My co-teacher shared a story with me that she experienced in another classroom.One of the parents had brought their child into the preschool room one day when one of the Spanish-speaking families came in at the same time. The Spanish-speaking family was talking in Spanish and the other child and mom were standing there listening. This child turned around and looked at his mom and said, "See Mom? He talks too fast and I can't understand anything he says." This mom turned bright red and told her child, "Sshh, he speaks a different language than we do."
The message communicated to this child was that something was wrong with the Spanish-speaking child because he did not speak the same language and the other child felt he could not talk to him because he could not speak English. It was also communicated that it was not really ok that this child spoke another language. It was more like the parent was embarrassed that the child realized it.
As an anti-bias educator, a helpful comment could have been, "He is so lucky to speak two languages isn't he? Maybe he can teach us some words in Spanish?"
Hi Lori,
ReplyDeleteIt is important that we correct children in a positive way, and I think that is a wonderful strategy for anti-bias educators. We must teach children to respect others and it must start at home.
Hello Lori
ReplyDeleteI have witnessed young children looking at other families that speak different languages than their language. The children stare and eventually go into a gaze trying to figure out the language that is being spoken. I feel that it is important to introduce children at a early age to other langauges. The home language should always be respected but children need to engage in other languages. I am a big fan of Nickoledeon and Nick Jr because of Dora and Nia Hao, Kai-lan, these two shows promote language diversity.
I like your suggestion about how to reiterate what the little boy was saying. These are the type of opportunities that can actually be used to help teach children about diversity and invite them to look at our differences in a new light. Something similar to this happened in the development center that I work in. I always try to incorporate the concerns of other children and expand on what they are thinking. Thanks for sharing your story!
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