I had the opportunity to complete the
course titled, “Influences of Family, Culture, and Society in Early Childhood”,
at Walden University. The course focused on creating an anti-bias environment
for young children. According to Derman and Edwards (2010), the learning of stereotypes and misconceptions
about various aspects of human diversity “begin when we are very young, taught
initially and most powerfully by our family and then by the larger world around
us” (pg. 23). Because biases can develop at a young age, teachers have to
become the buffer of biases by incorporating an anti-bias environment for the
children. When children are only exposed to negative, relating to a certain ethnic/cultural group, they are likely to carry out bias
behaviors among other children in that ethnic/cultural group (Derman &
Edwards, 2010).
I enjoyed reading “The Spirit Catches
You and You Fall Down” by Anne Fadiman (2012). This book kept me in amazement
to how human beings can be so court up into their own world and microsystems,
which influences our values and beliefs, that we become stuck into a box in
which we place everyone else in. There was such a separation of culture that the
bridge of communication never connected until it was too late. In the book, the
perception of both the Hmong family and the United States doctors about each
other created barriers that affected a child’s health, Lia’s health. Although
neither one of the ethnic groups were going to be converted to each other’s
beliefs, communication and respect would have depleted microaggressions.
In the course, I was able to select a
course project that I was concerned about and wanted to learn more about. The
topic I choose was “Same-sex Families in Early Childhood Education Programs”. While
researching this topic, I was very surprise of how much the state and federal
policies and laws affected children from same-sex families. Some laws and
policies deny children of same-sex couple’s equal access to legal rights and
benefits that contribute to children facing significant social barriers and threats
to their well-being, although it is stated that
the state provides all adults who are raising children with the material
resources and support necessary to be good parents and encourage and support
individuals who want to care for children that is capable of child-rearing (Garrett
& Lantos, 2013).
As a teacher educator the course
motivated me to encourage upcoming early childcare teachers to provide children
and their families that enter into their program with an anti-bias curriculum
and inclusive environment. I am able to provide teachers with strategies
consist of considering whether your
language consistently includes all children, if it excludes any child, it is
not the right choice of words, discuss similarities and differences, and choose
children’s books that portray many different types of families (Burt, Gelnaw, & Lesser, 2010).
Reference:
Bronfenbrenner, U. (1994). Ecological models of human development. International
Encyclopedia of
Education, 3(2), 1643–1647. Retrieved from
Burt, T., Gelnaw, A.,
& Lesser, L. (2010). Creating welcoming and inclusive environments for
lesbian,
gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) families in early childhood
settings. Young Children, 65(1), 97–102.
Derman-Sparks,
L., & Edwards, J. O. (2010). Anti-bias education for young children
and ourselves. Washington, DC: National
Association for the Education of Young
Children.
Fadiman, A. (2012). The spirit catches you and you
fall down: A Hmong child, her American
doctors, and the collision of two cultures.
New York, NY: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux.
Garrett, R. J. &
Lantos, D. J. (February 25, 2013), Marriage and the well-being of children.
Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, 131(3), 559-563. doi: 10.1542/peds.2012-2665
