Affirming Culture and Preventing Bias in Early Childhood

Affirming Culture and Preventing Bias in Early Childhood

Roots andWings3rd

Edition

STACEY YORK

ContentsAcknowledgments ix

Introduction 1

PART IUnderstanding Multicultural and Anti- bias Issues in the Classroom

Chapter 1: Teaching in a Diverse Society 9

Chapter 2: Children and Prejudice 25

Chapter 3: Racism 51

Chapter 4: Culturally Responsive Care and Education 77

Chapter 5: Young Dual- Language Learners 105

Chapter 6: Family, Culture, and Community 133

PART IIImplementing Culturally Relevant Anti- bias Education in the Classroom

Chapter 7: Culturally Relevant Anti- bias Education 159

Chapter 8: A Culturally Relevant Anti- bias Classroom 181

Chapter 9: Culturally Relevant Anti- bias Activities 223

References 319

Index 329

7

171

6 • ROOTS AND WINGS

Chapter 5, “Young Dual-Language Learners,” explores how children acquire

a second language and provides classroom strategies you can use to support

dual-language learners. Dual-language learners are one of the fastest-growing

populations in early childhood classrooms. Today a classroom will likely have at

least two children who do not speak English and a few children whose parents

speak more than one language. Often, second-language learners may attend early

childhood programs in which no adults speak their home language. Moreover, the

staff have little knowledge of how children learn a second language and no idea

how to foster the development of a second language. This chapter provides you

with the background information and practical tools you should have to begin

meeting the educational needs of dual-language learners.

Chapter 6, “Family, Culture, and Community,” explores the idea that culturally

relevant anti-bias education requires us to understand the families with whom we

work and the neighborhoods and communities in which we work. This chapter

provides an understanding of how the social, political, and historical environment

impact children’s development. The community context is viewed in terms of

geographic region, type of community, and the community’s economy, diversity,

history, events, and issues. The family context includes a look at the cultural diver-

sity of the families served. This chapter helps you implement a family engagement

model to establish and maintain strong, positive, and empowering relationships

with families.

The remaining three chapters of the book carefully guide you through the

process of putting culturally relevant care and anti-bias education into practice.

Chapter 7, “Culturally Relevant Anti-bias Education,” defines such important

words as “multicultural” and “anti-bias.” These words mean many different things

to people, including varying approaches and descriptive terms. This chapter sorts

things out by examining the nature of multicultural education, listing its goals,

and explaining the basic approaches. Chapter 8, “A Culturally Relevant Anti-bias

Classroom,” explains that the quickest and easiest way to add or improve cul-

turally relevant anti-bias education is to improve the classroom by changing its

environment as well as the people who teach in it. Chapter 9, “Culturally Rele-

vant Anti-bias Activities,” provides more than one hundred culturally relevant

anti-bias activities for use in your classroom.

These are exciting times, full of new challenges and opportunities. Cultur-

ally relevant anti-bias education can renew and rejuvenate your teaching and

care giving. I hope Roots and Wings introduces you to new ideas, and I hope it

challenges and empowers you to put this new knowledge to work today in your

classroom or in your work with children.

Understanding Multicultural and Anti- bias Issues in the Classroom

PART I

9

C H A P T E R

1

We become not a melting pot but a beautiful mosaic. Different people, different beliefs,

different yearnings, different hopes, different dreams. — Jimmy Carter, 1976

Today teaching is more complex and more challenging than it was a few decades

ago. When I reflect back on the classrooms of children I taught more than thirty-

five years ago, I smile as I think about the things that seemed so difficult. A child

going through a divorce, a child with attention- deficit/hyperactivity disorder

(ADHD), or a child whose family had just arrived from Iran seemed like major

disruptions in my quiet, settled classroom. Today we expect to witness firsthand

how adverse childhood experiences affect the lives of so many children. We antic-

ipate embracing and teaching children with special needs, children who speak

other languages, and children from many different cultures with life experiences

very different from our own.

As I grow older, it seems I can always count on two things in life: change and

diversity. Change and diversity are the essence of life— be it plant life, animal life,

or human life. Living in the upper Midwest, I am so aware of changing seasons.

In my garden and the woods beyond on my hobby farm, there is a rich diversity

of plant and animal life. I have been teaching at the same school for eight years

Teaching in a Diverse Society


now, and I am truly amazed at how our student population has changed during

that time. Now there is a much wider range of racial and cultural diversity among

our students. Every school year brings students from new countries and new lan-

guage groups. Just as I would miss the changing seasons or diversity of plants in

my garden, I can’t imagine teaching in a setting where everything stays the same

or is expected to stay the same. To deny change or to reject diversity is to deny

life. We need classrooms, schools, and child care centers that are full of life.

Four points are critical to understanding the impact of diversity on early child-

hood classrooms:

1. The United States is a racially, ethnically, and linguistically diverse country,

and that diversity is increasing, not diminishing.

2. Most education in the United States does not take this diversity into

account, and as a result, it is ineffective for students of color.

3. US standards in early childhood education ignore or inadequately address

diversity and equity in early childhood education.

4. Teachers and administrators are not taught or mentored on how to carry

out culturally relevant anti- bias education.

RACIAL DIVERSITY IN THE UNITED STATES

Census 2010 data confirmed what demographers have been telling us: the United

States is racially diverse. In fact, the US Census Bureau predicts that in 2020, more

than half of US children will be children of color. The 2010 census allowed partic-

ipants to identify themselves both by race and ethnicity alone or in combination.

As a result, racial and ethnic percentages don’t always add up to 100 percent.

European AmericansEuropean Americans make up 75 percent of the total population. The South and

Midwest have the highest populations of white people. The Midwest also has the

highest proportion of white people to other racial groups.

African AmericansAfrican Americans number 38.9 million people in this country and make up 13

percent of the total population. Almost 55 percent of all African Americans live

TEACHING IN A DIVERSE SOCIETY • 11

in the South. States with the largest African American populations include New

York, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, North Carolina, Maryland, Michigan,

and Louisiana.

LatinosLatinos make up 17 percent of the total US population, numbering 53 million.

The largest population of Latinos in the United States is Mexican, followed by

Puerto Rican, Salvadoran, Cuban, Dominican, and Guatemalan. Three- fourths of

Latino people in the United States live in the western or southern regions of the

United States, and one- half live in California, Texas, or Florida. Arizona, Califor-

nia, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, New Jersey, New York, and Texas have the largest

Latino populations. The Latino population doubled in Alabama, Arkansas, Ken-

tucky, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and

South Dakota over the past decade. The fastest growth rate occurred in South

Carolina, while California continues to have the largest Latino population of

any state.

Contrary to popular belief, immigration from Mexico and Latin America has

slowed in recent years, which means that the Latino population is more settled.

English proficiency continues to increase. According to the Pew Research Center,

68 percent of Latinos five years and older spoke proficient English in 2013. The

percentage of Latinos who spoke Spanish at home dropped from 78 percent to 73

percent from 2000 to 2013, because the greatest population growth within the

Latino community was among US- born Latinos.

Asian and Pacific Islander AmericansAsian and Pacific Islander Americans number more than 18 million, representing

nearly 6 percent of the total population. Asian and Pacific Islander Americans will

make up nearly 10 percent of the US population by 2050. Chinese is the largest

ethnic group, followed by people from the Philippines, India, Vietnam, Korea, and

Japan. Cities with the largest Asian American populations include Los Angeles,

New York, San Francisco, San Jose (California), and Honolulu.

The Asian and Pacific Islander American population tends to be concentrated

in large metropolitan areas. Recent immigrants are often affluent professionals,

with more than 60 percent of recent immigrants having a bachelor’s degree. As

a result, we might not realize that the poverty rate of US- born Asian and Pacific

Islander Americans increased 46 percent between 2002 and 2012. Poor Asian and


Pacific Islander Americans live in urban communities of color alongside lower-

income African Americans and Latinos.

Language is also an issue for many Asian and Pacific Islander immigrants in

the United States. While 95 percent of US- born Asian and Pacific Islander Amer-

icans rate themselves as speaking English well, only half of foreign- born Asian

and Pacific Islander Americans rate themselves as speaking English well. Over 2

million children under five years old in the United States speak Chinese at home.

After Spanish, Chinese is the third most widely spoken language in the United

States.

American Indians and Alaska NativesThe population of American Indians and Alaska Natives increased 39 percent

from 2000 to 2010. American Indians and Alaska Natives make up 2 percent of

the total population. In the 2010 census, 5.2 million people identified themselves

as American Indian, or Alaska Native or American Indian in combination with

another race, while 2.9 million identified themselves as American Indian or

Alaska Native alone.

Census 2000 offered the first chance for people to report biracial identity. The

2010 census confirmed that many American Indians identify themselves as com-

ing from two or three racial or ethnic groups. The most common combinations

were American Indian and white, American Indian and African American, or

American Indian, white, and African American.

There are 566 federally recognized American Indian tribes in the United

States. The largest tribes, all with more than one hundred thousand responses

in the 2010 census, are Cherokee, Navajo, Choctaw, Mexican American Indian,

Chippewa, Sioux, Apache, and Blackfeet.

The states with the highest American Indian and Alaska Native populations

are California, Oklahoma, Arizona, Texas, New York, New Mexico, Washington,

North Carolina, Florida, and Michigan. Interestingly, 78 percent of American

Indians and Alaska Natives live outside tribal reservation lands. But the largest

concentrations of American Indians and Alaska Natives tend to be near these

areas.

