Project II & III

qf

Rtur-yeur<tld Beth brin{s itt a CD of country rnusic fr;r he.r te,a<:hers to play frr her Head Starl cluss. Whe.n he,r nt<tnt corles b pick lter up, t;ne. of B<tth's teachers re.turns the CD to Beth. II<:r rrtoth<tr ktoks a little e,ntbarrassed, explaining that she hadrt't reolize.d Beth had taken the CD to scltool. "But, Morn," srtys Belh, "lhat's rny Culture Shore!"

'flte teacher chuckles ond exploins

that sht; encouratles r:hilclren k; bring things fron futme thut re.fle.ct the.ir daily life: "We call it Culturc Share,".shc .say.s, "and ue all enjoyed liste.ninq b the musir: that Beth loues."

he word culture refers to how particular groups of people l ive. lt is the way we eat, sleep, talk, play, care for the sick, relate to one another,

' lr ink about work, arrange our kitchens, ancl rernern- ')( 'r our cleacl. It inclucles the language we speak, the :r l ig ion or sp i r i tua l i ty we pract ice (or do not) , ancl :lre clothing, housing, foocl, and rituals/holidays with ',r 'hich we feel rnost comfortable.

Every clay, in every action, we express our par- :icular group culture ancl clur inciividual relationstrip t r r our cul ture. Noth ing is more important wi th in a i ulture than how its children are raised. In everything r l iey do, fami l ies communicate thei r cu l ture 's values, l re l ie fs , ru les, and expectat ions to thei r ch i ldren. \\ hat is acceptable in one culture may not be accept- .rble in another.

Most of the time, people clo not even notice their ( ulture, just as we do not notice that we live in a sea ,rf air. We only notice when something changes or nrakes us uncomfortable (e.g., when we travel to a higher alt itude or smog makes it hard to breathe). \\ 'hen we are in familiar surroundings among mem- bers of our own culture-and thus when everyone around us is acting in accordance with that culture, it just seems like "the way things are," or the way it 's

Learning About Culture, Langu?9e, & Fairness

"supposecl" to lLre. But when we find ourselves in the miclst clf another culture. or when we must interact with someone from a clifferent culture. we discclver that the way we clcl things is not the clnly way. How we responcl to that experience wil l either l irnit or expancl our uncierstancling (ancl acceptance) of the iclea that there are rnony ways tcl be human.

ln a society as cliverse as ours, maneuvering through its multiple cultures can be complex and confusing, as well as rich ancl delightful. Those of us who work with other people's children are continu- ally juggling our own culture, the culture of our early childhood eclucation program, and the cultures of the families in our program. As we become sensi- tive tcl the similarit ies and differences in our own, the prograrn's, and the families' cultures-and if we are flexible and open to the many ways children can thrive-the work we do with them can be oowerful and meaningful.

Learning about culture and fairness involves two dimensions: children's development of a positive cul- tural identity, and their comfortable, respectful inter- action with the cultures of others. Anti-bias education supports both dimensions.

55

Coals for Chi ld ren . Children will feel pride in and wil l have the language to express their familY's cultural identitY, tradi- tions, and heritage. (ABE Goal l)

. Children will use their home culture knowledge in the group settirrg, as they also learn to thrive in the culture of the school and larger soci- ety. (ABE Goal 1)

. Children wil l con- tinue to develoP in their home language, while also learning to be bilingual. (ABE Goals 1 & 2)

. Children wil l dem- onstrate curiositY, enjoyment, ease, and empathy with cultural differences and simi- larities. (ABE Goal 2)

r Children will identifY disrespectf ul interac- tions and learn to interact resPectfullY regarding cultural dif- ferences. (ABE Goals 3 &4)

A word about culture The world in which you uere born is iust one model of reality. othe'r cuLtures

arenot fa i ledat temptsatbeingyou:Theyareuniquemani festqt ionsof the human spirit.

-Wade Davis, anthroPolt ' i I '

All too often, when early childhood educators think about culture, they think

about the surface things that are easy to see, taste, and define. costumes, holi-

days, foods, and the objects that people use in everyday l ife frequently beconi'

the focus of their teaching. But culture is much deeper and more significant th;':

those things, as shown on the diagram below. All the items listed there are ele-

ments of culture.

Surface Culture

Aperson,scul tura lgroupisre late<lst ronglytohisorherethnic i ty ,which reflects the place of origin and cultural background of the person's ancestors-

whether parents, grandparents, or relatives who lived hundreds of years ago.

within an ethnic group, its members both share some cultural patterns and also

reflect cultural differences resulting from generational, economic class, urban/

rural, and other influences. A person may be a member of a particular ethnicity

without practicing or believing o// of its aspects. And many people in the united

States have multiple ethnic heritages (e.g., Navajo and Irish, Mexican/Fil ipino and

French). For all these reasons, knowing a person's or family's ethnicity does not

tell you much about how that culture might actually be reflected in their daily life'

ln addition to having a cultural group, each person also has a cultural identity.

which has three dimensions. The first dimension is how the cultural group(s) to

which we belong tries to shape the way we live (a process called culrura I social-

ization).The second dimension is about how we learn to name, describe, and

feel about our particular ethnic/cultural group membership. A third dimension,

which comes into play as we mature and establish an adult life and family, is the

decisions we make about what specific elements of our cultural socialization we

choose to continue, to modify, or to reject'

Artifacts

Costumes Foods

Work (who does what and where)

Housing arrangements Community connection

I ntergenerational relationships Health care

56 Anti-Bias Education

Our cultural identity also influences how we live our other social identit ies (e.g., our economic class, gender and sexual orientation, racial identity). Conversely, our other social identit ies influence- but do not determine-our cultural identity. Finally, a person may identify with a specific cultural group without embracing c11 of its aspects. For example, a person can identify as Mexican American and not l ike all Mexican food. A person can identify as White American without believing in its cultural norm that "getting ahead is really important."

For all these reasons. it is essential to learn how each person clefines her or his cultural iclentity, rather than make assumptions based cln generalizecl rir stereotypical ideas abclut a cultural l lroup's way of l ife, how a person looks, or a person's family narne.

The comrnents of some early chilcltrclocl ecluca- tion teachers in one clf Julie's anti-bias courses sh<lw the conrplexity of cultural iclentity, as they triecl to clefine their culture, etltnicity, and race:

Iuz S: Culturally I 'rn Mexiciin American, ancl probably a Westerner. Ancl clefinitely Catlrolir:. My ethnicity is Mexicrin, but also Mixotet:an. I ' rn orr ly be{inninq to learu atrout the Mixotecan part of nry history. I have clual ci t izenship in the lJnited States ancl Mexico. Here in t l te United States. I 'm a wornan of color.

