- Your response to those who believe that early childhood centers should avoid the inclusion of books depicting gay or lesbian individuals such as same-sex partnered families.
As a professional, encountering someone who believe early child centers should avoid inclusion of gay and lebisian would mean that I would being bias. Thus if I encounter someone who believes this should be the case, I would encourage them to teach their child their own belief. I would acknowledge their belief, yet I would encourage them to talk with those who create them curriculum. I can understand how a parent may not want their child to be exposed to certain things, yet because of society we would have to include all identities in order to avoid being prejudice or bias. Although, I would agree with the individual because of my own belief, as a professional, I would encourage them to teach their child, and not focus on trying to change a system.
- How you would respond to a parent/family member who informed you they did not want anyone who is perceived (or self-reported) homosexual or transgender to be caring for, educating, and/or interacting with their child.
In the case of a parenting coming to me regarding their preference of someone of other sexual identities not caring for their child, I would suggest to the parent to talk with the supervisor. I would also inform them that we can not discriminate, thus it would not be proper to isolate the child from the teacher. The best suggestion would be to have the parent withdraw their child. I would also let the parent know that all staff are professional, and sexual identitty does not play a role in the care, eduation or interaction of the child. Thus the parent should be open to allowing the individual to do their job, because one's identity should be separate from their professionalism. Again, promoting that we can not discriminate, be prejudice or bias.
Hello, I enjoyed reading your blog as I selected one of the same questions to respond to. I like that you were consistent with letting the parent know that the facility does not discriminate and all staff are professional. In my blog I reassured the parents that all staff undergo an extensive background check. I also encouraged the parent to speak to the teacher directly to ask questions to eliminate their assumptions they may have about individuals who identify as LGBT. I believe that parents are capable of teaching their children to be more open-minded and accepting of diversity, if they choose to. I find it is very difficult to get a child to consider a different perspective if they are used to the information their parents have instill in them. I consider this scenario to be a great learning opportunity for everyone involved and would encourage the teacher to discuss diversity topics in the classroom.
ReplyDeleteMyra
Hi Alicia,
ReplyDeleteEveryone has biases or dislikes. As early childhood educators sometimes we have to let go of our biases and think about other people first. To have an inclusive classroom, we must make sure that every student feels welcome in the classroom. Teachers must be well prepared to impart a quality education but also be sensitive to meeting the needs of their children regardless of their race, color, creed, or national origin (Derman-Sparks, & Edwards, 2010). For children to be comfortable in the classroom, the environment must represent their interests and likes. Books and materials showing family different family makeup should be included. We can explain to parents who have a problem with the materials the policies and guidelines that we follow at our center and then let the parent decide whether they want to keep their child there or not.
According to Derman-Sparks &Edwards (2010) sometimes family have requests that show prejudice toward a particular group. To handle these types of situations with parents, we have to make sure that we reiterate that in this classroom, we respect all people. While you may be able to place their child in another classroom, there is no guaranteed that teacher who they do not want to watch their child may not ever take care of you child.
Anita
Reference:
Derman-Sparks, L., & Edwards, J. O. (2010). Anti-bias education for young children and ourselves. Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).