Poverty is a major issue for American Indians and Alaska Natives, with 26

percent of these families living in poverty. South Dakota has the highest poverty

rate, with 43 to 47 percent of American Indian families earning incomes below

the poverty line. In Arizona, Minnesota, Montana, and Nebraska, more than 30

percent of American Indians earn incomes below the poverty line.


Multiracial ChildrenA discussion of the demographic changes in the United States wouldn’t be com-

plete without highlighting the increase of multiracial children in our country.

According to the US Census Bureau and the Pew Charitable Trust, multiracial

babies made up 10 percent of the total number of births in 2013. Of the 9 million

multiracial individuals living in the United States today, more than 46 percent are

younger than eighteen years. The US Supreme Court struck down laws prohibit-

ing interracial marriage in 1967. At that time, sixteen states still had laws making

interracial sex and marriage a criminal activity. Alabama was the last state to

repeal its ban on interracial marriages with a constitutional amendment, which

was included on the statewide ballot and passed with 59 percent of the vote in

2000. The social taboos against interracial marriage have weakened significantly

since then. Interracial marriages increased 24 percent between 2000 and 2014.

ImmigrantsImmigration has always been a major force shaping US history, economy, and

social life. The United States is a country of immigrants. In 2013, 20 percent of the

world’s migrants came to the United States. Currently, foreign- born individuals

make up about 13 percent of the US population, and first- or second- generation

immigrants make up 25 percent of the US population.

About 1 million people legally immigrate to the United States each year. In the

1960s, most immigrants came from Europe. Today they come mostly from Mexico,

India, China, Philippines, Vietnam, El Salvador, Cuba, Korea, the Dominican

Republic, and Guatemala. The states of California, New York, Texas, Florida, and

New Jersey have the highest immigrant populations.

There are 28.4 million people living in the United States who were born in

foreign countries. One- fourth of the total US population lives with a parent who

was foreign- born. Children under the age of eighteen who live in a household

with a foreign- born parent number 72.1 million. Of that 72.1 million, 35 percent

are under the age of six. The United States is experiencing significant growth

in the population of second- generation immigrant children, which grew by 47

percent from 10.4 million to 15.3 million from 2000 to 2012. This population is

growing especially fast in Nevada, North Carolina, Georgia, Nebraska, Arkansas,

Tennessee, North Carolina, Kentucky, and South Carolina.


Undocumented Immigrants

Approximately 11.4 million unauthorized or undocumented immigrants entered

the United States in 2013. California, Texas, New York, and Florida have the larg-

est undocumented immigrant populations. From 2008 to 2012, about 71 percent

of undocumented immigrants came from Mexico and Central America. Almost

617,000 undocumented immigrants were removed by the US government or

returned to their homelands in 2013.

Refugees and Asylum Seekers

Refugees are individuals who have fled armed conflict or persecution and need

protection because it is too dangerous for them to return home. In 2013, seventy

thousand refugees were admitted into the United States. They came primarily

from Iraq, Burma, Bhutan, Somalia, Cuba, Iran, Democratic Republic of the Congo,

Sudan, Eritrea, and Ethiopia. The US Congress set the limit on refugees to seventy

thousand for 2015, and the majority of refugees in 2015 came from Iraq and

Burma. Some individuals, called asylum seekers, seek admission to or permanent

residence in the United States. These individuals can come from any country.

They must meet the definition of a refugee and prove they will suffer religious,

political, or racial persecution if returned to their home country. Approximately

twenty- five thousand individuals received asylum in 2013. Over half of asylum

seekers came from China, Egypt, Ethiopia, Nepal, and Syria.

Many immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers have distinct educational

needs. Fewer than one- third of Mexican undocumented immigrants have a high

school diploma. Children of refugee families may have missed out on schooling

due to political turmoil and civil war in their home countries. They may come

to school without knowing English and without being literate in their home

languages. One of the challenges facing teachers today is how to improve the

educational outcomes for children of immigrants and refugees.

MINORITIES ARE THE MAJORITY

The United States is experiencing a significant increase in birthrates within com-

munities of color and a sustained decrease in birthrates among whites. On July 1,

2011, the US Census Bureau announced that 50.4 percent of children younger

than one year were minorities. In 2015, 49.7 percent of children younger than

five years in the United States are children of color.


Growth in diversity among young children is widespread. The US Census

Bureau predicted in 1990 that by 2018, the majority of children in the United

States would be children of color. But demographic change has been occurring at

a faster- than- predicted rate. It is likely that children of color are already in the

majority in US public schools. As of 2015, there are already at least four states and

one district where the “minority” population is greater than the “majority” popu-

lation: Hawaii, the District of Columbia, California, New Mexico, and Texas. This

means that racial and ethnic groups that were once minorities are now majorities

or that there is so much racial and ethnic diversity that there is no racial major-

ity. William H. Frey, a senior analyst at the Brookings Institute, predicts that by

2044 there will be no racial majority in the United States. Diversity will be the

majority. For the current generation of US children and all future generations,

growing up in the United States will be a multicultural experience.

Diversity Is Spreading beyond the Inner CityWhile much of US diversity is concentrated in a few states, the search for jobs and

better quality of life results in greater racial and cultural diversity throughout our

country. The largest gains in diversity are occurring in communities outside large

metropolitan areas. Historically, inner- city neighborhoods were often home to

immigrant communities. Today’s immigrants are settling in suburban and rural

areas. Food processing plants and manufacturing plants located in small towns

and rural areas provide a source of employment to recent immigrants. As a result,

rural school districts in Alabama, Kansas, Nebraska, North Carolina, and Minnesota

reported a 400 percent or greater increase in the number of English as a second

language (ESL) students. In many cases, change in the ethnic makeup of these

communities has occurred rapidly and unexpectedly. It has caught community

leaders, school administrators, and teachers by surprise. They have found them-

selves needing to rethink their practices and change the way they provide services.

While large areas of the country have been experiencing increased diversity,

other regions have remained all white. Northern and Midwestern states such

as Utah, Montana, Wyoming, Nebraska, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine

have not experienced an increase in racial and ethnic diversity. These all- white

enclaves offer children little opportunity to interact with people from other cul-

tures, to build cross- cultural friendships, and to understand diversity. Children

growing up in these homogenous communities tend to adopt and pass on the

attitudes, fears, and prejudices of their ancestors. They are ill prepared to live and

work in a multicultural environment.


Teacher- Student MismatchWhile researchers foresee a slight demand for elementary school teachers in the

next ten years, demand is great for bilingual teachers and teachers of color. The

National Center for Education Statistics reported that in US public schools in

2013, 82 percent of teachers were European American, 8 percent were Latino,

and 7 percent were African American. Meanwhile, 40 percent of schools did not

have even one teacher of color. There is a huge diversity gap between teachers

and students in the United States. In other words, the teacher population clearly

doesn’t reflect the student population.

Does this matter? Yes! When we walk into a new setting, we instinctively look

around to see if there is anyone familiar, anyone like us. That’s how we can tell

that we belong. When children don’t see any teachers or administrators who look

like them, how are they supposed to believe that they will succeed in school?

Within the walls of the school, it looks like the people who succeed are whites.

Unequal OutcomesLife in the United States continues to be sharply divided along racial, cultural,

socioeconomic, and gender lines. This is true in education as well. Data continues

to show different outcomes for children of color and white children. This differ-

ence is known officially as the achievement gap. The Children’s Defense Fund

calls it “the cradle- to- prison pipeline.” Children of color are more likely to live

in poverty and to have less access to high- quality health care and to early child-

hood programs. Children of color score lower on standardized tests and have

higher dropout rates. They are more likely than white children to be identified

as having special needs, more often placed in noncollege tracks, less likely to be

recommended for gifted and talented programs, more likely to receive harsher

discipline in school or be suspended from school, and less likely to graduate from

high school. These racial and ethnic disparities result in one in three African

American males going to prison compared to an incarceration rate of one in

seven teen among white males. If you doubt these statements, do a little research

on your own school district or state. Investigate the graduation, dropout, and sus-

pension rates of students by race. Find out how those rates have changed in the

past ten or twenty years. The information you find may surprise you.

Reasons for such unequal treatment and outcomes include the following:

• You can’t teach someone whose identity you aren’t willing to acknowledge.

• The classroom, the teaching- learning process, and the curriculum are

Eurocentric: oriented to European American or white students.


• Teachers assume children of color or children who are English- language

learners are inferior, and as a result, teachers set lower expectations for

these children.

• Children of color experience a lack of success in the early grades, which

discourages them or alienates them from school.

REDEFINING GOOD TEACHING

The groundbreaking book From Neurons to Neighborhoods: The Science of Early

Childhood Development, published by the National Research Council and the

Institute of Medicine in 2000, launched a new approach to understanding the

importance of early childhood, how the brain develops, and how to promote

children’s well- being. Today’s early childhood teachers study the science of devel-

opment and incorporate the brain research from the past fifteen years into their

work with young children.

Recent brain research gives us key concepts, such as that early experiences

affect the architecture of the brain, that the architecture of the brain is the foun-

dation for all future learning and behavior, and that toxic stress threatens learning

and behavior. Also, we know that learning is relational. In order to learn, children

need strong positive relationships in an emotionally safe environment. Positive

adult- child relationships are built through respectful, responsive, and reciprocal

interactions. Teachers, therefore, must be able to build and maintain strong, posi-

tive, cross- cultural relationships. They need to know how to relate to children and

families even if their life experiences, values, and beliefs are different. They need

to be able to individualize the curriculum and differentiate their teaching strate-

gies in order to provide meaningful, effective education for all children.