Jennifer E: Cultural ly I identi fy as workinq class, Cali fornian. I guess I 'm tr lso White. My ethnicity is a mystery to me. I 'm a true Heinz 57 f lavor. My fanri ly has been here forever. I am a U.S. cit izen.

Peggt D: I 'nt Black, anrl t trat 's both rny racial i r lenti ty and my heritagc. My culture is Blar:k, nrral Arkansas, with more and more Cali fornia city gir l t l rrown irr.

Mario V: I 'm l tal ian Arnerican, but I mainly l ive rny clay- t<>clay culture as a gay man. On my rnother's sir le we're pretty much Choctaw ancl Cherokee-and I love learn- ing about those l ives. But I haven't l ivecl my l i fe as an Inrl ian, so I quess i t 's my heritage, n()t my culture.

Leroy B: People always think I 'm Black. I guess I am, because nry {randfather was Black. l lut I think of myself as Louisiana Clreole. That 's the part of my heritage that is al ive for me. I guess my culture woulcl be Creole, Cali fornian, anrl Christ ian. My cit izenship is American.

Leslie C: My parents are from China. I am Chinese American. l f you have t() put me into a larger group, say "Asian American." but clon't ever cal l me "Oriental." Oriental is a ruq, not a human lteing.

,Vhat is dominant culture? ' .1ost modern, complex societies have a "dominant"

rlture and multiple subcultures of people who live ', ithin the dominant culture. Thus. the lerm dominant r1lure does not necessarily or always mean the culture : the majority. Rather, it is the culture of the people . iro hold the social, polit ical, and economic power in .r society.

ttrning About Culture, Language, & Fairness

Stop & Think: Understanding your own family culture r What is the history of your f irst name? your farni ly

natrn e l

r What clo you know about your family's history in the Llnitecl States? If they irnmigratecl, where did they conre froni? Why? f low? How were t l .rey treated when tht-1' first ;rrrived'J

I When v()rJ were qrowing up, what was nlost irnportant to yolrr f i i rni ly about your behavior at horne and in the cournturt i ty? What r l ic l they l tel ieve matterecl about your l lelr:rvior ; is a gir l or a boy?

I What woro your farni ly 's bel iefs/expectat ions/rules for aclult-chi lcl relzrt ionships? te; icher-chi ld rel:r t ionships': '

r What r l i r l your farni ly expect of you as an aclult? To wlrat t legrcc t lo yorr st i l l holcl to yorir far l i ly 's values ancl bel iefs?

r Wl ra t r l i r l your fa rn i l y teach you about money? about lrr: inr. l on t irne',) ab<iut speaking up irr i i groupl '

r What clo you want othcr 1lr:oplc to krrow about your crr l ture fnrrt t your t : l r iklhoorl farni ly? frorn your crlrrent farrr i ly ' . ' How rlo you want t lre people you work witfr to learn al lout your f : l rr i ly r:ulture?

I Wl ra t i i r c th inqs yor r c lo no t l i ke peop le to say about rtterttbers of your r:rr l tural qroult? l low woulcl you I ike to :rr lr l ress pt:oplt : wlro l tchav<,r in Irurtf ul, misinformecl, or r l isrespectftr l ways?

r I Iow clo b<lth yotrr cl t i lc lhoocl artcl yorlr ( :r lrrent crr l tur:r l contexts int luence your work as an erlur:ator?

The characteristics of a dominant culture are closely connected to the history of the particular country. In the Unitecl States, the roots of our cur- rent dorninant culture were planted by the English imrniqrants of the lTth century, especially by those with the power-that is, White, English-speaking, male lanclowners, polit ical learlers, ancl Christian religious leaders. The culture they established was very differ- ent from the many cultures of the indigenous peoples, who were, to begin with, more numerous than the colonists. The Eurclpeans generally considered the Native cultures "barbarian" ancl inferior, and there were many attempts to destroy all aspects of them.

As new waves of immigrant groups arrive in the United States, they bring with them their heritage home cultures, which vary more or less significantly from the established, dominant one. In order to sur- vive, and to become part of a common nation, new- comers have been expected to learn and assimilate to the dominant culture. At the same time, some main- tain aspects of their original heritage cultures.

The degree to which a particular group, family, or person incorporates aspects of the dominant culture

and maintains a heritage culture varies considerably'

Some of this variation is related to the number of

generations a group has l ived in the United States-

but not always. Many factors (economic class, racial

identity, religion, polit ical beliefs) influence the bal-

ance between heritage culture and dominant culture

as expressed in the way a group and its members l ive'

And as culture is always changing, so is the dynamic

tension among family/heritage cultures, shift ing eco-

nomic ancl polit ical t imes, and the elements included

in the dominant culture.

Today, the dominant culture ideal in the tJnited

States is easiest to see by watching the advertise-

ments on commercial television. The image is English

speaking; well dressed (slim for wornen); private,

neat, well furnishecl and equipped suburban home;

marriecl ccluple with one or two biological chilclren,

each of whom has his or her own beclroclrn, private,

well maintainetl yarcl; professional employnrent; cel-

ebrators of Christian holidays. The image conveys the

covert message that this is fhe clrclinary and desirable

way to live. Many people use the term "mainstream" tt l

cfescribe this cultural image. PtuI rnoinstreanr implies

that most people (the "main" stream) in the society

actually live like this, ancl more importantly, that it

is the correct way to l ive. This "mainstream" image

becomes a stanclard by which people, families, or

groups are judged, ancl the degree to which they differ

from it becomes the basis for prejuclice against them'

We use the term "clominant" instead' as we believe

it more accurately describes the relationship between

the iclealized image and the far more complex and rich

reality of how people live in the Unitecl States' The

anti-bias approach embraces and respects this diverse

richness, as well as fostering the skills for our living

and working together in the same larger society'

Children's early exPeriences and understandings of culture The formation of a child's cultural identity begins at

birth. Infants and toddlers absorb the ways their fam-

ily's culture touches (and doesn't); the tones of voice

used to express pleasure or displeasure; how close

to or far away from one another people stand; who

eats with whom; the "right" way to sleep, to dress'

to go to the bathroom, to bathe. Long before very

young children are aware of or have words for what

they are doing, they internalize a profound sense of

"rightness" and familiarity with the particular way the

people in their culture behave. This sense lies at the

core of the child's evolving cultural identity'

