No one anywhere can honestly say they have no bias. It’s one of our innate human flaws. But can our tiny adorable preschoolers learn bias? You betcha! With them however, it starts with just taking in the world around them. They notice everything! They notice when Teacher Stacey’s tummy is sticking out more than normal (its called bloating and yeah I promptly donated that dress!) They notice their friend’s daddy has a long beard and their daddy just has a few whiskers. They notice skin color. They ask why one student has 2 mommies and no daddy at all. They notice the gray hair of a grandpa, the red spots on a face of a teenager, and the “fuzzy” hair of another child.
Bias in preschool starts out as mere observations. Our reactions, our education, and our language in response to these observations, can be the difference between acceptance and bias. Do we proverbially flip out and yell, “Don’t say that!” when our child mentions a person’s long black braids in front of us in the line at the grocery store? Do we quickly smack their hand down if they point at a little person? Do we hush them if they ask why that child over there has a chair with wheels or why that white mommy has a brown baby, or why it’s hard to understand that little boy, or why that woman is wearing something that covers all of her head and hair?
Children are naturally curious and it’s one of the greatest aspects of childhood! They are not born knowing. How do they learn if we don’t answer their questions? If we shush them or act embarrassed, we are sending them the signal that different is something to be embarrassed about. And questions are not ok. Both of those are false. Different is beautiful! It’s what makes this planet colorful and interesting. And asking questions is how we learn!
A famous quote by Maya Angelou states:
“Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.”
I recently took on an online course titled Anti Bias Approach to Learning by Lynette Arthur with Sally Haughey.
Lynette says the following, “Anti bias in early childhood is how we handle exclusionary behavior. It’s how we facilitate inclusive behavior. It’s how we celebrate differences. How we give language to the noticings of the children in the classroom.
That definition in my opinion is perfect. Children will notice things. We give them the space to notice. We notice with them, and we make sure that alongside those noticings there is not exclusionary language or behaviors.
How do we check our own biases in the classroom? That’s probably a topic for another blog and another time. For now I will say, let’s make sure we are treating each and every child equally in our environments. Sometimes the harder skill, make sure to treat their families equally. Root equally for all the children in your classroom and or environment. Do you wish for everyone’s success? #antibiaspreschool #teachdiversity #teachinclusion #teachacceptance
To hear more from Lynette Arthur check out her amazing podcast at https://www.google.com/search?q=powerful+pedagogy+podcast&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-us&client=safari#ip=1
Books on the subject of inclusivity and anti bias
Comments