We need a definition of good teaching that responds to children’s need for

relational learning and to the changing demographics in early childhood class-

rooms. The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC),

the largest professional organization for early childhood educators, recognizes the

importance of addressing relational learning and cultural diversity in the prepara-

tion of teachers, as the following statements demonstrate:

Young children and their families reflect a great and rapidly increasing diversity

of language and culture. The National Association for the Education of Young

Children’s (NAEYC) recommendations emphasize that early childhood programs

are responsible for creating a welcoming environment that respects diversity, sup-

ports children’s ties to their families and community, and promotes both second


language acquisition and preservation of children’s home languages and cultural

identities. Linguistic and cultural diversity is an asset, not a deficit, for young chil-

dren. (NAEYC 2009b, 1)

Candidates possess the knowledge and skills needed to support and engage diverse

families through respectful, reciprocal relationships. Candidates understand how

to build positive relationships, taking families’ preferences and goals into account

and incorporating knowledge of families’ languages and cultures. Candidates

demonstrate respect for variations across cultures in family strengths, expecta-

tions, values, and childrearing practices. Candidates consider family members to

be resources for insight into their children, as well as resources for curriculum and

program development. (NAEYC 2009a, 12)

Candidates demonstrate the essential dispositions to develop positive, respectful

relationships with children whose cultures and languages may differ from their

own, as well as with children who may have developmental delays, disabilities, or

other learning challenges. In making the transition from family to a group context,

very young children need continuity between the practices of family members and

those used by professionals in the early childhood setting. Their feelings of safety

and confidence depend on that continuity. Candidates know the cultural practices

and contexts of the young children they teach, and they adapt practices as they

continue to develop cultural competence— culturally relevant knowledge and skills.

(NAEYC 2009a, 15)

Head Start, the largest federally funded early childhood program in the United

States, has long served racially and culturally diverse populations. Head Start

programs revolve around the Head Start Program Performance Standards and the

Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework. The standards include principles

for multicultural programming and addressing diversity in the classroom. These

principles describe teacher behaviors, such as demonstrating respect for children’s

cultures, offering a classroom environment that naturally reflects the cultures of

the children, promoting children’s primary language while helping them acquire

English, and avoiding stereotypic materials and activities. The Head Start Early

Learning Outcomes Framework describes the skills, behaviors, and knowledge

that Head Start programs must foster in all children. Here is one of the guiding

principles of the framework:

Every child has diverse strengths rooted in their family’s culture, background,

language, and beliefs. Responsive and respectful learning environments welcome


children from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds. Effective teaching

practices and learning experiences build on the unique backgrounds and prior

experiences of each child. (Office of Head Start 2015, 3)

In the past twenty years, many states have sought to increase the quality of

child care through establishing standards for professional development. Core

knowledge is often the foundation of these new professional development ini-

tiatives. Diversity is now an established element of the core knowledge in early

childhood care and education.

Here are some examples of indicators from the Washington State Core

Competencies for Early Care and Educational Professionals (Washington State

Department of Early Learning 2009, 8–30):

Child Growth and Development

• Respects and accepts cultural differences, including family values and

strengths, and the positive effects those differences may have on behavior

and development.

• Creates environments and experiences that affirm and respect cultural,

linguistic, ethnic, and socioeconomic diversity.

• Demonstrates ability to embrace and integrate cultural, linguistic, ethnic,

and socioeconomic diversity into the daily curriculum by partnering with

families and caregivers to incorporate and value aspects of language and

traditions into the daily routine.

Curriculum and Learning Environment

• Uses materials that demonstrate acceptance of all children’s gender, family,

race, language, culture, ethnic, socioeconomic, and special needs.

• Builds children’s understanding of their own and other cultures by providing

cultural experiences using songs, stories, and language familiar to the child.

• Builds children’s pride in their cultures, families, and communities by cre-

ating learning centers that reflect culture and community members of the

children (e.g., culturally reflective themes, home language reflected in print,

items from home, family photographs included in environment).

• Creates learning environments that allow individuals to retain and appreci-

ate their own and each other’s language, ethnicity, and cultural heritage.


Promoting Physical Development

• Incorporates components of children’s home and family culture into outdoor

play setting.

• Invites feedback and input from families to ensure that cultural norms and

values are respected when designing gross- and fine-motor activities.

Promoting Cognitive Development

• Offers learning opportunities reflecting the cultural, linguistic, ethnic, and

socioeconomic diversity of children in the setting.

• Designs learning opportunities reflective of cultures represented in the

community of the program.

• Recognizes that infants and toddlers have a culturally based approach to

learning that is an essential part of caregiving and curriculum development.

Promoting Language and Communication Development

• Shows knowledge of the role of culture in the development of communica-

tion skills.

• Helps children who are learning a second language by providing them with

supports (i.e., props, gestures, and home language) so they can fully partici-

pate in classroom experiences.

• Uses ongoing culturally appropriate assessment and evaluation tools to

adapt and modify interactions with children to meet the specific language

development needs of individual children.

Promoting Social/Emotional Development

• Understands that family and community have different cultural, linguistic,

ethnic, and socioeconomic experiences that play a role in how children

respond socially to adults and other children.

• Uses intervention strategies that affirm and respect family, cultural, socio-

economic, and linguistic diversity.

Promotes Creative Expression

• Accepts cultural differences that may affect children’s ways of expressing

themselves creatively.


• Incorporates suggestions from families on activities for self- expression that

reflect family culture.

• Helps children learn about themselves and others by designing and imple-

menting meaningful creative experiences to explore similarities and

differences in people.

Ongoing Measurement of Child Progress

• Plans culturally appropriate assessments.

• Uses and considers assessment and screening information when making

curriculum and program decisions for individuals with exceptional learn-

ing needs, including those from culturally and/or linguistically diverse

backgrounds.

Family and Community Partnerships

• Respects and supports cultural differences and diverse family structures.

• Works effectively with families from a variety of cultural, linguistic, ethnic,

and socioeconomic backgrounds.

• Understands how cultural perspectives influence the relationship among

families, schools, and communities.

• Recognizes that information on cultural and family beliefs about child-

rearing is learned through active outreach and engagement with parents.

• Strives to ensure that community diversity and cultures are reflected in the

setting.

• Explains how families within many cultures are different and have different

family structures.

• Demonstrates knowledge of the potential impact of cultural, linguistic,

ethnic, and socioeconomic diversity that can exist between the home and

setting.

Providing Individual Guidance

• Collaborates with families to develop individually appropriate expectations

for children’s behavior.


Program Planning and Development

• Ensures the program meets diversity needs and reflects inclusion of chil-

dren, families, staff, and community partners.

Professional Development and Leadership

• Exhibits familiarity with current trends in early childhood education.

• Participates in group problem solving of ethical dilemmas.

• Articulates personal philosophy of early childhood education based on

knowledge of child development and best practices.

• Articulates and uses a professional code of ethics for making professional

decisions.

• Evaluates current trends in early childhood education and revises practice as

appropriate.

• Takes advantage of opportunities to improve competence, both for personal

and professional growth, and for the benefit of children and families.

• Uses professional resources to improve practice.

• Seeks out professional relationships to enhance professional growth

(e.g., securing a mentor).

• Develops and carries out a personal professional development plan.

• Integrates knowledge of historical, philosophical, psychological, and social

foundations of education into planning and decision making.

• Advances program practice by working collaboratively with other staff to

understand and support the adoption of research and best practices for

children, families, and staff.

QUESTIONS TO PONDER

› What are your thoughts about living in a globalized, multicultural society with

no racial majority?

› How can we prepare children to succeed in a globalized, multicultural society

with no racial majority?

› What will happen if we ignore racial and cultural diversity in our classrooms?

› What will happen if we don’t change the way we recruit and prepare teachers?


TRY THIS TOMORROW

› Review your state’s core competencies for early childhood care and education

professionals. Identify and highlight the competencies related to diversity,

race, and culture. Use Washington State’s standards if your state has no stan-

dards related to diversity, race, and culture.

› Write a professional development plan. What competency area will your plan

focus on? Which standard(s) would you like to meet? Why do you want to

focus on this standard? Who will benefit from your professional development

in this area? How will they benefit?

› Plan your professional development activities. How will you increase your

knowledge and skills? What do you need, and who can help you? When will

you meet your goal? What will be the evidence that you have met your goal?

What will be different as a result?

DIG DEEPER

› Adair, Jennifer Keys. 2015. “The Impact of Discrimination on the Early School-

ing Experiences of Children from Immigrant Families.” Migration Policy

Institute. www.migrationpolicy.org/research/impact- discrimination- early

- schooling- experiences- children- immigrant- families.

› Nganga, Lydiah. 2015. “Multicultural Curriculum in Rural Early Childhood

Programs.” Journal of Praxis in Multicultural Education 9 (1). doi: 10.9741/2161-

2978.1073. http://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/jpme/vol9/iss1/2.

› Ponciano, Leslie, and Ani Shabazian. 2012. “Interculturalism: Addressing Diver-

sity in Early Childhood.” Dimensions of Early Childhood 40 (1): 23–29. http://

southernearlychildhood.org/upload/pdf/Interculturalism___Addressing

_Diversity_in_Early_Childhood___Leslie_Ponciano_and_Ani_Shabazian.pdf.

VIDEOS

› Pew Research Center. 2015. “Multiracial American Voices: Identity.” Pew

Research Center. www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2WaNmhvEzo&list=PLZ9z

- Af5ISatqyY72r32OEcidgbSCtP4k.