58

During the preschool years, children begin to

sort out which variables are flexible (e'g., it's okay tcr

ask for candy in one grandma's house but not in the

other's) and which ones are absolutes (e'g', i t 's never

okay to spit at someone). These messages about what

is and isn't acceptable are rarely simple, nor is cul-

tural identity itself simple in a diverse society such as

the United States. What's more, unless adults actively guide them'

children can clevelop negative reactions from encoun-

ters with people who behave in unfamiliar ways'

Without help, chilclren may come to feel-though

often at a subconscious level-that the way their

family does things is "natural" ancl "ordinary" ancl

"right," and that any other way is at least strange and

worrisome, and perhaps even "bad." Such feelings

may turn into prejuclice. On the other hand, unless

the larr{er society values ancl includes a c}ri ld's home

culture, chiklren as young as ages l l ancl 4 may inter-

nalize a sense of not belonging ancl of themselves and

their farnily as somehow being "wrong'"

o Children become aware of society's attitudes

toward their family's cultural way of being'

All young chilclren first develop their self-concept

within their family, getting their init ial sense of place

in the worlcl from who their family is and where they

fit inside it. By preschool age, they begin also devel-

oping group cultural identit ies and other sot:ial iclenti-

t ies. Messages from the society's d<lminant culture

(from rnedia, peers, teachers, religiclus leaders) are

also crit ical. Children growing up in families that

closely match the dominant culture ideal are more

likely to feel societal support for their family's way

of l i fe; children growing up in families whose ways of

l ife differ from the clominant culture are Inore l ikely to

feel devaluecl and excludecl'

Early childhoocl programs antl teachers often are

the first representatives of the larger society to regu-

larly interact with ctri ldren, so they bear an intportant

responsibil i ty to recognize and honor children's home

cultures. Missteps such as continually mispronounc-

ing some children's names wil l chip away at those

children's sense of belonging. (A mistake l ike this

looms big for children, even if i t seems small to the

teacher.) Likewise, the invisibil i ty of children's home

culture in their program's visual and material environ-

ment undercuts their evolving self- and social identi-

t ies. When children do not see families l ike their own

portrayed in books and play materials and elsewhere

in the program, and when their home language is not

supported, they can internalize a message that the

program thinks there is something unimportant or

wrong about their family and therefore about them'

Anti-Bias Education

Remember, invisibil i ty erases identity and experience; visibil i ty af f i rms reality.

Children growing up in families with the culture rif the dominant group, while much more l ikely to encounter positive support for their evolving cultural identity, sti l l face risks to their positive development as they move outside of their home culture. Two possible sources of risk are the social dynamics of racial identity and of economic class, which are both addressed in later chapters.

o Children struggle with cultural continuity and discontinuity.

The way a child's family does things feels natural and normal, and all young chilclren bring that feeling rvith them when tl.rey enter care. When an early chilcl- hood program's ways of eating, talking, clisciplining, nurturing, ancl playing are similar to his or her fam- ily's way, the child experiences cultural continuity. Continuity consists of many litt le things: lf you burp at the end of a meal, is that rude, or a cornpliment to the cook? Do you shake hancls firmly ancl look a

l)erson in the eye when you meet them, or are those behaviors clisrespectful, even intrusive? Dcl babies sleep in cribs, in hammclcks, in cradles, alclne next tcl their parents, alone in their clwn rooms, with their grandmother, with their older siblings? To ttre clegree that those and other practices cliffer between the home and the program, chilclren experience cultural cliscontinuity, especially if the program considers its way "right" and others' "wrclnq."

While all children experience some cleqree of cultural discontinuity between their home culture and the culture of the group setting, for some of them the gap is huge. Children whose homes reflect the dominant culture are most l ikely to finct a high degree of home-to-school continuity, and thus to feel rnost "at home," because the curriculum, materials, and teacher interactions in most early childhood pro- grams reflect dominant culture norms. This continu- ity supports their positive feelings about their home culture, and therefore, about themselves.

At the other end of the continuum are children who experience so much discontinuity that their early childhood setting feels unsafe, which may cause them to feel discomfort or shame about their home culture. In response to such discontinuity, some children leel compelled to take on the dominant culture's ways of being, rejecting their home culture and becoming outsiders in their own family. Other children may hold on to their home culture but feel continually i l l at ease, disrespected, or even inferior when in the dominant culture. It takes thoughtful, sen-

sit ive support to help children l ive with comfort and respect in dual wor lds.

We cannot know all the consequences of sharp cultural discontinuity for young children's develop- ment. We do know that children thrive when an early childhood program respects and integrates their home languages and cultures into all of its aspects. In such programs, children can learn and develop because they feel "supported, nurtured, and con- nected not only to their home communities and fami- l ies but also to teachers and the educational setting" (NAEYC 1995, 2).

o Children start forming attitudes about other cul- tural ways of living.

By preschool age, children begin to absorb ste- reotypes and attitudes about other ethnic/cultural groups from their farnily ancl the larger society. These biases are easily absorbed because very youltg children lack accurate information about the l ives of other people, inclucling classmates and teachers. Supplying accurate information is one necessary strategy. For example:

Jane's mother, Ann. tells the teacher that Jane has said she doesn't l ike Erlinda (a Salvadoran assistant teacher) because Erlinda "talks funny and is too dark." Ann reports that she explained that Erlinda is from another country where people have darker skin and that Er l inda is learn ing Engl ish. And that she to ld Jane, " l l ike all of your teachers, and I want you to l ike all your teachers, too." Jane had listened, but sti l l insisted that she d idn ' t l ike Er l inda. Ann te l ls the teacher, " l don' t know what else to do!"

The teacher susDects that Jane is uncomfortable because Erlinda is very different from anyone else the child knows. She talks with Ann about how to helo Jane learn more about Erlinda. both at home and at school. That night, Ann talks to Jane about El Salvador and shows her some picture books about the country; Jane seems interested.

In school, at the teacher's suggestion, Erlinda talks to Jane's snack group a number of t imes about her l i fe, showing them photos and objects from her daily l i fe. Ann follows up by invit ing Erlinda to their home for a meal. This olan works. Neither her mother nor teacher sees any repetit ion of Jane's discomfort.

Current events, and the societal issues that result, can also negatively affect young children's evolving feelings about people from particular ethnic/ cultural groups. For example:

Margaret, a 4-year-old, refuses to play with Mariam, who wears a traditional Muslim headscarf. "Go away. you no-good Arab," she yells. Mariam backs off, look- ing first surprised and then near tears.

