It's funny how the topics we discuss in class so often can be tied into what is going on in my life.
Just this week, a teacher was fired from our center causing major shifting of staff to make sure we meet all requirements. My co-teacher has been moved into the young preschoolers room, and the new hire--the school aged teacher--has been placed with me temporarily until we find a replacement for the young preschool room. Rhonda hasn't been with us very long--less than a month--and isn't familiar with my classroom or my teaching methods, so it has been a week of adjustment.
Anyway, our color of the week this week was brown. We did experiments on how to make the color brown, and went on scavenger hunts looking for brown items in our room. On Thursday, I told the kids that anyone who was wearing the color of the week should go line up. A few kids got into line, and then one child raised her hand and said "Miss Kathy!!! MY SKIN is brown and I am wearing my skin!!!" Miss Rhonda immediately said "We don't talk about our skin color. That's not nice." The little girl's face fell. I stated "Your skin IS brown Sophie, and that's the color of the week. You are right. You can get in line." At that point 3 other children in the class raised their hands to say their skin was brown too. Then a little boy said "I wish my skin was brown too!" I told him that his skin was just perfect for him and he was very handsome in it--and then pointed out his shoes were brown and he should go get in line. We continued to get in line by calling out different colors and went outside to play.
I later spoke with Miss Rhonda and explained that we don't brush aside the children's observations, but instead discuss them--on a level that they can understand--in an open and accepting manner. Miss Rhonda, who happens to be a woman of color herself, said she wished when she was growing up that more people spoke that way. She was always told to "Hush up" and "Don't be rude" when she asked questions about differences among people. She said that being told that always made her feel bad, like she had done something wrong just by asking a question.
Kathleen you have made some good points and children are so clever, smart, and observable little people themselves. Some mistakes can be turned into learning opportunities as well. The child noticing that his skin is brown is remarkable. When children ask questions they are learning .
ReplyDeleteKathy,
ReplyDeleteI think it is great the way that way that you openly and honestly talk to children so that they can understand that different types of people can learn a lot from each other. Growing up we were also told to be quiet and not be rude. I think that our parents did not know how to explain diversity to us or were not sure that they understood it themselves so they just told to be quiet. But I think that the ways that they handled diversity made us think that it was a bad thing and something that we were not supposed to talk about so we also did not speak of it. This in turn made us not understand why we could not talk about people of diverse cultures. I found it interesting that Miss Rhonda was also impressed and wished that people took that initiative when she was growing up. Great insight. Thanks
As educators we want children to be curious and ask questions. We want to answer them as honestly as we can. When it comes to sensitive subjects we also need to teach the children how to respectfully ask questions. I think the way you handled the situation was a good example of helping the kids keep their curiosity while also making sure no feelings were hurt.
ReplyDeleteHi. Kathleen. I enjoyed your post. Just last week I had an African American girl called another little girl a negro. She said that is what her grandfather told her she was. The little girl didn't like it, even though she is a negro or African American. She thought it was a bad word. The TA told the little girl that said it not to say that to her because she didn't understand what she was saying. Even though that is what both girls were, her family might not have ever told her this. She almost cried as if it was an ugly word. The TA told her that it wasn't an ugly word but she didn't go into detail of what it meant, we were headed out to lunch at the time.
ReplyDeleteHi Kathleen, Thanks for sharing your experience with us. Children are amazing and since the color was brown and the child skin tone is brown she made the connection. I would like to thank you for stepping up to the student when she raised her hand about her color. As educators we do not want to tear our students down and you saw her face. You changed the whole dynamics of the lesson and made the student feel proud of who she is. Because of your response other students fell into place. Again, I say thank-you.
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