› Reid, Jeanne L. 2015. “Why Classroom Diversity Matters in Early Education.”

Teachers College, Columbia University. www.youtube.com/watch?v

=E1QwiWpRJro.

› Reid, Jeanne L., Sharon Lynn Kagan, Michael Hilton, Halley Potter, and Philip

Tegeler. 2015. “A Better Start: Why Classroom Diversity Matters in Early Educa-

tion.” Poverty and Race Research Action Council. www.youtube.com/watch

?v=Vr1YFYU8Kn4.

25

Prejudice is a burden that confuses the past, threatens the future, and renders the present

inaccessible. — Maya Angelou, All God’s Children Need Traveling Shoes

Is it hard for you to believe that preschoolers are prejudiced? If so, you aren’t

alone. Most teachers want to deny the slightest possibility of bias in young chil-

dren. We think to ourselves, “These children are too young to even notice race,

much less understand racism.” Or we say things such as, “Children don’t notice

differences, and besides, they like everyone they meet.” However, there are many

indications that young children are aware of differences and form strong atti-

tudes toward themselves and others. This chapter challenges you to look at your

assumptions about children’s awareness of and attitudes toward human differ-

ences, and to think about prejudice in new ways.

DIFFERENCES CHILDREN NOTICE

In 1986 I wondered if the children in the child care center where I was working

noticed differences among themselves or in the adults. The teachers were not

able to identify many comments from the children to suggest that they were

C H A P T E R

2Children and Prejudice

Implementing Culturally Relevant Anti-bias Education

in the Classroom

PART II

C H A P T E R

7Culturally Relevant Anti-bias EducationWhy do we do anti- bias education work? We do it because we live in a world that is not yet

a place where all children have equal opportunity to become all they are. A worldwide

community of educators shares the vision toward which anti- bias education strives, adapt-

ing its goals and principles to the specific needs of the children and families they work with.

— Louise Derman-Sparks and Julie Olsen Edwards, Anti-Bias Education for Young Children and Ourselves

Ask five people to define multicultural education, and you are sure to get five

different answers. Multicultural education can be confusing, because it means

different things to different people. It is complicated by many definitions, a

variety of approaches, and a number of terms that describe its many aspects.

This chapter will help you sort out things by examining the nature of multi-

cultural education, listing its goals, and explaining the basic approaches. Let’s

begin the journey into the world of multicultural education by asking some basic

questions.

159


WHAT IS MULTICULTURAL EDUCATION?

Multicultural education is many different things:

• a field of study (In its own right, multicultural education is an entire area of

specialization within various fields, such as education, counseling psychology,

and public health. Multicultural education is the field of study/specialization.

Culturally relevant anti- bias education is an approach to multi cultural

education.)

• a way to achieve educational equity and excellence

• an umbrella term for many different curriculum models that try to incorpo-

rate culture or diversity into the curriculum

• a factor at all levels of education (Individuals and institutions serving

children from prekindergarten through graduate school are involved in

multi cultural education. Today multicultural education occurs with children,

adult learners, and parents, and in the workplace. Multicultural education

has been and continues to be a major educational reform movement in

countries such as the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Netherlands,

Australia, and New Zealand.)

Here are some definitions of multicultural education from some of the leaders

in the field:

An Affirmation of PluralismMulticultural education in its broadest sense opposes racism, ethnocentrism,

lin guistic discrimination, religious intolerance, sexism, classism, ableism, and het-

erosexism. It seeks to prevent and reduce prejudice and discredit and dis mantle

systemic racism in educational settings. It supports children’s development of a

positive self- identity, strong cultural and family connections, and home language.

Multicultural education embraces all forms of human diversity and seeks to teach

children how to respect diversity and form meaningful, mutually beneficial cross-

racial and cross- cultural friendships. Multicultural education teaches children

to recognize bias and unfair or hurtful behavior. It invites children to dream of a

world in which each person is treated with respect. In a multicultural program,

children are taught to work together, stand up for one another, and challenge

injustice. Multicultural education at its fullest is infused throughout the entire

program. You can see it in the classroom environment and experience it through

CULTURALLY RELEVANT ANTI- BIAS EDUCATION • 161

the curriculum, teaching strategies, and guidance practices. You can hear it in the

way children and adults talk to each other. You can feel it in your bones. As Chris-

tine Bennett, author of Comprehensive Multicultural Education, puts it:

Multicultural education is a complex approach to teaching and learning that

includes the movement toward equity in schools and classrooms, the transforma-

tion of the curriculum, the process of becoming multiculturally competent, and the

commitment to address societal injustices. (Bennett 2014, 2)

An Extension of DemocracyMulticultural education seeks to extend to all people the ideals that were meant

for an elite few. It consists of the values and beliefs inherent in a democracy:

the promotion of human rights and privileges, the sharing of power, and equal

participation in all social contexts. James A. Banks, a distinguished professor and

author on the subject of multiculturalism, has written much about the connec-

tion between multicultural education and democracy. For example, in his essay

“Multicultural Education: For Freedom’s Sake,” he writes:

Education within a pluralistic society should affirm and help students understand

their home and community cultures. However, it should also help free them from

their cultural boundaries. . . . Education in a democratic society should help students

acquire the knowledge, attitudes, and skills they will need to participate in civic

action to make society more equitable and just.

Multicultural education is an education for freedom . . . that is essential in

today’s ethnically polarized and troubled world. (Banks 1991–92, 32)

A Comprehensive Approach to School ReformBanks and others define multicultural education also as a reform movement

designed to make major changes in the education of children and youth. Advo-

cates of multiethnic education believe that many school practices related to race

and ethnicity are harmful to students and reinforce ethnic stereotypes and dis-

criminatory practices in Western societies. Multicultural education includes but

is much more comprehensive than ethnic studies or curriculum reform related

to ethnicity. Multicultural education is concerned with changing the total school

environment so that students from all ethnic groups will experience equal edu-

cational opportunities. Multicultural education is a way to close the academic

achievement gap. Educators must reform their total educational environments


in order to implement multiethnic education. Here is how James A. Banks and

Cherry A. McGee Banks put it in their book Multicultural Education: Issues and

Perspectives:

Multicultural education is at least three things: an idea or concept, an educational

reform movement, and a process. Multicultural education incorporates the idea

that all students— regardless of their gender; sexual orientation; social class; and

ethnic, racial, or cultural characteristics— should have an equal opportunity to

learn in school. . . .

Multicultural education is also a reform movement that is trying to change the

schools and other educational institutions so that students from all social- class,

gender, racial, language, and cultural groups will have an equal opportunity to

learn. . . .

Multicultural education is also a process whose goals will never be fully realized.

(Banks and Banks 2013, 3–4)

Sonia Nieto, another respected thinker in the field of education, says it this

way:

Multicultural education not only affirms issues of identity and difference but also

assertively confronts issues of power and privilege in society. This means chal-

lenging racism and other biases as well as the inequitable structures, policies, and

practices of schools and, ultimately, of society itself. Affirming language and cul-

ture can help students become successful and well- adjusted learners, but unless

language and cultural issues are viewed critically through the lens of equity and

the power structures that impede the goals of social justice, these perspectives

are unlikely to have a lasting impact in promoting real change. Making explicit

connections among identity, difference, power, and privilege can move education

toward such transformation. (Nieto and Bode 2012, 5)

Multicultural education is far- reaching and multifaceted. Multicultural edu-

cation attempts to address educational inequality that results from racism. We

can identify key traits that best define multicultural education by saying that it

attempts to do the following:

• minimize and heal damage to children’s sense of self that results from

racism

• minimize the development of prejudice and increase children’s ability to

positively engage in cross- cultural and cross- racial relationships


• foster children’s cultural identity and home language

• teach children knowledge, attitudes, and skills that will help them fully

function in a diverse and democratic society, which includes ensuring that

all children develop strong skills in the basic subjects of reading, writing,

math, science, and social science

• teach children to think critically to recognize discrimination and injustice

and to work together to challenge injustice

EARLY CHILDHOOD MULTICULTURAL EDUCATION

Multicultural education grew out of the civil rights movement. But it wasn’t until

the 1980s that early childhood educators began to examine what multicultural

education means for our field. In the early 1980s, several key books were pub-

lished that shaped the thinking about multicultural education: Diversity in the

Classroom by Francis Kendall, Teaching and Learning in a Diverse World by Patricia

Ramsey, Alerta: A Multicultural, Bilingual Approach to Teaching Young Children by

Leslie Williams and Yvonne De Gaetano, and Black Children: Their Roots, Culture,

and Learning Styles by Janice Hale Benson. The 1989 publication of Anti- Bias Cur-

riculum: Tools for Empowering Young Children by Louise Derman- Sparks and the

A. B. C. Task Force launched a movement toward multicultural or anti- bias educa-

tion within early childhood education.

Nadia Saderman Hall wrote The Affective Curriculum: Teaching the Anti- Bias

Approach to Young Children with Valerie Rhomberg in 1995, followed by Creative

Resources for the Anti- Bias Classroom in 1998. Patton Tabors jump- started the dis-

cussion about dual- language learners in early childhood with the publication of

One Child/Two Languages in 1997. Patricia Ramsey revised Teaching and Learning

in a Diverse World in 1998.