Learning About Culture, Language, & Fairness 59

Their teacher immediately intervenes. She puts her arm around Mariam and hugs her, then firmly says to Margaret, "This is a hurtful and unfair thing to say to Mariam." Before the teacher gets any further' Margaret insists, "My dad told me not to play with her. He says Arabs are no-good." The teacher PUts her arm around Margaret, too, and says, "Margaret, in

our classroom everyone plays together. I have a differ- ent rule than your father. I don't think the same thing he does about Arabs." Margaret looks uncertain and the teacher adds, "l 'm going to talk with your father about our different ideas and rules. Right now, Mariam is feeling very sad about your words, and I 'm going to read a book to her. You can come with us if you want." Margaret looks confused and turns her back on the teacher.

The teacher quietly asks another teacher to check in with Margaret and then takes Mariam by the hand. "Mariam, I am so sorry that Margaret said such an unfair, untrue thing to you. l ' l l remind her ag.rin that in our classroom we take care of each other and do not leave anyone out."

In this situation, the teacher chose to support

Mariam imrnediately, because she was concernecl

abclut the effect of Margaret's behavior on Mariam.

The teacher also knew from previotts cclnversatiotts

with Margaret's parents that they had strong llreju- dices against people of Arab heritage. While she tries

to support all of the chilclren ancl their families, she

felt it was essential to teach ttre ctri lclren that they

must not attack each other's iclentit ies. After school,

the teacher phoned Margaret's parents, related what

had happenecl, and described how she handled the

incident. She set up a time for a conference with

them to increase her own unclerstanding of what was

behind the family's bias and to cliscuss the principles

and practices she saw as vital to the prclgram.

The teacher also spoke with Mariam's fam-

ily, explaining what had happened and how she

responded, and asked them to let her know if Mariam

showed any further distress. In acldit ion, the teacher

shared her plans to do educational activit ies with all

the children to provide them with accurate informa-

tion about Arab and Arab American people, and thus

enable them to resist stereotyping. She assured the

family that she would not put the spotlight on Mariam

but rather would use children's books and persona

doll stories to accomplish her objectives. The teacher

also made clear that she would monitor any further

incidents and continue to support Mariam.

e Children begin to use cultural/ethnic terms and

try to sort out what they mean.

"Are we Jewish? Josh says we can't be 'cuz we have a Christmas tree." . . . "l am not Black. My skin is

O U

brown!" . . . "ls this my Black blood or my Japanese blood?" asks Jamon, who is biracial, as he stares at h is sk inned knee. . . . "He doesn' t speak anyth ing!" exclaims Leah after she tries out the few Spanish words she knows on Ramesh, who has iust arrived from lndia.

Young children pick up words that name their

own ancl others' ethnic and cultural groups, but often

with l itt le understandirrg of what they mean. They do

not yet understand which characteristics determine

meml)erstl ip in one group or another. The different

kinrls clf ethnic/cultural group names llaffle thern

("Why is Carmen' l .a t ina ' but Lupe is 'Mexican'?") .

The relationship between ptrysical and cultural char-

acteristics also clften confuses ttrern. For example,

The teacher notices Priscil la pull ing her eyes uP at the corners several t imes dur ing the morning. When she asks why, Priscil la replies, "l want to speak l ike Seon

Jung." Seon Jung, whose family recently arrived from Korea, is her favorite playmate at school.

Stop & Th ink : Remember ing be long ing and be ing an ou ts ider

r What i t re y ( )u r ear l i cs t n rer t t to r ies o f r t :a l i z ing t l ra t t l te '

way v ( )u r f r r r r i l y l r t r l ie rver l o r c l i c l t l r ings c l i f [e rec l f ro r t t

o t l rc r fa r r t i l i es , ' Who. i f a l t y t l t t t t . I re l l lec l yor t t l t i t l k l i l l o r t t

th is l '

I h r what s i t l l i t t io rs . i f i rny . c l i t l yo t t fec l t l ta t y 'o t l r f : tn r i l y " l r t ' l onqec l "? l r r rv l ta t s i t r ta t io t ts , i f any , r l i t l yo t r f t rc l tha t

l rour fanr i l v w: ts oc l r l . s t rango. I to t as i t was "s t tp l lose lc l '

to be. '

LAs you were growirtq trp, t l ic i yolt I tave wort ls for t l t t '

t l r ings tha t se t y ( ) t l i t l ) i l r t o r < 'o t t t le< ' t t l r l yo t r to t l t t r

rna jo r i t y o f peo l t l c i t t t l re t 'o l t r t t t t r t l i t y l ' to th t l r lo rn i t l ; t t t t

c r r l lu rc o f yor t r t ' our t t ry l

I In ra is ing ch i l< l r t ' r t o f yor t r owt t , what v i t l t t t : s , l l< , ' l tav -

io rs . anc l a t t i tuc les f ro t t t yo t t r fa r r r i l y o f o r iq i l t wot t l t l be

r r ros t i tny ror t i tn t to yo t t t ( ) p : l ss o l t ' . ) to pu t a s top to . '

Create a culturally consistent and respectful program When yourrg children enter any early childhood set-

ting, ttreir circle of experience wiclens beyond the

cultural rules and practices of their own family. At

home, they may sit on Grandma's lap to eat, while

at school they must sit on their own small chair. At

home, they may p lay wi th o lder s ib l ings and cousins,

while at school they play only with children close to

their own age. At home, they may nap on the couch

snuggled with their cousin, with the television on and

busy family l i fe all around them, while at school they

must nap alone on a cot in a darkened, quiet room.

Perhaps n'rost significantly, at home they may speak a

AntrBios Educcttion

luage that at school no one even knows. Teachers r create learning environments that incorporate : build upon children's home cultures promote

rlthy social, emotional, and cognitive development : academic achievement.

A culturally consistent learning environment .uires teachers to learn about the rules, traditions, 1 expectations of the families in the program.

,.ning this knowledge is a process that progresses rteps, building as it goes. In order to learn about . families, teachers must develop relationships with . rn. In order to build those relationships beyond .:rerficial interactions, teachers need to understand :nething of each family's culture. When this hap-

..:rs, families are able to help teachers create envi- ;rments and approaches that are culturally consis- :tt with children's experiences outside the program.

iually important, teachers can help families to learn t, skil ls of advocating for and supporting their chil-

:en's school success and to practice the skil ls of '.qotiating differences between their ethnic/cultural

^roup ancl other cultural groups.

As Carol Brunson Day reminds us, ourway is not ' : re only way:

We can learn principles for creating culturally consis- tent prograrns. However, there is no recipe for being there. The there is built by you with families and staff. It is always a clynamic process ancl depencls on the peo- ple who are together in a program at any given time. It calls on everyone to be willing to negotiate and com- promise if necessary. If you stay open to the fact that your way is not the only right way, trust in the abil ity of people to figure out differences, and really work on it, y()u can get to where you want your classroom to be. When everyone has access to deciding on a solution that works for them, then there is real equality.

