in the meantime, here are two other things we can try:

  1. Take out the morality and talk about logical consequences. There are different outcomes for different choices we make. For example, if we don’t brush our teeth in the morning, this does not make us a bad person worthy of punishment. Instead, not brushing teeth has the possible short-term outcome of stinky breath, and dental health issues in the long-term. The outcome of being mean to a kid in a classroom is that that person will feel hurt and it might take away from your own learning too. The outcome of having unprotected sex is that you could get very sick and/or pregnant (again, these are not punishments for being a sinner, they are just outcomes). Does that make sense? Take out the moralistic thinking. Just assume that people are inherently good and awesome, and that they might need help thinking through possible outcomes.
  2. Encourage rest and play. In addition to the regular subjects, be sure to include games and creativity as well! Teach kids to notice when their bodies need rest. Teach that playing games, making friends, creating art, and taking care of our bodies are things we get to do the rest of our lives. Teach these as highly important topics.

Start or keep doing these two things and you’ll be on the team of liberation and ending Christian hegemony.

Wow!  Thank you, Talia!  Here’s Hadar’s take:

It’s Not a War on Christmas – It’s a Campaign for Diversity!

My children were born in Washington, DC and they grew up in a “very Jewish” community for their first 7 and 8 years, respectively. Jewish day school.  Kosher markets.  Shabbat dinner with friends and family every Friday night. Even “Sunday Little League” so as not to interfere with Saturday synagogue time.   That said, they had non-Jewish friends and lived in the larger world, but life was definitely on a Jewish schedule.

This past August, we moved to the Bay Area.  I moved back to the Bay Area (I grew up here) but the boys moved here.  And while Leo started second grade at a Jewish day school, Adam started third grade in a small school for bright kids with learning differences.

It is a great school that has been transformative for his learning, but it has also been transformative in other, unexpected ways.  Mostly, his awakening recognition that he is a Jew, living as a minority in broader American culture.

Adam easily found good friends in his class of twelve boys and the transition was remarkably easy for him, but as winter break approached, we had a tearful bedtime discussion (when most important conversations seem to take place).  He was agitated about the school “Holiday Extravaganza” concert and oddly, asked me if he could stay out of school “for a week or so after break.” I asked him what he meant since Christmas would be over by then, and he launched into an apparently long pent-up monologue.  I posted on Facebook that night as my heart broke for him.

Here we go: Nine year old boy experiencing his minority religious status for the first time. Painful, heartfelt weeping about feeling excluded and judged because he does not celebrate Christmas (he is the only Jew in the class). Significant fear of being ridiculed because he will not receive Christmas presents (and everyone is already comparing notes about what they will receive – apparently some nasty comments have already been made). Frustration and annoyance of feeling invisible at a time where everything is focused on a set of traditions he does not observe (I offered to go into the class to talk about Hanukkah but the teacher never scheduled it). That said, no request to actually celebrate Christmas (good, since we don’t). No begging for a Christmas tree (unlike some family members who shall remain nameless…) There were real tears in this conversation. Another hard moment when childhood confronts reality and the world becomes a little bit harsher and more complicated…

That night I also emailed his teacher and the top school administrators, describing Adam’s reaction and concerns.  The response was swift but somewhat unsatisfying, particularly in light of the fact that I had already asked the teacher if I could come in and share our Hanukah traditions with the class (to which I had had no response). His teacher (who is wonderful in so many ways), assured me of her efforts “to remain “holiday neutral” in the classroom.”  She told me that the “Holiday Extravaganza” concert “will not be simply a celebration of Christmas. The class numbers are all about the “winter season” (lots of snow stuff)…”

And yet when I walked into the school the next day, I saw the overwhelming evidence of Adam’s feeling of “otherness.” The teacher had put “The 12 Days of Room 3” on their classroom door.  Against a red backdrop, she had made twelve windows, like an Advent Calendar, representing each of the 12 boys in the class.  Each day, they opened another window as they counted down to winter break with a short poem about each boy (they were all boys) and a picture of the kid with his favorite Star Wars or Minecraft or other figure.  At the bottom of the door it said “Happy Holidays” and there was a picture of a Christmas tree – and a menorah. It was cute – but it was clearly Christmas.  In addition, the school’s main office was decorated with snowmen dressed in red and green, poinsettas, and a banner saying “Merry Holiday.”  All week before the break, teachers were dressed up with reindeer headbands and ugly Christmas sweaters. It may have been cloaked in snowflakes and the non-denominational classic “Jiggle Bells” but it was 100% Christmas.  Let’s be honest: we don’t have snowmen or reindeer in Palo Alto – even in the era of climate change…