Early childhood educators added to the discussion by providing in- depth

exploration of specific topics within the field of multicultural education in early

childhood settings with the publication of four key books in 2002: Lessons from

Turtle Island by Guy W. Jones and Sally Moomaw; Kids Like Us: Using Persona Dolls

in the Classroom by Trisha Whitney; That’s Not Fair! A Teacher’s Guide to Activism

with Young Children by Ann Pelo and Fran Davidson; and Celebrate! An Anti- Bias

Guide to Enjoying Holidays in Early Childhood Programs by Julie Bisson.

Louise Derman- Sparks and Patricia Ramsey collaborated on What If All the

Kids Are White? in 2006. Diversity in Early Care and Education by Janet Gonzalez-

Mena came out in a fifth edition in 2007. A second and expanded edition titled


Anti- Bias Education for Young Children and Ourselves by Louise Derman- Sparks and

Julie Olsen Edwards was published in 2010. This firmly established culturally rel-

evant anti- bias education as the standard approach to multicultural education in

early childhood.

In early childhood settings, culturally relevant anti- bias education begins

with knowing, respecting, and setting high expectations for each child in your

classroom. It involves working with families and adapting caregiving practices to

complement the style and form of caregiving used within each child’s family. It

also includes teaching children about their own culture— their ethnic heritage.

It involves incorporating children’s home languages into the daily life of the

classroom. It also means exposing children to other cultures and helping them

be comfortable with and respect all the ways people differ from each other. It

is teaching children how to relate to one another and how to play fair. Cultur-

ally relevant anti- bias education encourages children to notice and think about

unfairness and challenges them to do something about the unfairness they see

happening to people in their world.

Culturally relevant anti- bias education is more than teaching informa-

tion directly. It means providing a classroom that includes materials depicting

people from many different places doing many different things. It is creating and

maintaining an environment that says, “Everyone is welcome here.” It is also

encouraging children to act, think, and talk like members of their own culture.

Culturally relevant anti- bias education means helping children like themselves just

the way they are. It is encouraging children to actively explore a variety of materi-

als and exposing them to experiences that might not be part of their daily lives.

WHAT CULTURALLY RELEVANT ANTI- BIAS EDUCATION IS . . . AND IS NOT

I hope that culturally relevant anti- bias education is becoming clearer in your

mind. Because of its complexity, it is often misinterpreted and misrepresented in

both schools and the media. Following is a simple chart outlining what it is and is

not.


Why Is Culturally Relevant Anti- bias Education Important?NAEYC’s Accreditation of Programs for Young Children has identified culturally

relevant anti- bias education as one component of a high- quality early childhood

program. As early childhood teachers, we know that high- quality programs pro-

duce positive outcomes for children, families, and society as a whole. Yet many

of us still do not understand why culturally relevant anti- bias education is so

Culturally Relevant Anti- bias Education Is . . .

Culturally Relevant Anti- bias Education Is Not . . .

a moral conviction to help all children reach their fullest potential

a way to achieve fairness and equity in child care and educational settings

an education reform movement that is almost fifty years old

for all children

a way to embrace and equally value cultural diversity within the United States

opening children’s minds to diversity and helping them think critically about injustice

relevant to all age levels and all areas of the curriculum

a way to embrace universal rights and wrongs while respecting differences

an intentional, sustained effort

a lifelong journey that begins with knowing yourself as a cultural being

political correctness

a way to solve all society’s problems

a trend or a fad

only for children of color

white bashing or a rejection of Western or European American culture and tradition

ignoring or devaluing differences

simply one aspect of social studies, children’s literature, and the arts

the idea that anything goes and everything is relative

a onetime event such as a culture fair, one thematic curriculum unit, or an annual celebration

something teachers and administrators can learn in a onetime workshop


important in the early years. Culturally relevant anti- bias education serves the

following functions:

• encourages a true sense of self

• promotes healthy development

• prepares children for the future

• prevents isolation

• discourages denial and fear of differences

Let’s look at each of these functions, one at a time.

Encouraging a True Sense of Self

Culturally relevant anti- bias education is important for young children because

they deserve to be in programs where it is safe for them to be who they are. Chil-

dren deserve to know the truth about themselves, the real world, and the people

in it. Children have the right to feel proud of themselves, to learn to be coura-

geous, and to not feel like victims. Children are entitled to their cultural heritage,

a strong positive cultural identity, and a home language.

Promoting Healthy Development

Early childhood teachers know that the early years are an important time for chil-

dren’s growth and development. During this time, children acquire a self- concept,

build their self- esteem, learn how to make friends, become aware of family and

community, learn to use words to express themselves, have strong feelings and

fears, use magical (and often distorted) thinking, and tend to believe everything

they see and hear. This is the time to prevent or minimize prejudice and help

children learn to function successfully and cooperatively in a culturally diverse

society and world. Racism inhibits all of a child’s development. Culturally relevant

anti- bias education offers children an opportunity for “corrective development.”

Counselor educator Cirecie West- Olatunji uses the term corrective development

to describe the process and setting needed to correct children’s false ideas about

themselves and others that they may have internalized from growing up in a racist

society (Cronin et al. 1998, 106).


Preparing Children for the Future

Culturally relevant anti- bias education is important because teachers must pre-

pare children to live in our diverse country and global marketplace as well as to

live in the future. In time, whites will not be the racial majority in the United

States. The US Census Bureau forecasts that by 2044 there will no longer be a

majority race in our country (Colby and Ortman 2015). The children in our class-

rooms will need cross- cultural skills and will probably need to be bilingual if they

are to fully participate in the future workforce. Cross- cultural skills include valu-

ing difference, being open to change, understanding one’s own cultural identity,

participating as a member of a diverse group, being able to talk about and explore

diversity issues, and making decisions and resolving differences as a member of a

diverse group.

Preventing Isolation

When I taught in and directed suburban and rural programs, I often wondered if

culturally relevant anti- bias education was relevant for me, because all the chil-

dren in my program seemed the same. Since then, I have learned that culturally

relevant anti- bias education is just as important in an all–European American

program or an all- Latino program as it is in a multiracial program.

Growing up in a community where everyone is the same can give children

the false impression that everyone everywhere is alike. Children in monocultural

communities and monocultural early childhood programs can grow up not know-

ing about other cultures, without developing a sensitivity to the life experiences

of others, and without ever thinking about people of other cultures. Unfortu-

nately, these children don’t know that their country and their world are made

up of many communities that are different from their own. To exclude culturally

relevant anti- bias education from the early childhood curriculum is to risk isolat-

ing children from the rest of the world.

Discouraging Denial and Fear of Differences

Children in monocultural environments risk growing up denying or being afraid

of the differences among people. It is common to hear teachers in rural or subur-

ban programs say, “I never knew there were differences.” “My family never talked

about them.” “In a small town it’s different, because everyone is the same and

everyone is accepted.”


An early childhood program that does not provide culturally relevant anti- bias

education encourages denial and teaches children a narrow view of the world.

Teaching as if only one perspective really matters promotes the idea that other

ways of being in the world are somehow deficient, inadequate, or even wrong.

European American children need to understand and accept that there are other

perspectives and other ways of being in the world.

When I lived in a small town, people noticed and talked about differences.

Sometimes the talk was just gossip, but other times people used the differences

to put others down or to feel superior. People talked about what church you

attended, what side of the railroad tracks you lived on, what crop you farmed,

where you bought your seed, where you worked, what kind of truck you drove,

what make of farm machinery you used, where you went on vacation, who was

married and who was single, who stayed in town and who left.

To teach culturally relevant anti- bias education in classes where everyone

seems the same, begin with the differences at hand. Even programs in which

everyone seems to be the same can emphasize differences among the children,

such as hair color, family size, where the children live, and where their parents

and other family members work.

MULTICULTURAL EDUCATION APPROACHES

Now that we have defined multicultural education, let’s think about how this

type of education gets implemented in the classroom. Three approaches that are

often used in early childhood education are the single- group studies approach,

the multicultural approach, and the culturally relevant anti- bias education

approach. Two of these commonly implemented approaches fall short of being

truly all- encompassing. Think of your program and your curriculum as you exam-

ine each approach below.

Single- Group StudiesThis approach is based on the belief that knowing oneself is the beginning of

understanding and accepting others. Single- group studies are especially popu-

lar at the college level, with departments and entire degree programs, such as

African American studies, Latin American studies, Scandinavian studies, and

women’s studies. The goals of single- group studies are to teach appreciation of

one’s own culture, to raise cultural awareness, and to encourage individuals to

take action on behalf of their people. The curriculum includes learning about the


historical influences, cultural patterns, and current issues that influence or affect

the culture.

In early childhood education, the single- group studies approach is sometimes

called “the four Fs” (food, festivals, folktales, and fun). In an early childhood

setting, children would learn about another culture. It might be a culture that is

represented in the classroom or community, or it might be a culture with which

the children have no experience.

The single- group studies approach is also known as the “tourist” approach,

and it has been around the longest. Louise Derman- Sparks calls this method the

tourist approach because it is like taking a short trip. For a brief period of time,

the class goes sightseeing, trying out and enjoying the food, the folk costumes,

the dances, and the music of each culture. At the end of the week, the class

leaves the country, and the topic is dropped until the same time next year.

Many adults today can remember a “multicultural” curriculum from their

childhoods that studied topics such as “Christmas around the World.” Most

commercial curriculum materials reflect this method. Unfortunately, many Euro-

pean American programs and multiracial programs have turned this model into

another form of classroom entertainment. Consequently, children learn about

cultures through units or themes, such as Hawaii Week, Africa Week, Mexico

Week, and Indian Week, that focus on one group of people at a time.

