As a child, I remember my grandma talking to me about the “darkies”
who rode on the railroad cars and traveled across the country. For a long time, I had no idea who she was
talking about until one day when we were watching TV, Sami Davis Jr was on
Match Game. My grandma commented that he was a darkie. It was then I understood her racism towards
African –Americans. Living in a small town in a rural farm community, she was
not used to seeing people of different races in the area. The reputation that
they had was they were bad news and trouble. They were poor and had no means to
support themselves so they rode the railroad cars all around.
Today, diversity is much more common and children,
especially young children, have many opportunities to observe and interact with
all kinds of people. As adults, we need to model behavior and keep our own “isms”
in check if we have some. In my
classroom, we have several students who speak Spanish and the rest of my
students want to learn words in Spanish as well. I hope that I am becoming a
role model for my students as I take interest and learn to communicate with my
students and families in my program.
Hi Lori,
ReplyDeleteI think that it is important that we get rid of our own bias before we can teach children. I think that it is great that the other children shows interest in learning a second language. It is important that we respect children from other cultures.
Lori,
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of teachers being a role model for children. Since children learn from interactions with others and observing people, it is the best way. If we do not act respectfully and show how to connect with people from different groups, children can’t use what they learn through anti-bias curriculum.
Hello Lori
ReplyDeleteI also agree that as teachers we should be positive role models. Its could that you are allowing the other children to learn from children of different langauges. This is a good starting point for other children to expand their langauge skills.
Hi Lori!
ReplyDeleteSharing some of your family's experience with -isms provides an interesting perspective on how people are perceived around the world. Diversity is also about exploring the different beliefs that individuals have. Thanks for sharing and keep up the great work as an anti-bias educator!