Further explaining her curricular efforts at “holiday neutrality”, Adam’s teacher wrote: “All of our morning journal entries have been on topics like “tell us about a holiday tradition you enjoy with your family”, “what are you looking forward to doing over the break”, and “if you could give your parent(s) any gift what would it be”.”  I realized then, that while she felt that she had truly tried to be sensitive, the pull of “Christmas hegemony” (if not Christian hegemony), and the lack of understanding of other traditions was too strong.  She didn’t “get it” that her “neutral” questions were loaded and still marginalized or excluded some of the kids in the class – maybe most especially, mine.

That said, the same week as the Holiday Extravaganza, Adam and his classmates presented their reports on the California Missions (a rite of passage for California students). The hegemony of Christmas may have been in full force, but at least the presentations and posters acknowledged the egregious abuses against the Native Peoples by the missionaries.  That certainly wasn’t part of the reporting and research when I was growing up in California.  It gave me some hope.  I guess as much as some things stay the same (Christmas), there is hope for the recognition of diverse experiences and maybe even diverse traditions someday.

Three Quick Tips for Educators/Parents:

  1. Fried latkes do not smell the same as pine needles.  Hanukah is not the Jewish Christmas.  Neither are Diwali or Eid.  None of “us” have Christmas-substitutes.  They are different holidays with different traditions and different stories underlying their creation
  2. “Holiday Neutral” Doesn’t Mean Adding Menorah Clip Art. To truly be “holiday neutral,” the central holidays of all students’ religious (or non-religious) traditions should be equally observed, discussed and respected.  These may not all occur in December (indeed, they don’t).  For the Jewish calendar, Rosh Hashanah (usually at the start of the school year) or Passover (in the spring) are much more important holidays than Chanukah. Purim (with hamentaschen and costumes) is much more fun! Other religions have holidays like Diwali and Eid which are wonderful, tradition-rich holidays enabling true sharing of values, beliefs and traditions (not to mention (more) great food!) Valuing the key holidays of all religions enables more neutrality than simply creating Christmas add-ons to make the non-Christian kids feel a little better. Also, by highlighting other traditions before Christmas, that may sensitize the Christian children to a broader diversity of traditions (and might inspire them to be more tolerant) before the overwhelming Christmas-Is-Everywhere month of December begins.
  3. Schedule the “Winter Concert” for Actual Winter.  There is no reason that the Winter Concert needs to take place before winter break.  Indeed, winter doesn’t technically start until after the December 21 solstice – and by that time schools are usually on holiday (they were this year!)  By scheduling the concert before Christmas, there is pressure (perceived or real) to perform “holiday” (i.e. Christmas) music which will inevitably exclude – or essentialize – someone.  It’s still winter in January. Schedule the damn concert after break!

From the bottom of our hearts, THANK YOU, Talia and Hadar!

Join our virtual book club!

The now classic book, Anti-Bias Education for Young Children and Ourselves, by Louise Derman-Sparks & Julie Olsen Edwards invites early childhood caregivers and educators to grapple with the question: What can we do to raise the next generation of young people who know and are proud of who they are, are able to be in equitable relationship with others, can recognize and name unfairness in the world around them, and are ready to take action to address it?

NAEYC’s Diversity & Equity Education for Adults (DEEA) Interest Forum would like to invite you to our virtual book club as we embark on an informal, 13-week exploration of this question together. Together, we will discuss critical issues in the field–including racism, classism, sexism, homophobia, and ableism–and build community. Join us!

Structure and Guidelines

Open discussion on our Facebook page will begin each week on Monday with a new chapter of the book and will continue throughout the scheduled week. Over the course of each week, the club’s facilitators will moderate the discussion, posting summaries of the chapter and posing open-ended questions to stimulate discussion. Participants are welcome to post their reactions, thoughts, questions or other topics of discussion. In short:

  • All levels of engagement are welcome!
  • Productive, respectful dissent is appropriate
  • Ask questions, post responses, share quotes to participate in discussion
  • Facilitators will post 1-2 questions each session, but other forum members are welcome to post as well.

In addition, we will be hosting a Google Hangout each week so that participants can discuss the book face-to-face.