The tourist approach can hinder children by reinforcing the idea that people

who are different from them lived a long time ago or that all they do is wear funny

clothes, eat weird food, and dance. In other words, this approach with young

children often teaches stereotypes, which we know leads to prejudice. The single-

group studies approach is inappropriate for early childhood settings because it

perpetuates white superiority. According to Derman- Sparks and Edwards, a tourist

approach teaches simplistic generalizations about other people. These generaliza-

tions lead to stereotyping instead of understanding differences (Derman- Sparks

and Edwards 2010). In the end, this approach does more harm than good.

Multicultural ApproachThis approach advocates the view that the United States is like a tossed salad and

that the strength of our society comes from diversity. A multicultural approach

gives children the message that it is all right to be different, that differences are

good, and that people deserve to choose how they want to live. This approach

also affirms equality; it says that people deserve the same opportunities regard-

less of gender, race, class, religion, age, ability, or sexual orientation. Programs


using this approach are nondiscriminatory and show respect for children’s fami-

lies, home lives, and learning styles. Children learn about the contributions and

traits of the cultures represented in their classroom or community. They may also

be encouraged to use more than one language. The classroom materials and bul-

letin boards reflect all types of diversity. Units on boys and girls, families, bodies,

and celebrations are examples of themes that affirm diversity. The multicultural

approach introduces children to diversity but doesn’t help children learn how to

stand up to bias.

Culturally Relevant Anti- bias EducationCulturally relevant anti- bias education is the most current term for a comprehen-

sive approach to multicultural education in early childhood settings. The term

originated with Sharon Cronin when she was a faculty member at Pacific Oaks

College Northwest in Seattle. Cronin was one of the site coordinators in a large

initiative called the Culturally Relevant Anti- Bias (CRAB) Leadership Project,

which was funded by the Kellogg Foundation and directed by Louise Derman-

Sparks. The book Future Vision, Present Work discusses this project. Here is how

the name “culturally relevant anti- bias,” or “CRAB,” originated:

Sharon Cronin suggested that the name should be changed to acknowledge the

long history of work by people of color in establishing a decisive voice as to how

their children are cared for and taught. She proposed adding the term “cultural

relevancy” to the project’s title to clarify the fundamental connection between the

concept of providing programs for children of color that support and reflect their

home culture (thus, “culturally relevant” environments) and the anti- bias goals as

they were originally formulated. (Cronin et al. 1998, 22)

As the name implies, culturally relevant anti- bias education begins with pro-

viding care and education that includes the following:

• caregiving practices that complement the families’ style of caring for their

children

• classroom environments that reflect the children’s home cultures, use

teaching strategies that are common within the children’s home cultures,

incorporate the children’s home languages into the life of the classroom, and

use activities that help children learn more and gain greater appreciation of

their home cultures


• an anti- bias approach that helps children learn about human diversity, gain

respect and appreciation for diversity, learn to recognize and resist stereo-

types and unfair behavior, and learn to work with others to stand up for

themselves or to challenge bias; and anti- bias education that is carried out

through classroom materials and planned activities

Culturally relevant anti- bias education addresses culture, diversity, fairness,

and social action. Through this education, young children learn about their home

cultures and themselves as people with a culture. They develop strong positive

identities and connections to their families and cultural communities. Children

examine, explore, and think about ways in which people are like one another

and different from one another. Children recognize that friends come in dif-

ferent colors and speak different languages. They learn that diversity is part of

life. Children build skills in forming and maintaining strong, positive, respectful

cross- cultural relationships.

Culturally relevant anti- bias education seeks to reduce prejudice. Adults help

young children correct mistaken ideas that cause them to lump people together,

overgeneralize, make fun of others, or discount others because of their skin

color, culture, or language. Adults encourage children to identify situations that

are fair and unfair. Teachers help children examine their feelings about being

called names, made fun of, or left out. Through small- and large- group discussion,

children develop empathy for others and learn that they can use their words to

help others. They can say something to another child or seek help from an adult.

Children learn how to use their voices to stand up for themselves and others.

In addition, the classroom community talks about the importance of including

everyone and treating everyone fairly. Together the children choose how to make

their classroom safe and fair for everyone.

In 2014 the Southern Poverty Law Center developed the Teaching Tolerance

Anti- bias Framework for kindergarten through twelfth grade based on the ground-

breaking work of Louise Derman- Sparks. It provides grade- level outcomes and

scenarios, which teachers can use to guide curriculum development and admin-

istrators can use to make schools more just, equitable, and safe. This document is

a huge contribution to the field and to those working on pre- K- to- grade- twelve

alignment. The Teaching Tolerance Anti- bias Framework shows where the field of

culturally relevant anti- bias education is today and where it is headed tomorrow.


Social- Emotional Learning: The Foundation for Culturally Relevant Anti- bias Education

As you think about implementing a culturally relevant anti- bias approach, con-

sider the importance of beginning with an emphasis on supporting children’s

social- emotional development. A strong social- emotional learning curriculum

lays the foundation for culturally relevant anti- bias education. There are many

effective approaches to promoting positive social- emotional development. The

Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning (CSEFEL)

Pyramid Model for Supporting Social- Emotional Competence in Infants and

Young Children, Conscious Discipline, and the Responsive Classroom are three

models that help teachers establish a positive climate based on warm, respectful

relationships; effective communication; positive classroom management; and

effectively teaching children basic social- emotional skills.

To achieve these outcomes, programs must intentionally and systematically

implement social- emotional learning throughout the entire program. These

programs teach children the essential social- emotional skills necessary to par-

ticipate in a culturally diverse, antiracist society. Teachers build strong, positive

relationships with children and use many different strategies that give children

opportunities to practice, refine, and generalize their social- emotional skills for

all aspects of their lives. The following are characteristics of such programs:

• A high- quality early childhood environment includes positive adult- child

relationships, well- defined interest areas, enough materials in each area to

prevent unnecessary conflicts, organization through labeling, and a develop-

mentally appropriate daily routine.

• Teachers effectively use positive, respectful language and a positive tone of

voice.

• The social- emotional learning approach extends through the whole program,

including the playground, the gym or large- motor room, the library, the cafe-

teria, and the bus.

• Teachers use a variety of intentional teaching methods, such as direct

instruction, modeling, role play, guided practice, and reinforcement, to build

children’s social- emotional skills.

• Morning circle time builds a sense of belonging, significance, and

community.

• A few well- chosen rules are taught, practiced, and reinforced through visual

reminders.


• The curriculum teaches core social skills, such as the following:

– recognizing feelings

– managing frustration, anger, and disappointment

– asking to play, using words, taking turns, sharing, cooperating, asking for

help, and giving compliments

– solving problems

– developing empathy

• The classroom includes a peace table or a problem- solving kit children can

use to solve their problems nonviolently.

• Families receive information, support, and education on carrying out social-

emotional learning at home.

• Practices and procedures are in place to observe, assess, and individualize

instruction for children with challenging behaviors.

• Suspension and expulsion are not options.

A strong social- emotional curriculum is in no way a replacement for culturally

relevant anti- bias education. It is a foundation that supports and strengthens

culturally relevant anti- bias education. It alone does not effectively support chil-

dren’s cultural identities, address human diversity, help children recognize bias,

and take action. Early childhood programs need to integrate social- emotional

development with academic learning in a way that supports children’s cultural

identities, supports home language, fosters respect for diversity, and helps chil-

dren recognize and stand up to injustice.

CURRICULUM GOALS

Ideally, curriculum goals and objectives of early childhood education are based

on child development principles. Previous chapters described the effects of cul-

ture, prejudice, and racism on children’s development. From a developmental

perspective, we know that it is important to promote children’s cultural identity,

strengthen their connection to their home culture, and strengthen their home

language. We also know that children are developing prejudice. As teachers, we

can work to reduce children’s prejudice by helping them recognize stereotypes

and learn to resist name- calling and teasing others who are different from them.

We know that racism destroys our humanity. As teachers we can work to mini-

mize the negative impact of racism on children’s lives.


Child development knowledge is translated into educational practice through

goals and objectives. Goals are broad, sweeping statements that describe our

hopes and dreams for children. They are the principles on which a curriculum is

based. The following four educational goals translate our knowledge of culture,

prejudice, and racism into positive outcomes for children. These goals were

developed and published by Louise Derman-Sparks and the A. B. C. Task Force in

their book Anti-Bias Curriculum: Tools for Empowering Young Children (1989). They

have been adapted for use by many, including Dr. Carol Brunson Day and others

participating in the many anti-bias leadership initiatives coordinated by Derman-

Sparks. Notice how the developmental issues translate into the goals that lay the

foundation of culturally relevant anti- bias education.

Key Developmental Issues Translated into These Educational Goals

Self- identity within a cultural context

First- and second- language acquisition

Mistaken thinking based on stereo-typic or limited information

Development of bias and prejudice toward others

Impact of structural racism on children’s development

1. To develop positive, knowledgeable, and confident self- identity within a cultural context

2. To demonstrate comfortable, empathetic interaction with diversity among people

3. To think critically about bias

4. To stand up for oneself and others in the face of bias

CURRICULUM OBJECTIVES

Because goals are so general, planning curriculum based on goal statements is

difficult. Objectives are used in conjunction with goal statements to connect child

development concepts with educational practices. Each of the goals described

above is accompanied by a set of objectives. Objectives are specific statements

with a narrow focus, written in behavioral terms. Objectives describe what the

child will know, feel, or do. Here is a complete list of the goals and objectives of a

culturally relevant anti- bias curriculum.