Most cultural differences between the family and the early childhood program can be resolved. Both teachers and families want children to be secure, i iappy, and able to learn. Both want children to suc- ceed in their school l ives and beyond. Teachers and families should work toward developing mutual respect-with families recognizing that teachers n.ray well know more about children in groups and children's development in general, and with teachers recognizing that families know more about their child in particular. Both types of knowledge are necessary for ch i ldren to f lour ish.

Attend to differences between the early child- hood and home cultures The field of early care and education has its own set of rules, values, and acceptable behaviors. Some of the field's beliefs about what children need to develop and grow do not necessarily match what's considered

Learning About Culture, Language, & Fairness

acceptable or "normal" across all ethnic/cultural l ines. Much of the child development research and writing about early childhood education are based on prem-

ises and children from the priviledged group-that is, White, affluent, suburban. As with any research-based practice, the more children's backgrounds match the research sample group's, the more applicable are its

conclusions-and the reverse is also true. As teachers learn about each child's home culture, they wil l f ind that some practices must be adapted or rethought for children and families from some cultural backgrounds.

Unthinkingly accepting all early childhood prac-

tices as universally applicable can be damaging to children's cognitive, social, and emotional develop- ment. NAEYC (2009) recognizes this fact in specifying that for any practice to be developmentally appropri- ate, it must take into account not only a child's age group and individual characteristics but also the social and cultural contexts in which the child l ives. Once early childhood staff begin to discuss these fac- tors openly with one another, it becomes possible to figure out how to adapt our teaching to a1l children, whatever their home and community cultures. Here are examples of practices commonly found in early childhood programs in the United States that con- fl ict with the practices of some cultures. Think about whether they match o11 of the home cultures of the children in your program:

o Early childhood practice has tended to promote children's independence, autonomy, and initiative.

All families want their chilcl to become competent and confident. However, in many cultures (e.g., some Native American, some Southeast Asian), it is impor- tant for the adult to first model how to perform a task or how to use materials before children are allowed to put their own ideas into action. This is seen as teaching respect for the materials as well as for adult knowledge.

o Many early childhood teachers make a practice of acknowledging individual children for their efforts and achievements as a motivation technique.

However, some cultures emphasize the impor- tance of lnferdependence among peers and do not agree with singling out one child for praise as if that child's activit ies existed outside of the group. In this case, families want their child to learn and achieve- in order to contribute to the group's well-being as well as his or her own.

o Early childhood practice tends to focus on indi- vidual "rights."

For example, if one child is using a toy and a classmate also wants to play with it, early childhood

61

teachers usually set up a schedule of turns' However'

some cultures feel strongly that learning to share

with others is far more important than a child getting

his own way-and may ask teachers to have the two

children play together right away, instead of waiting

to take individual turns.

o Early childhood teachers typically expect that

a child will speak directly to them' look them in

the eye, ask questions freely, and freely express

thoughts or desires. However. some cultures consider such behavior

clisrespectful; chilclren are expected trl wait for the

adult to acknowledge them before speakirlg antl to be

thoughtful about what they say' These families want

their chilcl to feel safe ancl assured around adults-

but to be respectful at the same time'

Use what you learn to individualize your curriculum A fundamental principle of clevelopmentally appro-

priate practice is to individualize curriculurn in all

areas-physical, emotional, social, and cognitive-tcr

meet the learning ancl clevelopnlental recluirements

of each chilcl. For younq chilclren, individualizing artcl

adapting your curriculum accclrcling to each child's

horne culture is as essential to healthy clevelclpnlent

as substituting creanl cheese for peanut butter is

for the child whcl is allergic to peanuts' Moreover'

explaining yclur aclaptations to children as "each of us

has clifferent needs" is what we alreacly clo in clevelop-

mentally appropriate approaches'

Individualizing accorcling to each chilt i 's home

culture always requires striking a balance' In this

example, staff devisecl a plan that was both respon-

sive to the family ancl consistent with the principles

of clevelopmentally appropriate practice:

Two sisters, recently arrived from Mexico' join a pro-

gram that, l ike many centers, organizes children by

ige. Day after day, the older child keeps coming into

ti 'e younger child's classroom, and the teacher keeps

sending her back to her own' The problem' their aunt

explains, is that the older sister has always watched

over the younger one' and neither girl feels safe

seoarated. After brainstorming together' staff in both

rooms agree that the older child may join the younger

one at specific, reliable times during the day and when-

ever the younger sister asks for her'

By using information about these children's home cul-

ture to individualize its age-based policy, this program

went a long way toward reassuring the family-who

were leaving their children with strangers for the first

t ime. and in a new country' The decision also signifi-

cantly helped the girls adjust to their new setting'

62

Create a third space between school and home

The concept of third spoce means that when two

parties do things two different ways, neither party

simpty gives up its ideas; instead, both parties seek

a new way, a comprclttt ise that incorporates what is

important to everyone. The notion of f inding a third

space in the early chilclhoocl context means creating

a learning community that accommodates the ideas

and approaches of both the staff and each family'

Such a learning cclmrnunity is the result of ongoing

cliscussion between them. lt evtl lves and changes as

the composition of the program (chilclren, families'

ancl staff) changes ancl as the two grouPs learn more

frclm each other. Thus, no class or center looks l ike a

"universal" clr "moclel" program; nor clcles it rell l icate

any chilcl 's horne culture. lt is a rtew way-hence a

1/rird space. Here is one example that center director Antonia

Lopez often shares (e.g., in Breclekamll & Copple

1997, 47) :

Fantil ies are giving gifts to certtcr staff to show their

appreciation and respect for:rl l that the teat hers

aie cloing. However, gifts violate state regulations' Moreover, the inr i iv ic l t ra l g i f ts are ( ' reat i l lg cornpet i t ion

anrol lg the teachers (and sotne of the fami l ies) ' wtr ich

runs counter to t l te k incl of t :enter the sta l f wiu l t to

l r rovic le. St i l l ' the teat :hers t lc . r t rot wat l t to r t isrespect

thet fami l ies ant l their generosi ty, wlr ich is an integral

part o l the farni l ies ' et t rn ic/cul t t r ra l t racl i t ion ' ' l i r

pronipt ; r s t l l t t t ion, the center 's c l i re<' tor te l ls t f re

teachers: "Here are my two rules: You c i in l lot refuse the

gi f ts , ancl you c i r l lnot accept them' Fincl anot l rer w;ry" '

l f ter their in i t ia l surpr ise ancl laughtcr ' the te i lchers

f igure out a workable, respcc: t fu l solut iot r : They explain

to the fanr i l ies that they ap1;reciate anr l at :cept the gi i ts

in the name of the whole center ' Everyt lne shir rcs { ' rocl

g i f ts . t lu t g i f ts of iewelry and ar t objects they put on

i i i t l t toy, a iong wi t t r short wr i t ten ' b i l ingual explanat ions

of inai tamity 's h istory in regarcls to t i rc i r g i f t l 'hus ' the

objects become tools for the chi lc l ren' s taf f ' ancl fami-

l i e s l o l e a r n i t l l o u t t t n e ; l l l t ) t h c r '

