There might be both positive and negative consequences for children and families with whom I work if I were experiencing “isms” in my personal life. A positive consequence for children would be the lessons that I would be able to teach about “isms” in an early child appropriate approach so that they can begin to learn at an early age the stereotyping and bias are unacceptable. A negative consequence for families could be if there was a family that also agreed with the “ism” that I was currently dealing with in my personal life.
Personally, most people will experience “isms” in life and must find ways to deal with them. When working with children, I think it is valuable to address “isms” when they occur in the presence of children to help them to see that stereotyping is not acceptable. Teaching children that feelings can and will be hurt when “isms” are present can be valuable in teaching compassion and character building.
While I believe that all teachers try to leave their personal life and issues at the door, it can sometimes be difficult when there are similar instances in the classroom as well.
Robin,
ReplyDeleteI think you highlighted one of the most important reasons for learning about isms throughout our courses. We will be able to teach young minds about these inequities and stall the spread of these negative ideologies. Are there any isms that you personally experience as an early childhood educator?
In our text it is stated:"Through your actions as well as words, always convey the message that we are all different, we all contribute" (Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2010, p. 132).
ReplyDeleteThank you for your enlightening post!
Derman-Sparks, L. & Olsen Edwards,J. Anti-Bias Education for Young Children and Ourselves. (2nd). National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). Washington, D.C.
Erin,
ReplyDeleteAs you stated it is very important as educators to leave our problems at the door and this includes our biases. Many times educators let their biases take over and they forget what their purpose. As educators, we are here to teach the children no matter their language, disability, and/or race. But to many times we bring our problems with us into the classroom which hinders the children from getting the teaching that they need.