Goal 1: Develop a Positive, Knowledgeable, and Confident Self- Identity within a Cultural ContextObjectives

• recognize one’s own physical features

• recognize one’s own language

• recognize one’s own dress

• recognize one’s own diet and style of eating

• recognize one’s own family

• recognize and identify the meaning of one’s own name

• identify one’s own culture, cultural traditions, and customs

• appreciate one’s own cultural heritage

• understand the concept of homelands

• use one’s home language in public

• demonstrate positive sense of self- worth

• recognize one’s own beauty

• demonstrate dignity and pride

• demonstrate feeling of being special and unique

• describe self using positive language

• demonstrate self- acceptance of one’s cultural identity

• demonstrate self- acceptance of one’s physical features

• begin to understand racial constancy

• identify with one’s own culture

• recognize one’s family celebrations

• share one’s family celebrations with others

• experience a connection between families and schools

• experience a sense of belonging in the classroom

• talk about one’s home life with others

• experience high expectations of oneself

• demonstrate sense of determination

• participate in a positive, supportive group


• recognize role models within one’s own culture

• demonstrate belief in oneself

• identify own skills and abilities

• recognize one’s own value and contribution to the group

Goal 2: Demonstrate Comfortable, Empathetic Interaction with Diversity among PeopleObjectives

• accept others who are different from oneself

• appreciate physical characteristics of others

• explore similarities and differences in positive ways

• recognize human similarities and differences and develop positive attitudes

toward them

• recognize that people have the same basic needs

• recognize that people do things in different ways and have different

lifestyles

• recognize that human differences make people unique and special

• recognize that our community is made up of many different types of people

• identify some of the cultural groups that make up US society

• recognize one’s own culture within US society

• understand that all people deserve respect

• show respect for all people

• experience positive relationships with people who are different from oneself

• increase one’s willingness to interact with diverse groups of people

• show empathy for others

• explore the cultures of the other children in the class

• notice another’s point of view

• pronounce the names of one’s classmates correctly

• experience human diversity in various ways

• show increasing comfort with human diversity

• experience cross- cultural relationships


• attend community cultural events

• meet leaders from diverse cultural groups

• recognize the contributions from all cultural groups

Goal 3: Think Critically about BiasObjectives

• recognize a stereotype

• describe and define “stereotype”

• compare “real” and “pretend”

• recognize prejudice

• recognize that some people are afraid of others

• recognize that some people have misconceptions about others

• recognize that some people treat others unfairly because of differences

• accept that unfair treatment because of differences is wrong

• compare respectful and disrespectful behaviors

• compare fair and unfair behaviors

• recognize unfair behavior when it occurs

• recognize that name- calling and teasing hurts others

• resist name- calling and teasing

• recognize those who are left out and those who are included

• recognize that rejecting others hurts them

• identify ways to avoid rejecting others

• explore why people are discriminated against

• identify the importance of doing something about discrimination

• identify ways to respond to discrimination

• put oneself in another person’s situation

• practice thinking before acting

• recognize the concept of human rights

• show concern about people’s welfare

• show concern for people in our community


• clarify one’s misconceptions about human diversity

• receive simple, truthful information about human diversity

• recognize the importance of not making judgments based on appearance

• recognize that people within a group are not all alike

• think for oneself

• distinguish right from wrong

Goal 4: Stand Up for Oneself and Others in the Face of BiasObjectives

• practice standing up for oneself

• practice standing up for another person

• contribute positively to the classroom and to the community

• recognize that people can work together to help one another

• cooperate with others

• practice conflict- resolution skills

• participate in group problem solving

• take personal responsibility in social situations

• relate values and principle to action

• feel responsibility to oneself and to one’s family, culture, and community

• seek adult assistance for and protection from mistreatment

• participate as a group member and in group decision making

• generate solutions to problems

• experience democratic conflict resolution

• work cooperatively with others

The four goals help teachers focus on the four key developmental and con-

textual issues that shape culturally relevant anti- bias education. Focusing on

self- identity within a cultural context, diversity, bias, and social action is the

essence of culturally relevant anti- bias education. These four key goals define

the curriculum. This is the essential content that must be embedded in the early

childhood curriculum.


The objectives listed under each goal describe the knowledge, skills, and atti-

tudes we hope to foster in children. Use the objectives to help you select, adapt,

and design developmentally appropriate culturally relevant anti- bias learning

experiences.

By now you are probably reflecting on and rethinking your approach to multi-

cultural education. I hope that you are able to envision new possibilities for the

future. Perhaps now you can see why culturally relevant anti- bias education has

emerged as the most current and comprehensive approach to multicultural edu-

cation in early childhood settings.

QUESTIONS TO PONDER

› How would you define culturally relevant anti- bias education?

› Why is culturally relevant anti- bias education important to you?

› Which of the approaches best matches what is currently taking place in your

classroom?

› What changes can you make to improve culturally relevant anti- bias education

in your classroom?

TRY THIS TOMORROW

› Review the culturally relevant anti- bias goals and objectives. Use a blue high-

lighter to highlight the objectives that match your state standards. Use a green

highlighter to underline the objectives that you currently address through your

curriculum. Use a pink highlighter to put a check mark next to each of five

objectives that you would like to address in your curriculum during the next

four weeks.

DIG DEEPER

› Derman- Sparks, Louise, and Julie Olsen Edwards. 2010. Anti- Bias Education for

Young Children and Ourselves. 2nd ed. Washington DC: NAEYC.

› Derman- Sparks, Louise, Debbie Lee Keenan, and John Nimmo. 2015. Leading

Anti- Bias Early Childhood Programs: A Guide for Change. New York: Teacher’s

College Press.


› Derman- Sparks, Louise, and Patricia G. Ramsey. 2011. What If All the Kids Are

White? Anti- Bias Multicultural Education with Young Children and Families. New

York: Teacher’s College Press.

› Office of Head Start. 2008. “Multicultural Principles for Head Start Programs

Serving Children Ages Birth to Five.” Head Start. eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/hslc

/tta- system/cultural- linguistic/Dual%20Language%20Learners/pdm

/responsiveness/revisiting.htm.

› Ramsey, Patricia G. 2015. Teaching and Learning in a Diverse World: Multicultural

Education for Young Children. 4th ed. New York: Teacher’s College Press.

› Southern Poverty Law Center. 2014. “Critical Practices for Anti- Bias Education.”

Teaching Tolerance. www.tolerance.org/sites/default/files/general/PDA

%20Critical%20Practices_0.pdf.

› Southern Poverty Law Center. 2014. “Teaching Tolerance Anti- Bias Framework.”

Teaching Tolerance. www.tolerance.org/sites/default/files/general/Anti

%20bias%20framework%20pamphlet.pdf.

VIDEOS

› Derman- Sparks, Louise, Socorro Swan, Cherisse Sherin, and Bert Atkinson. 1988.

“Anti- Bias Curriculum.” Anti-Bias Curriculum Task Force. www.youtube.com

/watch?v=Tx1HF_rh95c.

› Giugni, Miriam. 2015. “World Views— Antibias Practices and Curriculum.”

Communities at Work: Centre of Professional Learning and Education.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwskGU4PfrQ.

› Ramsey, Patricia. 2012. “Teaching and Learning in a Diverse and Inequitable

World.” Sarah Lawrence College. www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTe4CR9stPw.

C H A P T E R

8A Culturally Relevant Anti-bias ClassroomChildren need literature that serves as a window onto lives and experiences different from

their own, and literature that serves as a mirror reflecting themselves and their cultural

values, attitudes and behaviors. — Rudine Sims Bishop, Kaleidoscope

The quickest and easiest way to add or improve culturally relevant anti- bias

education is to improve the classroom. It is easier to change things than it is to

change people. Working on the classroom first allows you to roll up your sleeves

and dig in right away. So jump into culturally relevant anti- bias education and get

started with the classroom.

At some level, most early childhood professionals already know that starting

with the room arrangement is a good idea. Ask a few teachers what they do for

culturally relevant anti- bias education. Often the answer is something like this:

“The center has a set of multiethnic dolls that we rotate from room to room. Our

director bought each classroom a few books and a poster. I put the things out, but

I don’t know what to do next.” Although many programs and teachers begin in

the right place, they don’t go far enough to realize their goals. They aren’t sure if

the few materials are making an impact on the children, and they don’t have any

more money in the equipment budget. Not knowing what else to do, they become

stuck and bewildered.181

GOAL 1

ActivitiesCulturally relevant activities strengthen children’s connections to their family

and home culture. Activities may include demonstrations by parents or grand-

parents, learning to count or recite the alphabet in a child’s home language, or

learning about a child’s home country. Parents and grandparents are wonderful

sources for culturally relevant activities. Look for more culturally relevant activity

ideas in these resources:

De Gaetano, Yvonne, Leslie Williams, and Dinah Volk. 1997. Kaleidoscope:

A Multicultural Approach for the Primary School Classroom. Upper Saddle

River, NJ: Pearson.

Early Edge California. N.d. “Culturally Responsive and Relevant Teaching

and Learning.” TKCalifornia. http://www.tkcalifornia.org/teaching- tools

/classroom- instructional- planning/culturally- responsive.html.

Moll, Patricia Buerke. 1994. Children and Books I: African American Story

Books and Activities for All Children. 2nd ed. Tampa, FL: Hampton Mae

Institute.

235


Baby PicturesTOPICS Bodies, Families, Our Class

OBJECTIVES Recognize and celebrate one’s own physical features. Feel special and unique.