Carol Brunson Day shares anclther example of

creating a thircl space, in an infant/toclcller program:

Licensing rules Iancl NAEYC's Accretl itation ('r iteria]

require that chilclren nap in their own crib.s l lowever'

some of the babies servecl by the center sleep in ham-

mocks at home, ancl they wil l not l lo to sleep in the

cribs. So the staff get creative Tfrey tie hiltnntocks

cliagonally from the crib posts The result: The infants

l; l"Jp und licensing recluirements are satisfiecl ' because

the infants are sti l l " in the cribs'"

This program's thircl space solution worked fclr every-

one because the teachers were able to make a change

while meeting the l icensing requirement' Each baby

was indeed in his or her own crib' And the l icens-

ing agency could see the advantage of allowing the

babies to sleep in a way consistent with their families'

practices that was sti l l healthy and safe' (For more on

AntiBias Education

jrating children's home and community cultures ':r early childhood principles, see Culture ond Child

,'lopment in Early Childhood Programs, by Carollee .r es. )

' ,1en no resolut ion can be found. . . ;:retimes it is not possible for a program and a ;ri lv tcl reach agreement on a matter. This may ,.r1ten for a variety of reasons. It can be because ' r.egulations (e.g., l icensing requires children to be ,, cinatecl, but the family cloes nclt believe in inocu- 'rons). lt might be because of the program's basic ,rlth ancl safety policies (e.g., the farnily wants care ren their child is feverish and sick, but the program ,nnot risk other chilclren being infectecl). Or it can ' . because of issues t ied to car ing for ch i lc l ren in

- r., )Llps (e.g., the family wants their 3-year-olcl to be rl by an aclult, but the program has eight chilclren at

, table and cannot hancl feed each child). Usually, if staff have macle clear hclw much they

,rre for the child ancl respect the family, creating a rutual ly acceptable solut ion is pussib le. But some-

'.rnes, clesltite everyone's best efforts to fincl a third .pace, the cliscussion between program ancl family rray reach one party's nonneqotiable "bottorn l ine." In

\orne cases, the issue may be tied tcl anti-bias l lr inci- :rles. An anti-bias eclucator cannot, for examltle, agree to alt icle by a family's desire to prevent their White t hilcl from playing with a chilcl of color <tr with clark- sk inned c lo l ls . Perhaps the fami ly ins is ts that thei r son should not have to do any type of cleanup tasks, rrr that all the children shoulcl Drav befrtre each meal as their chilcl dcles.

Whatever the issue, when it becomes clear a fam- ily cannot stay in the prclgram, it is irnportant that the rlirector help the family iclentify other options in the c:ommunity, ancl handle the departure as respectfully as possible.

Stop & Th ink : How does your ind iv idua l cul ture affect your teaching?

r What l te l ie fs f ro r t r y ( )L l r o \ \ 'n cu l t r r ra l l ra t k { ro t ruc l about work in { w i t l r t l r i l c l ren are n los t in t l )o r tan t to yor r l '

r Whir:h principles arrt l bel ietfs in early clr i lc lhoricl erluctr- t iort art: rnost irnltortant to Vorr ' .)

I Are tfrere any prat:t ic:es f roru your honte t ulturet that you t l r ink t 'ou lc l l te ac la l t tec l r i r re t l ro r rqh t ' , 'A r ry f ron t eirr ly clr i l r l troocl eclucation'.)

r Which prac t ices are "bo t tonr l i r re " fo r yor r - tha t i s ,

l r r inc ip le -baset l p rac t ices vou are unwi l l ing to adapt?

I What kincl of l talauce r lo you have lretween practices vou are wil l ing to arlalt t :rncl ones you consicler "bot- torn l ine' ' l '

Respecting all children's home languages and developing bilingualism The United States has always been a nation of many languages. Now in the 21st century, new waves of immigration, as well as migration within the coun- try, mean that early childhood programs are serving increasing numbers of children whose home language is not English. All children need English in order to thrive in their new country. They also need support in maintaininq their horne language in order to stay cleeply connectecl to their families, as well as for the many arlvantages of being bil ingual.

An anti-bias approach includes finding ways to support children's l-rome language as an essential component of respecting ancl integrating honte cul- tures into early chilclhocld proerams. It also assumes that the developrnent of bil ingualism is important for all chilclren, who are growing rrlt in an increasingly multi l ingual world.

It is beyonrl the scope of this chapter to clescribe the specific techniques of how to teach English lan- guage learners or how to help all chilclren acquire a second language, although effective approaches for cloing scl are vital (see the box "Adciit ional Resources about Culture and Language"). Insteacl, this sectior.r focuses on the attitucles ancl beliefs that support a welcoming, affirrning environment that respects and makes visible all languages and supports bil ingualism as an impclrtant aspect of cognitive clevelopment.

Learning English and continuing development in the home language

For younq chi l r l ren, the language of the hclme is . . . the languaqe they use to nrake and establ ish rneaningful conrmuni( : i i t ive re lat ionships, and the lanquar le they use to begin to construct their knowledge and test their learning. . . . For the opt i rnal developntent ancl learning of a l l chik l ren, et lucators must accept the leqi t imacy of chi ldren's home language, respect ( l - ro ld in h igh regarcl ) ancl value (esteem, appreciate) the home cul ture. (NAEYC 1995, l -2)

Early childhood pror{rams serve as a two-way bridge between the dominant culture ancl the child's home culture. When the programs support children's home language while also helping them learn the language of the larger society, teachers convey the important message that the child's home language matters as part of cognitive, social, emotional, and bil ingual language development. When this principle is not honored, we run the risk of undermining children's positive identity and connections with their families. Consider the following story told by a student in an early childhood education class at East Los Anqeles

63

U

Learning About Culture, Language, & Fairness

College about her experience in the preschool where she was student teaching:

I taught the children a song in Chinese. One child, who is Chinese himself, covered his ears and said. ,,1 don,t l ike Chinese songs. I l ike English songs only." I asked him if he heard Chinese songs at home. He replied, "My grandma always l istens, but I cion't l ike to l isten to that." I know that the child was in another pre- school last year where he wasn't allowed to speak anv Chinese. I wonder if that is wlry he now says he cjoesn't l ike it.

