Explore Strategies That Support Diversity and Antibias Perspectives

As an early childhood teacher it is important to keep all aspects

of the program anti-bias and free of diversity. Anti-bias work is a vision of a
world in which all children are able to blossom, and each childs particular
abilities and gifts are able to flourish. Teachers do their best to have an antibias curriculum, but it needs to be accepted from the community to have the
full affect. However The dynamics of advantages and disadvantages are
deeply rooted in history. There are four basic goals of anti-bias education
they are;
1. Each child will demonstrate self-awareness, confidence, family pride, and
positive social identities. A basic goal of quality early childhood education
is to nurture each childs individual, personal identity. Anti-bias education
adds to that goal the important idea of nurturing social identities.
2. Each child will express comfort and joy with human diversity; accurate
language for human differences; and deep caring human connections. In
an anti-bias approach, encouraging children to learn about how they are
different from other children and learn about how they are similar go hand
in hand. This is at the heart of learning how to treat all people caringly
and fairly.
3. Each child will increasingly recognize unfairness, have language to
describe unfairness, and understand that unfairness hurts. Children
cannot construct a strong self-concept or develop respect for others if
they do not know how to identify and resist hurtful, stereotypical, and
inaccurate messages or actions directed toward them or others.
Developing the ability to think critically strengthens childrens sense of
self, as well as their capacity to form caring relationships with others.
4. Each child will demonstrate empowerment and the skills to act with others
or alone, against prejudice and/or discriminatory actions. If the child is
the target of prejudice or discrimination, she/he needs tools to resist and
to know that she has worth. When a child speaks up for another child, it
reinforces his/her understanding of other peoples unique feelings. When
children are helped to take action, it broadens their understanding of
unfairness and fairness.
All four goals work together to move the other. It is important to teach
all four so that children receive the full affect. When putting anti-bias goals
into action everyone will benefit because its for everyone, activities will
evolve around realities in childrens lives, education will be developmentally

appropriate, and child and teacher initiated activities. When you teach antibias you must look at yourself. It is important to set any and all beliefs aside
and teach what is appropriate. In reality if you dont have an anti-bias strive
you really shouldnt be in early childhood education. That is my belief. What
we teach to children in these early childhood years will stick with them
forever. So it is just as important to the anti-bias curriculum that we teach it
with the same importance as everything else! A persons early childhood
years lay the foundation for a developmental and experimental journey that
continues into adulthood. We are the ones who lay the foundations, whether
you are a parent, teacher, or caregiver. If there is a prejudice noticeable in a
child hopefully the loving, caring, respectful, and responsible environment at
school can curb that prejudice. Teacher may be imposed with a hard job if
anti-bias is not believed in the home environment. A teacher can only do so
much at school that is why it is important for those values to continue out
into society. We all need the diverse perspectives and honest feedback of
peers to expand our understanding of ourselves. We need others to help us
uncover and change our learned biases or discomforts. It is important to
take a self-journey to discover who you are, what your beliefs are, and what
your feelings are. It is important to uncover and discover what your learned
stereotypes, discomforts, and biases are. No one escapes learning
stereotypes and misconceptions about various aspects of human diversity.
Becoming an anti-bias teacher is a journey it will not happen overnight and it
takes commitment to continue on the journey. When you begin to teach the
anti-bias education you will begin to expand your own understanding along
with the children. To create an anti-bias learning community by having
positive interactions with children, having positive relationships with families,
having anti-bias environment, ABC, and putting it all together. It is important
to respond to the childrens curiosity by doing the following listening, what
the child wants to know, checking for feelings behind words, answering
simply and matter-of-factly, always respond, and follow up with the child.
When creating an anti-bias environment it is always important to respond to
prejudice, discrimination, and bias. It is best to address these issues right
away so they dont escalate. It is important to make the families of your
children to feel safe, secure, and supported. Learn as much as you can about
families. In early childhood education it is important for children to become
aware of societys attitudes toward their familys cultural ways, their struggle
with cultural continuity and discontinuity, start forming attitudes about other
cultural ways of living, and begin to use cultural/ethnic terms and try to sort
out what they mean. It is important to keep your program culturally
consistent and respectful. No matter how homogeneous your program
appears to be, it is essential to explore the many cultural differences and
similarities represented among its families and staff. The phrase We are

all the same; we are all different, is one of the most important lessons
we can teach.