Anti-bias Framework

Use Group Time to Discuss Conflict: Keeping age appropriateness at the forefront is an excellent way to encourage children to learn about cultural sensitivity in a healthy space. For example: Ravi and Jona are playing in the housekeeping area, and they are each pretending to put a baby to sleep. One chooses to rock the baby and sing songs, and the other chooses to put the baby in the bassinet and walk away. The one rocking the baby admonishes the one who walks away. That child begins to cry and defends their method. Later, at circle time the teacher takes a moment to discuss all the different ways families sleep saying, “Some families have different spaces for all children to sleep. Other families have everyone sleep together in one room. Some families read stories from books before bed, others share stories they have heard. What are some ways your family transitions to sleep?” This allows all children to share the unique traditions of their home and to illuminate to others why those traditions are meaningful.

Understanding the Potential Harm in “Colorblind” Approaches to Race: While we have made great strides forward in understanding the complexities of the human experiences as they vary from person to person, we still have a long road ahead. One area that we are learning more about every day is the differences in day-to-day experiences for those whose race is different than the majority in a particular region. As an attempt to mediate this, historically, we have attempted to adopt a “colorblind” or “color neutral” approach to skin color. Essentially saying, “skin color doesn’t matter, we accept all people the same.” This framework came from a place of good intent, but it casts a harmful shadow on people who do not want their skin color ignored. Rather, a step forward is one of “color awareness” while still committing to treating each person with dignity and respect. The color aware model accepts and honors differences while maintaining equity. A step even further is that of social justice whereby we advocate on behalf of those who may be experiencing injustice because of their skin color or background.

Set Up the Classroom for Race Awareness and Acceptance: Setting up a classroom that is inclusive and honors the differences in the children will go a long way in establishing an environment of respect and inclusivity. Choose books that showcase children in the way they see themselves naturally rather than choosing books that illustrate stereotypes or caricature type imagery. For example: a book that includes pictures of children and adults with a variety of hairstyles such as twists and box braids, but the book isn’t specifically about Black hair styles.  Songs, posters, art, and even celebrations should reflect the diversity of the children in the classroom in a way that doesn’t make them “stand out” or seem unusual but rather includes them as the norm.

The pathway forward for a society that is inclusive, and anti-bias truly starts with small steps in the right direction. Being bold and determined to advocate for those who are still struggling to feel valued and heard is invaluable as one of those steps. Turning the focus toward ourselves and our classrooms is a great way to begin.

Links to related posts and articles:

https://www.naeyc.org/resources/pubs/yc/may2016/culturally-responsive-classroom

https://www.naeyc.org/resources/pubs/yc/may2018/embracing-equity

https://www.hbs.edu/ris/publication%20files/Racial%20Color%20Blindness_16f0f9c6-9a67-4125-ae30-5eb1ae1eff59.pdf