Of the 40 students in th is col lege c lass, one quarter o l them then relatecl that they hacl similar experieltces with children in their preschools.

English<tnly schools and programs, however well meaning, immerse children in a worlcl they clo nclt understand. ln these proqrarns, chilclren are at risk of absorbing the message that the language of home is of lesser value because it has no presence in their school. Disrupting preschool chilclren's continueci development of their hclme language can alscl leacl to the rejection or loss of their "tnother tongues." Ttris loss risks cutting the chilclren off from their family and community, often encling close relaticlnships with elders ancl making them outsiclers in their hclrne cultures (Wong-Fil lmore l99l).

Furthermore, white young chiklren in Flnglish immersion programs may init ially perform well in some aspects of English, there is eviclence that shift_ ing from their f irst language to a new, unfamiliar lan_ guage too early may actually have a negative effect on English fluency, comprehension of text, ancl acaclemic achievement from preK to third grade and beyond (Espinosa 2008). Such chilclren clevelop ,,playgrouncl"

English but cannot use English effectively for aca- demic learning (Garcia 2006).

Numerous studies confirm the benefits of early childhood programs that nurture chilclren's home language while also fostering English learning. Most focus on Spanish-English tanguage learners, but these studies sti l l offer educational implications for alt chil_ dren whose home language is not English.

The Society for Research in Child Develournent has found that encouraging prekinclergarten atten- dance in dual-language programs rather than English- only programs improves learning opportunities for English language learners and increases their chances of success (SRCD 2009). Furthermore, helping chit- dren continue to develop in their home language while beginning to learn English has been shown to foster earlier development of academic skil ls, lead to more proficient English (Crawford lggl), and support children's abil ity to communicate with their families @ong-Fillmore l99l; Hakuta, Goto Butler, & Witt 2000).

One study that collected data on more than 700,000 language-minority students from 1g82 to 1996 in schools that were using different kinds of well implemented bil ingual programs founcl that children who remained for the longest t ime in programs that supportecl their home language and provicled strong, content-based English as a seconcl language instruc_ tion showed the rnost academic success. It is signifi- cant to note that students who received Finglish-only instructicln without any home language instruction in the early years of schooling farecl the worst acarlemi- cal ly (Col l ier & Thomas 1997).

Bil ingualism for chi ldren whose home language is English In the Unitecl States, most c()nversations about bil ingualism fclcus on childretr who neecl tcl Iearn English, yet there is ample eviclence that integrating other home languages into early childhoocl progrants benefits l inglish-speakinq chilclren in several ways. It teaches them respect for other langua{es, while also helping them to feel cornfortable learnin,t a new language. 'Ihey gain the skil l of learning a seconcl language in this glclbal economy and increa.sin{ly multi l ingual society. ln most inrlustrializerl countries clther than the Unitecl States, chilclren ltecrime at least bil ingual, ancl rnany speak three or four languages. Ttrere is no reason wtry cfri lclren in the Unitecl States shoulcln't have this same advantage.

Families ancl teachers sometimes wrlrry that if a classroom includes languages other than Iinglish. the children who are native English speakers won,t qet the support they need for their continuing language ancl cognitive development. Researctr by the National

Addi t iona l Resources about Cu l tu re and Language

Baker, C. 2(107. A purent's antl teucl'rer's quic!e kt ltilin- eual isnt.2cl ed. Buffalo, NY: Mult i l ingual Matters Lt( l .

Chane, H.N-l-. 199'3. Affirming children's nxtts; CLtlturo! artd linguistic diuersitlt in eurly core und educution. Oaklancl, CA: Cali f ornia Tornorrow.

Chang, H. N-L. 2006. Getting ready for quutit.v The t.ntr cal importonce of tleuelopinq and supportinp a shilted. eth n i ca I ly, und I ingu ist icct ! ly d i ue rse e urly c h i ! tl h rx rl uorkfor<:e. Oakland, CA: California Tomtirrow.

Howes, C. 2009. Culture ond child tleuelopment in earl-v chilrlhoorl prourarns: Practices for qualit-t education and care. New York: Teachers College press.

Tabors, P.O. 2008. One child, two lanquagr:s; A quicle for early childhood educators of chitdren learning English os a second language.2d. ecl. Balt irnore, MD: paul I l . Brookes.

64 Anti-Bicts Educaticsn

' .ssociation for Bil ingual Education (NABE) showed 'lat in two-way language programs in which English- .peaking children learn Spanish and English language

.r.cirn€rs learn English, botft groups show stronger rchievement in language fluency and academic

;)rogress compared with children in monolingual

J)rograms.

Home language support-Challenges and concerns \ABE (n.d.) has found that sentiment against sup- porting a home language often stems from the mis-

taken belief that "bil ingualism threatens to sap our

sense of national identity ancl divide us along ethnic

lines [ . . . or] encourage immigrants that they can

live in the IUnited States] without learning English."

Hclwever, this belief reflects a serious misunderstand- ing of bil ingual eclucation, which in fact has learning

L.nglish as its primary goal. It is also a misconception

that people whose home language is not English clo

not want their children to learn English. Most families

look to early childhood programs as a place for their

children to begin to learn the language ttrey neecl to

succeed in school and the larger society.

Stop & Th ink : Uncover ing your ideas and exper iences about second language learn ing

r WIrir t lan{rraqcs r l i t l your i i l l ( :ostors slteak' l Arc t l tese l ; r r r { r ra {es s t i l l l r i r r t o f y r t t t r l i f t " / Wl ra t i s t l ta t l i kc fo r

vou: ' When ar r r l w l ry r l i c l thosc la t tquages c l i sappear f rour your fa r r r i l y . i f the 'y r l i t l l

I l larre votr h:rr l any cxl)erieltcc lr t ' i rrg i t t a selt i t tg wltere

lrcolr le cl ir l rrot speak yout- l ;utguaqel ' How rl i t l you feel ' i

Wh; r t r lo yor . r th ink tha t i s l i ke fo r a snra l l t l r i l c l?