Schedule

Monday, Dec. 7th, 8am to Friday, Feb. 19th 2016 at 8pm

Week 1 (December 7-11): Introductions
Week 2 (December 14-18): What is anti-bias education?
Week 3 (December 21-25): Children’s identity development
Week 4 (December 28 – January 1): Becoming an anti-bias teacher
Week 5 (January 4-8): Creating an anti-bias learning community
Week 6 (January 11-15): Learning about culture, language and fairness
Week 7 (January 18-22): Learning about racial identity and fairness
Week 8 (January 25-29): Learning about gender identity and fairness
Week 9 (February 1-5): Learning about economic class and fairness
Week 10 (February 8-12): Learning about family structures and fairness
Week 11 (February 15-19): Learning about different abilities and fairness
Week 12 (February 22-26): Learning about holidays and fairness
Week 13 (February 29 – March 4): Closing

Registration

To register, click here.

 

To view and/or share the event flyer, click here.

Children’s Book Resources from Embrace Race

Hi all,

If you haven’t checked out Embrace Race yet, do!  They’ve got all kinds of resources and support for folks grappling with how to raise kids within the context of structural racism.  This week on their Facebook page, they shared some fantastic book lists.  Check them out:

Thanks, Embrace Race, for providing us with these great resources!

Teaching Consent to Young Children

Happy Real World Wednesday!!! Our favorite day of the week! Today we have the tremendous pleasure of learning from and with Naima Taaj Ajmal Brown.Naima RWW

Naima is an irrevocable believer in the power and potential of early childhood education as a form of activism that can sustain and strengthen community. A first-year teacher in an Early Head Start toddler classroom in East Harlem, she is tirelessly committed to implementing a pedagogy of care in order to effectively support and build partnerships with all who enter her classroom.

Prior to her current position, Naima has worked with young children for over twelve years as a teaching assistant, a performing arts educator, and a one-to-one aide. She has a BA in Sociology & Anthropology and Black Studies from Swarthmore College, and an MA in Early Childhood Education and Early Childhood Special Education from Teachers College, Columbia University. She is also a member of QUIERE, a Teachers College based fellowship program for educators committed to providing high-quality education to learners with disabilities, especially those of immigrant backgrounds.

Given our ongoing conversation this week on the Forum, we are asking Naima to help us understand, “What is consent, and what are some ways we can teach it to young children?”

Here’s Naima’s thoughtful response:

I find the matter of teaching consent to young children to be of the utmost importance for one irreproachable reason: children, like adults, have the right to feel safe in their own bodies. Not only be safe, but feel safe. Caring for children is made up of countless measures that adults take to ensure children’s bodily safety. But what of the interconnectivity between bodily safety and emotional safety? In other words, what can we do to ensure that the children feel safe in their own bodies? How can we show them to use those feelings to not only keep their body safe, but engage with other people in ways that are meaningful and pleasurable?

This is where consent comes in.

Consent has a very simple definition by necessity, and I will specify it slightly for the sake of this conversation: consent is the explicit approval of physical contact with someone else. It is nothing more, and it is certainly nothing less. There are many ways in which I purposely cultivate and enforce a culture of consent in my classroom. As early childhood educators, we’re all intimately familiar with sociocultural pedagogical theory, or the idea that learning is fundamentally a social process; we also know that young learners need repetition and concretization in order to grasp and retain understanding of concepts. This is why I have found that a great time to teach consent is at dismissal. As my learners prepare to leave with their families, I verbally ask them if I may have a hug goodbye. Any number of things can happen at this point. Quite often, the child says yes, or smilingly jumps into my arms, and we share a pleasant hug. Lovely! Sometimes, I receive a flat, verbal “no”, the child hides behind the family member who has come to take them home, or the child physically shrinks away from me. Also lovely! They have effectively communicated to me that they do not give me consent to give them a hug. I then honor their decision by telling them–with the family member(s) looking on–that it’s okay if they don’t want a hug. I give a variety of options, from high-fives to waving. Even if they choose to completely ignore me afterwards, I honor that decision.

Teaching consent in this way has a number of repercussions. It affirms the child’s bodily autonomy, particularly in the face of authority; in other words, it shows them that it is okay to say “no” to undesirable touch, even (and especially) to adults. It honors their feelings and allows them to form the boundary that they want and need to feel safe. It models for them and their families that refusing a hug is not a matter of noncompliance, but rather a perfectly reasonable response that should be actively respected. One of my brightest moments this academic year was watching one of my learners go from classmate to classmate asking them if they wanted a hug, and reacting appropriately when she was given a “yes” or “no”. Success!

Consent can and should be taught, because consent is for everyone!

