The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression


The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

I earnestly hope that my connecting with children and their families will result in a relationship that establishes trust with families and, ultimately, their children's success.

My goal is to advance equity in an Early Childhood setting. All children have the right to equitable learning opportunities that help them achieve their full potential as engaged learners and valued members of society. Thus, all early childhood educators have a professional obligation to advance equity. They can do this best when they are effectively supported by the early learning settings in which they work. In addition, they and their wider communities embrace diversity and full inclusion as strengths, uphold fundamental principles of fairness and justice and work to eliminate structural inequities that limit equitable learning opportunities.

Advancing the right to equitable learning opportunities requires recognizing and dismantling the systems of bias that accord privilege to some and are unjust to others. Promoting the full inclusion of all individuals across all social identities will take sustained efforts far beyond those of early childhood educators alone. We as educators, however, have a unique opportunity and obligation to advance equity. With support needed from the early education system, we can create early learning environments that equitably distribute learning opportunities by helping all children experience responsive interactions, nurture their full range of social, emotional, cognitive, physical, and linguistic abilities, and promotes the fundamental that reflect fundamental principles of fairness and justice.  When we practice the principles of fairness and justice, every child is able to demonstrate self-awareness, confidence, family pride, and positive social identities that express comfort and joy with human diversity. 

I want to thank all my classmates that have contributed to the vibrancy and success of this course. However, my thanks mainly go to Dr. Nagel for her expertise and guidance throughout this course. Her input and the resources provided each week have been immensely helpful and transformative.


                                    Reference


NAEYC. (nd.). Advancing Equity in Early Childhood Education

       https://www.naeyc.org/sites/default/files/globally-shared/downloads/PDFs/resources/

       position-statements/advancingequitypositionstatement.pdf

Comments

  1. LaCariOctober 29, 2021 at 9:48 PM

    I love the thought of creating a space that inclusive for all regardless of their abilities, not all programs have the means and resources to do so which makes it even harder for families to find the right learning environment for their child. I also agree with your point on educators knowing what is "fair" and at the same time being able to respect each child for who they are and be intentional in their planning. Great blog! Wishing you the best......

    ReplyDelete
  2. BriannaOctober 30, 2021 at 4:18 PM

    I think your visual compliments your post. Your hopes and goals are important to the field, and it is great to know that you tackling issues related to equity for all individuals. If I could leave an applause in the comments, I would! Great post!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Lorraine NwofiaOctober 30, 2021 at 11:00 PM

    Hello Lucy!
    I appreciate your views that connecting with children and their families will result in a relationship that establishes trust with families and, ultimately, their children's success and that all children have the right to equitable learning opportunities that help them achieve their full potential as engaged learners and valued members of society. Thanks for sharing.
    It has been great learning alongside with you these8 weeks, I wish you the very best in the in your career with young children.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Myrna ShakirOctober 31, 2021 at 7:29 AM

    I enjoyed reading your input on each topic. I agree with your statement of needing the entire educational system to help in promoting equitable early childhood environments. As early childhood educators we also have to stay abreast and current on issues related to early childhood. This will allow us to deepen our growth and expertise on diversity, equity, social justice and other topics so we provide the children and families with the most accurate information/education.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Teach the ChildrenOctober 31, 2021 at 9:35 AM

    Thank you for your encouragement and knowledge as we both grow in our profession. I wish you well on your quest to greatness.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Kathleen MontoyaOctober 31, 2021 at 10:36 AM

    Lucy,

    I love the visual you found. Your goal is on-point. I love the compassion you have. Good luck in furthering your education and in your career.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Perspective on Diversity and Culture

Image
  My take away from the definitions of culture and diversity from the people I talked to. They all believe that customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group are linked to culture and diversity. As discussed in this class, culture encompasses religion, food, what we wear, how we wear it, our language, marriage, music, what we believe is right or wrong, how we sit at the table, how we greet visitors, and how we behave with loved ones. In other words,   The world is filled with people who have different beliefs, religions, traditions, and ways of living. Yet, it is within our differences that we can find beauty. Both in educational and professional environments, cultural diversity benefits everyone. It paves the way to better problem-solving, more empathy and compassion, deepened learning and approaches the world from various perspectives. People also connect to their cultural or ethnic group through similar food patterns. Immigrants often u
Read more

The Whole-child Approach In Education

Image
                                        The Whole-child Approach In Education      The 21st-century challenges require a new education method to prepare children for academics, careers, and society. Research, practice, and common sense affirm that a whole-child approach to education will promote and equip students for today’s and tomorrow’s demands and opportunities by approaching students’ whole needs through students’ shared responsibility, families, schools, and communities. The whole-child approach to teaching promotes and feeds all areas of children’s development and learning–from social-emotional and cognitive skills to literacy, math, and science understanding, and is a powerful approach as preschool children transition to kindergarten. It encourages children’s learning and thinking by being responsive to children’s perceptions, cares, and skills, empowering them to develop their natural inquisitiveness and enthusiasm to explore and learn, says Costanza (the Cheif academic offic
Read more

Equity in Early Childhood Systems—A Closer Look

Image
                                         Takes a Big Heart to Help Shape Little Minds Schools have always been interested in fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). DEI has taken on renewed meaning as student populations become more diverse in every way regarding race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, language, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, special needs, and more. Research shows that children and adults alike thrive in diverse, equitable environments. In this episode of Grow Kinder®, host Dr. Tia Kim speaks with clinical psychologist and social-emotional learning researcher Dr. Mylien Duong. Dr. Duong speaks about the importance of building educators’ self-awareness in equity work and how educators can use perspective-taking and equity audits to help improve DEI in education. She describes how she applies David Foster Wallace’s idea of “seeing the water” to these practices. Some fish don’t know they are in the water(systemic barrier)- the most obvious or imp
Read more