An effective way to learn to facilitate an anti-bias learning community and foster a climate of fairness is through the analysis of real-world scenarios. By looking closely at situations that could actually happen in an early childhood setting and evaluating what actions you might take in these types of situations, you have the opportunity to explore potential solutions, consider the implications, and evaluation future strategies to implement with the young children and families with whom you work.
For this Discussion, apply what you have learned in this weeks Learning Resources by trouble shooting issues that may come up in the classroom related to race and ethnicity.
To begin, review the real-world scenarios provided on page 8 of the course text. These problem-centered stories focus on issues facing children and families with multicultural, multi-ethnic, and mixed heritages. Choose one of the three scenarios and respond to the related question(s):
*For Pamela''s scenario: What would you tell Pamela''s foster parents?
*For Max and Tina''s scenario: Do you agree with Max and Tina''s view? Why or why not? How would you respond?
* For Jilly and Sam''s scenario: Would you have handled this situation between Jilly and differently? Why or Why not? How would you handled it?
Respond to the question(s) above, indicating which scenario you are addressing. Be sure to support your comments by citing references to this week''s required reading media segment.
Citing References.
Derman-Sparks, L., & Olsen Edwards, J. (2010). Anti-bias education for young children and ourselves. Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of children (NAEYC).
Chapter 6, ''Learning about Racial Identity and Fairness.
Chapter 7, ''Learning about Gender Identity and Fairness."
Katch, H., & Katch, J. (2010). Voices inside schools: When boys won''t be boys. Discussing gender with young children. Harvard Educational Review, 80(3), 379-390.
Wardle, F. (2011). Responding to racial and ethnic diversity in early childhood programs. Exchange (01648527), 198, 68-71.
Laureate Education, Inc. (2011). Strategies for working with diverse children: Learning about fairness: Race and gender. Baltimore, MD: Author. Leslie Cheung, Eric Hoffman, and Regina Chavez share their thinking and experiences about young children, race, and gender.
Ebrahim, H.H., & Francis, D.D, (2008). You said, Black girl: Doing difference in early childhood African Education Review, 5(2), 274-287.