For additional information on this topic, see:

Microaggressions in Early Childhood

This Real World Wednesday, we have the honor of learning from and with Elena Jaime!Elena RWW

Elena has taught in early childhood and early elementary settings for the past thirteen years. She is passionate about her mission to develop “angelic troublemakers” in the school communities in which she works. Elena’s work is grounded in the belief that young children are capable of developing a critical lens and can engage in reflection and action around anti-bias work. Elena has presented at a number of local and national conferences, and has partnered with teachers across New York City as they work to examine the ways in which they can fully integrate equity work into early childhood curriculums. Elena also co-founded the CARLE Institute for White educators, an institute designed to provide white faculty members with the necessary historical framework, interpersonal skills, and curriculum development strategies they need to teach a diverse student body. Elena teaches second grade at the Chapin School in New York City. Elena received her B.A. in psychology from Wesleyan University and her M.S.Ed in early childhood general and special education from Bank Street College of Education.

Elena wrote this powerful piece about how she used storytelling in the face of a microaggression that happened in her classroom: https://tobreatheispolitical.wordpress.com/tag/education/

Given her experience and expertise, we wanted to ask, “What are microaggressions and why do they matter in early childhood care and education?”

Here’s Elena’s thoughtful response:

As an early childhood educator, I have always valued the importance of creating safe spaces for my students, spaces in which children feel invited to bring their full selves each morning. The Responsive Classroom approach to teaching is an approach that is based on the premise that social-emotional growth and academic success are interdependent. Embedded in this understanding of education is the idea that children learn best when they feel a sense of belonging in a community. This sense of belonging, however, is undermined when a community does not think critically about the ways in which each member’s identity is embraced or marginalized.

Children notice difference. They are hardwired to observe patterns in their world, and as they develop, they begin to ascribe meaning to those differences. They do so by tapping into the messages that are communicated about the ways in which our society values or devalues different identities across race, gender, sexual identity, class, ability, etc. These messages, unless interrupted, become part of the lens they use to understand and interpret their world. As a result, the interactions that the students have with each other and with the adults in their schools and learning communities are infused with those messages. A kindergarten child being told that their skin looks dirty because it is black, a first grader telling her classmate that it is impossible for her to have two moms, or a teacher consistently confusing the two Asian students in her class are examples of moments in which a piece of a person’s identity is marginalized. These acts of marginalization based on a person’s identity have come to be known as microaggressions.

Microaggressions are often described as “small paper cuts” that represent all of the times that someone says or does something that further marginalize you because of your identity. As a queer, Christian, able-bodied, traditionally educated, English-speaking cisgender, woman of color in the United States, I will experience privileges that come with being a member of groups which wield power (political, social, economic, etc.), and I will also experience the marginalization that comes from being a member of groups that do not wield power in my American context.

If, as early childhood educators, we believe in the importance of creating safe learning spaces, where children can take risks, and if this necessitates that each child feels that they belong, then we have a responsibility to interrupt microaggressions that we witness and perpetuate in our learning environments. When we name those experiences for young children, we are helping them develop a lens with which they begin to see identify those moments of marginalization, and in turn, interrupt them. An important piece of this work belongs to the adults who must model what it means to bring their full selves into the classroom. When we do this, we are explicitly sending the message to students that each piece of who they are is valuable and belongs, and that the classroom would not be complete without every last piece.

Thank you, Elena, for this eloquent response and for all of the important work you do every day working with young children and their families.  They are so lucky to have you in their lives!  As are we!

Here are some additional reading on microaggressions:

How does racism impact the development of infants and toddlers?

It’s Real World Wednesday! And this week we are featuring Daseta Gray!Daseta RWW

Daseta is a certified Infant Toddler Specialist who has been in the field of early childhood education for almost two decades. She migrated from Jamaica to the United States in 1981 and did several odd jobs while attending school for her GED. She now holds an A.A.S from Bronx Community College, a B.A in Psychology from Lehman College, a M.A from City College, and she is working on her PhD. Daseta shares information with parents and caregivers on her blog (SabreeHarlemParents.com), has her own consulting company, and provides staff development. With her daughter, Reeshemah Brightley, she started the First 2000 Days NY campaign in 2012 and also facilitates Baby & Wee™ sessions for parents and their infants/toddlers.

Daseta also co-facilitates Central and West Harlem’s New York Zero-to-Three Infancy Leadership Circle which is actively studying the ways racism affects young children and strategies to eliminate inequities. Given her expertise, we want to ask her: How does racism impact the development of infants and toddlers?