MATERIALS Baby photographs of each child, a current photograph of each child

DESCRIPTION Collect pictures of each child as a baby. At circle time, tell the children you have

pictures of them as babies. Say, “I’m going to hold up the baby pictures one at a time. Look at each

picture carefully, and see if you can guess who it is.” When the children make a guess, ask them

to explain their reasoning. Then set out the baby photos and the current photos of the children.

Invite children to match the baby and current photo for each child. Display the baby photos and

current photos side by side on a bulletin board in the classroom. If you are concerned about dam-

aging or losing the baby photos, make color photocopies of them.

VARIATIONS 1. Include baby and current pictures of the teaching staff. 2. Make a memory match-

ing game by gluing a photocopy of each picture onto a blank index card. Laminate the cards. Lay

them out facedown and invite children to find a match.

1goal

Cultural CommunitiesTOPICS Community, My People

OBJECTIVES Recognize one’s own cultural dress. Recognize one’s own cultural foods. Recognize

one’s home language. Identify with one’s culture.

MATERIALS Photographs, brochures, flyers, menus, posters, newspapers, and other items from

each of the cultural communities represented in your class

DESCRIPTION Identify the cultures of the children in your class. If possible, take a walk through

a culturally specific neighborhood or business district in your community that reflects one of the

children in your class. Arrange for your class to visit a retail store, restaurant, bakery, social service

agency, or other business. Take photographs of the neighborhood. When you return to the class-

room, make a community book with the children. Include what you saw, smelled, tasted, heard,

and touched in that culture’s community.

VARIATION Ask a parent from that culture to help you make the community book bilingual.

1goal

CULTURALLY RELEVANT ANTI- BIAS ACTIVITIES • 237

Who Am I? Board GameTOPICS Our Class, My People, Friends, Heroes and Sheroes

OBJECTIVES Identify one’s own culture. Identify one’s own cultural traditions and customs. Accept

one’s cultural identity.

MATERIALS File folder, felt- tip pens, construction paper, game board spinner or die, game pieces

DESCRIPTION Use a file folder to make a simple board game. Make a path two inches wide that

weaves back and forth across the page. Write the word start on the left side, and write the word end

on the right side. You may want to write “Who Am I? Board Game” on the folder. You can also dec-

orate the game board with pictures and images representing the children’s home cultures. Make

a set of game cards by writing questions related to cultural identity on each card. For example,

include the following questions:

What’s the name of your culture?

What’s your home language, or what is a language that people from your culture speak?

Where did your relatives come from?

What’s one food people from your culture eat?

What’s one instrument people from your culture play?

What’s one piece of clothing that people from your culture wear?

What’s one holiday or celebration from your culture?

Who is one hero or shero from your culture?

What’s your favorite thing about being from your culture?

You may need to make duplicates of the cards in order to have enough to play the game. To play,

give each child a marker. The markers could be different- colored buttons. A child takes a turn by

rolling the die and turning over the top card. The teacher reads the question. If the child is able to

answer the question, the child moves forward the number on the die.

VARIATION Make a board game for other topics, such as My Family, Our Class, or My Friends.

1goal


Sock PuppetsTOPICS I’m Me and I’m Special, Boys and Girls, Friends, Alike and Different, Colors, Feelings, Folk-

tales, Books, Bodies

OBJECTIVES Give children an opportunity to make three- dimensional objects to represent them-

selves. Gain skills in verbal self- expression.

MATERIALS Collection of tan, beige, cream, brown, peach, and other skin- colored socks; felt

scraps; assorted fabric trim, yarn, buttons; glue; mirrors

DESCRIPTION Say to the children, “I brought some materials so that you can make a sock puppet

that looks just like you.” Let the children select the color of sock they want to use for making a

puppet. Encourage them to choose one that is similar to their skin color. Set out the mirror and

materials on a table. The children may want to look in the mirror when deciding how to make their

puppet’s facial features and hair. Talk about the similarities and differences between the puppets. For

example, you could say, “Each puppet is different because it looks like the person who is making it.”

VARIATION Set up or make a puppet stage and encourage the children to act out a story or class-

room situation.

1goal

I’m Special BookTOPICS I’m Me and I’m Special, Friends, Books, Alike and Different

OBJECTIVES Help children feel good about themselves and notice how each of the children in the

class is special.

MATERIALS Construction paper (twelve by eighteen inches), yarn, hole punch, camera, film, felt-

tip marker, glue

DESCRIPTION Make a book for each child by folding three sheets of construction paper in half.

Punch holes one- half inch from the fold. Thread the yarn through the hole and tie in a bow to

secure the book. Take a photograph of each child, and glue it to the cover. Fill the book with infor-

mation about and photographs of the child. Include physical characteristics (height, weight, skin

color, eye color), favorite toys, family size and members, languages spoken at home, pets, nick-

name, birth date, and age. Set the “I’m Special” books in the classroom’s book corner for all the

children to look at and read.

VARIATIONS 1. Make the book so that it can be filled in at home by the parent and child. 2. Make

a book of the entire class with a page or two for each child.

1goal

GOAL 2

ActivitiesDiversity activities promote the goals and objectives of goal 2. That is, they foster

each child’s positive, empathetic interaction with diversity among people. In an

anti- bias curriculum, diversity activities would address all areas of human diver-

sity. This includes age, gender, economic class, culture, race, disability, body size,

and sexual orientation.

Diversity activities are usually the easiest activities for teachers to plan and

carry out with children. Most teachers are used to helping children explore the

concepts of alike and different. Look for more diversity activity ideas in the

following sources:

Anti- Defamation League. 2002. “Sample Lessons and Activities.” ADL. http://

archive.adl.org/education/default_lessons.html.

Hall, Nadia Saderman. 1999. Creative Resources for the Anti- bias Classroom.

Albany, NY: Delmar.

Hall, Nadia Saderman, and Valerie Rhomberg. 1995. The Affective Curriculum:

Teaching the Anti- Bias Approach to Young Children. Toronto: Nelson Canada.

251


Mixing PlaydoughTOPICS I’m Me and I’m Special, Alike and Different, Colors, Five Senses, Light and Dark, Bodies,

Changes

OBJECTIVES Explore similarities and differences. Appreciate the physical characteristics of others.

MATERIALS Mixing bowls, measuring cups, measuring spoons, large spoon for stirring, flour, salt,

alum, oil, tempera powder or paste food coloring

DESCRIPTION With the children, prepare five batches of playdough, one in each of the following

colors: black, brown, red, yellow, white. Use this recipe or one you are familiar with.

Playdough

2 cups flour

1 cup salt

2 tablespoons alum

11/2 cups warm water

1 tablespoon oil

paste food coloring or tempera powder

Mix one to three tablespoons of tempera powder with the liquid ingredients. Add mixture to the

dry ingredients and stir. Knead until smooth. Store in an airtight container.

Tell the children there are five different colors of playdough and they can make different colors by

mixing two or three colors together. For example, combining red playdough with white playdough

will make pink playdough. Ask the children to look at the color of their skin. Encourage them to

mix different colors of playdough so that their ball of playdough matches their skin color. As the

children experiment with combining the playdough, talk with them about the concepts of new

colors, shades of color, and lighter and darker.

VARIATIONS 1. Make a recipe chart that shows how to mix colors. 2. Put each child’s ball of skin-

colored playdough in a plastic bag, and allow the children to take their playdough home. 3. During

group time, see if the children can arrange the balls of playdough in order from light to dark.

4. Leave the five colors of playdough out on the art shelf for two weeks so that children can con-

tinue to experiment with mixing colors to match their skin color.

2goal

CULTURALLY RELEVANT ANTI- BIAS ACTIVITIES • 253

Fingerpaint Mix- UpTOPICS I’m Me and I’m Special, Changes, Alike and Different, Five Senses, Light and Dark, Bodies

OBJECTIVES Explore similarities and differences. Develop positive attitudes toward human

differences.

MATERIALS Liquid starch; black, brown, red, yellow, and white tempera powder; fingerpaint paper;

paint smocks; small plastic bowls; teaspoons

DESCRIPTION Put a small amount of each color of powdered tempera paint into separate bowls

and set them out on a table with a teaspoon in each. Show the children the five colors of paint.

Ask the children to look at their skin colors. Prompt discussion of the difference between the

paint colors and skin colors by asking them questions such as: “Are those paint colors the same

colors as the skin of any of the children around the table?” “How are they different?” “What do

you think will happen if you mix the colors together?” or “How could you use these colors of paint

to mix paint that’s the same color as your skin?” Give each child a piece of fingerpaint paper, and

pour about three tablespoons of liquid starch onto the paper (or allow the children to mix paint

directly on the table). Tell the children they can spoon a little bit of the powdered tempera onto

their papers or onto the table and mix the colors and starch together with their fingers. Encour-

age the children to mix the colors to make fingerpaint that matches their skin color. Compare the

color of the fingerpaint with each child’s skin color, and help them figure out how to mix paint

that matches their skin color by asking them questions or making comments such as: “Is the paint

darker or lighter than your skin color?” “What color do you think you need more of to make the

paint match your skin?” or “Hmm, that paint is pinker than you are, isn’t it?”

VARIATIONS 1. After the painting has dried, encourage the children to draw a face on their art-

work. 2. Allow the children to fingerpaint directly on the table. When they are finished, lay a piece

of paper on top of the area. Press down and lift the paper off quickly, making a print of the finger-

painting. This gives children a chance to freely experiment without using up a lot of paper. 3. Use

Lakeshore’s people- color paints.

2goal

Documents

Affirming Culture and Preventing Bias in Early Childhood