Here’s what she had to say:

Racism impacts the development of infants and toddlers in a number of ways. It actually begins in the doctor’s office through the unequal information that is given. A good example of this is a personal experience: my daughter took my grandson (2 years old) to the dentist at 23rd street [a more affluent, majority-white community] and he was given an age appropriate book. Another day he was given a book in my community, by the same organization, but it was inappropriate for his age.

When mothers are pregnant they are not given information about brain development and as a result when they have their baby they are not able to help them along the developmental lines.

The businesses in under-served communities do not sell books that are appropriate for infants/toddlers and the libraries do not have a section just for infants/toddlers with age appropriate books. You cannot find enough quality toys in our community. Many times we say those mothers are terrible at parenting, they do not care about their kids…but is anyone taking the time to teach them? (Pizarro, 2010). That is the real question.

How does that look? 

You can see this disparity showing up in a number of areas in this young child’s life that may take them on the journey to the cradle to prison pipeline. This disparity begins when the family is pregnant and they are not given information about brain development although the research clearly shows that the experiences that are given to children during the 0-3 years will determine how the architecture of their brain will be wired (Lally, 2013).

These disparities show up in the amount of referrals for speech, occupational therapy, attention deficit disorder, infant/toddler mental health in the underserved communities. This shows up in the high number of calls to ACS from certain zip codes. This shows up in the high rate of three year olds that are being suspended from pre-schools (Strasser, 2014). This shows up in the amount of three year olds that are placed on Ritalin (Dell’Antonia, 2014).

This shows up in the amount of children of color that are taken from families a by the Child Protection Agency and usually placed in a foster home with a family that is not trained in infant /toddler care. The system dismantles many families, but minority children are ten times more likely to be taken from their families (Roberts, 2002).

“It’s well-known that foster children lag behind in just about every indicator of health and well-being, said Fisher, who has acted as a principal investigator on several studies of foster children. But the neurological basis for the problems has only become known in the last decade.” Racism shows up in too many places and spaces it will take and major mid shift in the community to change this behavior (Shonkoff, J. & Fisher, P. A., n.d.)

This shows up in child childcare programs with staff who are not knowledgeable about infant/toddler development and in so doing does not give the infant/toddler the skills that he/she needs to be successful in kindergarten the research shows that 60% of these children lacks the social, emotional and cognitive school readiness skills when they get to kindergarten.

Is there anything you want to change?

There are many things that I would like to change and I will list a few:

  • I would like to see all pregnant families be given classes on brain development based on the current re-search on brain development
  • I would like businesses to understand that they need to invest in the infants/toddlers in underserved communities because these infants/toddlers grow up to become tomorrow’s customers
  • The faith based community should play a more active role in educating themselves and their members about the importance of those first three years
  • I would have an infant/toddler space in all housing projects and have appropriate toys and a library with a parent coach. During pregnancy classes on brain development will be offered in that space and attendance will be mandatory
  • I would like to see everyone who are touching the lives of infants and toddlers join the First 2000 Days campaign New York
  • The provider mothers and daycare teachers and Directors would be trained on brain development during the first three years
  • I would also improve the teacher preparation course in the colleges by adding an infant/toddler curriculum. According to Diem & Carpenter (2012), “the preparation of today’s school leaders must include a purposeful focus on building the critical dialogical skills necessary to facilitate anti-racist conversations, which includes carefully examining issues/concepts pertaining to color-blind ideology misconceptions of human differences, critical-self reflection and the interrogation of race-related silences in the classroom.”

You may be asking, “How will I benefit from investing in the first 3 years and why these first 200 days are important?” Think about it when a child gets to kindergarten and they are able to communicate their needs, they are able to self-regulate, they are able to co-operate, they feel competent, they have self-esteem, they have empathy, they have a positive approach to learning and they are able to do active listening they will be successful. These children will grow to become positive contributors to their communities. Tax dollars will be saved on many special needs programs because there will be a reduction in the need.

There will also be a reduction in anti-social behaviors, and crime will be reduced. Communities will be healthier. Investing in pregnant families and infants/toddlers is community development (National Scientific Council on the Developing Child, 2007).

Thanks, Daseta, for sharing your expertise with us!  A PDF of her reflections can be found here.

References

Dell’Antonia, K. J. (2014). The new inequality for toddlers: Less income; more Ritalin. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/05/16/the-new-inequality-for-toddlers-less-income-more-ritalin/?_r=0

Lally, J. R. (2013). For our babies. San Francisco, CA: West Ed.

Strasser, A. (2014). Black preschoolers face an epidemic of suspensions. Think Progress. Retrieved from http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2014/03/21/3417424/black- preschooler-suspension/

Roberts, D. (2002). Race and class in the child welfare system. PBS Frontline. Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/fostercare/caseworker/roberts.html

Jones Harden, B. (n.d.). Young children in child welfare: Developmentally-sensitive and scientifically-informed practice [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from http://www.oregon.gov/dhs/children/beyondfc/pages/news/early-childhood-dev.aspx – !prettyPhoto[gallery2]/13/

National Scientific Council on the Developing Child. (2007). The science of early child development: Closing the gap between what we know and what we do. Retrieved from http://developingchild.harvard.edu/resources/the-science-of-early-childhood-development-closing-the-gap-between-what-we-know-and-what-we-do/

Supporting Dual Language Learners in Early Education Settings

Diana RWWHappy Real World Wednesday! This week we have the pleasure of featuring Diana Serrano.

Diana is a third year PhD student at the Heller School of Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University. Her research interests vary, but she is most interested in the developmental outcomes of children of immigrants in early education care settings. Most recently, Diana worked at the Children’s Trust. During her time at the Children’s Trust Diana worked to construct a measurement tool that assesses parental capacity. Her previous work at the Office of the Superintendent of Education (OSSE) in Washington, DC focused on the educational outcomes of English language learners in special education. While she worked at the Migration Policy Institute, Diana’s research focused on early education access as a strategy to civically, socially, and economically integrate immigrant families and children. Diana hopes to continue to expand her understanding of developmental trajectories for young children of immigrants who participate in home visiting programs.

Given her expertise, we asked Diana: What are some things that early childhood educators can do to support dual language learners and their families?  

Here’s what she said:

I have spent some time thinking about the most practical ways that early childhood educators can best support dual language learners and their families.

While the process of identifying a child as an English language learner might vary from school district to school district, once a child is a identified as an English language learner, the child is entitled to certain rights and accommodations. Perhaps one of the most helpful things an educator can do, is help parents understand, not only the importance of going through the formal identification process, but also to understand what their rights are. All too often parents are unaware of the rights their child is entitled to and this makes it challenging for a parent to serve as the best possible advocate for her/his child.

An early childhood educator is beautifully positioned to serve as an educator for the parent, but more importantly for the child. At the national level, the topic of educational approaches for English language learners has been politicized. Unfortunately, there exist many discrepancies between what some policies mandate and what science tells us. While there are English only policies in place in most states in the country, we know that children who come from a non-English home are better positioned to fulfill their potential when they are part of an environment that values and celebrates their home language and cultural practices. While it is difficult to cater to the needs of every individual child (given the diversity of language backgrounds), the notion that learning English should come at the expense of speaking to a child in their native tongue is simply negated by the scientific evidence.

Educators might be unable to speak the language of their students; however, this need not mean that the child should be discouraged from expressing her or himself in the preferred language. Educational approaches vary greatly, but it is important to note that approaches that provide educational opportunities for children in their native language positively impact the socio-emotional and cognitive development of the child.

Thanks so much Diana for taking the time to share your knowledge with us!

The Consciousness Gap in Education: An Equity Imperative

Check out this inspiring TED Talk from Prof. Dorinda Carter Andrews.

In this talk, Dorinda Carter Andrews challenges us to consider how gaps in critical consciousness and mindsets for adults and students in schools prevent us from providing equitable schooling experiences for all students. Specifically, Carter Andrews urges educators to consider how increased critical consciousness about the role of race and culture in teaching and learning can be fostered through educator professional development and student curriculum and can ultimately strengthen teacher-student relationships. A shifted focus on closing consciousness gaps can address the equity imperative embedded in the larger discourse about achievement gaps.

On February 11, Dorinda received the MSU 2014 Outreach Scholarship Community Partner Award for her collaboration with school districts to close achievement gaps. Further, on March 1, she received the Alumni of Color Achievement Award at the 2014 Alumni of Color Conference at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Dorinda Carter Andrews is an associate professor in the Department of Teacher Education at Michigan State University where she teaches courses on racial identity development, urban education, critical multiculturalism, and critical race theory. Dr. Carter Andrews is a Core Faculty member in the African American and African Studies program and a Faculty Leader in the Urban Educators Cohort Program, a program designed to prepare MSU pre-service students for teaching careers in urban contexts.