I l f yor . r have ex l r t ' r i c r r r :e in leant i t rg to s l teak a secot t t l l a r rguage, w l ra t l tas t l t i t t l tee t t I i kc ' l Wl r : r t l vas i t l i kc t r r

r r rake yours t ' l f L t t t t le rs toor l ' l Hou ' t l i c i i t fee l l '

r What r 'o r r r rcc t ions c lo y< t t t rnake l te tweet t f l t te l i t Enq l ish

slrt 'akirrq arrcl intel l igt:nt:e? [Setwetrn pcople wlto slt t :ak l r r r { l i sh w i th a r r " i l ( ( ' c l l t " o r a t l ia l t r t ' t < l i f fe ren t f ro r r r

vour 0wn ' , ' I l0w r t r iq l t t y t lu r l r t ' l i c fs i fee l i r lgs a f f t r t ' t your '"vork rvith farrr i l iesl '

r Wlr ir t are t lrc cl ial len{es for you to i tnl t l t ' t t t t : t t t strate- qies t lrat sul) l)ort chi lclr t :rr 's l tr tr t te lattgttages while

also fosterin{ I ingl islr learning' l What wil l sul.r l tort you?

Wlrat rrerv knon' lcr lge ancl ski l ls r lo yott thit tk 1,ou neerl?

In fact, some families may challenge programs

that support home languages at school because they

think such programs may undermine their child's English learning. This is yet another misconception

that reflects a lack of awareness of the dangers posed

Learning About Culture, Language, & Fairness

for children when early childhood programs ignore

home languages. Once families understand the dan- gers inherent in English-only programs and recognize

that young children can learn English while also

continuing their home language, they generally come

to value bil ingual education.

Valuing the whole family across l ines of language In spite of considerable evidence pointing to its

benefits, supporting a home language in school can

be a daunting challenge for many early childhood

teachers. Many teachers feel overwhelmed by how to

actually do this, especially if multiple different home

languages are represented in their program.

Fostering children's home language begins in our

relationships with families. We must demonstrate that

we value and respect the languages they speak and

that we are eager to communicate with them to share

information and make decisions about matters affect-

ing their children. This means teachers have to find ways to speak

and write to families in their home language-which requires us to make connections with others who

speak the home languages of the children we care for. It requires us to focus on the family member (rather than the translator) during a conversation that is being translated and to address our comments

directly to him or her. We show our respect by pre-

suming that parents are intell igent and loving, even

when we do not have words we can share, ancl by never making the mistake of assuming that those whcl

don't speak fluent English are ignorant clr incapable

or uncaring. (See the box "Why Don't They Learn

English?")

Supporting children from different l inguist ic backgrounds Each early childhoocl program will have a unique

mix of language learners. Do the majority of chil-

dren come from families speaking the same home

language? Are several different languages spoken?

Do only one or two children speak a language other

than English? Do you have any staff who speak the

children's home languages? Do you have access to people who can help you with the children's home

languages? What available resources can you use, and

what further resources do you need?

There is no "one size fits all" learning environ-

ment to support the English learners and the native

English speakers on their important path to bil ingual- ism. Whatever combination of strategies you choose

65

"Why Don't They Learn Engl ish?" bY Luis Hernandez

This is a frequently heard question from teachers

and families who speak only English. They forget

that learning a new language is extremely difficult

for almost all adults and that it takes years to

develop fluency, even when the learner is given

support and approval for trying instead of scorn

for "not doing i t r ight." As anti-bias educators, we

should:

. Respect each family's steps in learning and using

English.

o Keep in mind that parents may not be l i terate ( i .e. '

able to reacl and/or write) in their first language'

. Consider each family's amount of exposure to and

opportunit ies to study and practice the new lan-

guage durir.rg a typical clay, and fincl out the levels of

English use and proficiency at home among family

members.

. Provide encouragement, praise, and modeling' I t

takes courage for language learners to use a new

language with people who may be judgrnental. Show

your own spir i t of adventure try learning and using

basic words in the famil ies' home languages.

. Remember, speaking English louclly will not make

you easier to understand!

to use in your program, the commitment to address

this issue is one of the central principles of effective

anti-bias education. Here are a few ideas for support-

ing children's home languages (SRCD 2009):

. Hang welcoming signs in all languages, label class-

roclm materials, and display pictures labeled in each

child's home language for each curriculum area and

for food, water, and the bathroom.

o Provicle home language books' stories, and songs

on tape (which families and other community mem-

bers can help make).

o Learn key words and phrases (greetings' requests

for help, terms of comfort and encouragement, etc')

in each chilcl 's home language. If many home lan-

guages are represented in the class, different staff

members can learn key words for different languages'

o Regularly invite family members (nuclear and

extended) who speak the child's home language to

your classroom.

o Make sure you intentionally promote the inclusion

of children who are English language learners in all

activit ies. (Some children may stay on the sidelines

unless they receive encouragement to participate')

66

o Plan part of each day when English language learn-

ers are supported in their home language. If you have

sufficient staff (or volunteers), you can plan snack

time or a special story time in home language groups'

o If you do not yet have bil ingual teachers for each

classroom, but you have one or two staff members

who are bil ingual, consider having at least one of

them serve as a "rover" in all the classes to help

monolingual teachers. Group English language learn-

ers together in fewer classes so they have support

from other children who speak their home language

and also have more time with the bil ingual staff ' Invite

community volunteers who speak the children's

home languages to come regularly to your class'

o Organize a group of people to help you translate

your program's handbook, forms, newsletters, or

other ongoing written communicaticlns into children's

home languages. Use photographs of all the activit ies

and claily proceclures, labelecl in the home languages

to communicate what is happening in your program'

(Family members ancl community volunteers can help

with this.)

o Encourage families to cclntinue to develop their

chilcl 's home language, inclucling by reading to their

chilcl in that language. Create a lending l ibrary of

children's books, and invite families and friencls to

help you create some books in languages that are not

currently available commercially.

o Especially when many families share a language-

Spanish, for example-give priority when feasible to

hiring staff who speak this language ancl to fin<littg

ways to enable other staff to learn the language'

Finally, two very creative and integrated rnulti-

l ingual approaches come from child care programs in

Sydney, Australia, that serve working-class families in

a culturally diverse district. They show what <:an be

done when there is the wil l.

ln a center serving 3- to 5-year-olds, and with four main

home languages as well as English, several staff members

are fluently bil ingual. Major learning centers (e'g' ' blocks

and manipulatives, dramatic play, music, art) are located

in different rooms of the center, are supervised by these

staff on a rotating basis, and are available to all children

for a large Portion of the day. This way' as children

choose activity centers, they are also able to choose

to be with a teacher who speaks their home language

as well as English and sti l l spend time in all the various

activities. Family members, delighted with the Program' also volunteer to helP each daY.

In another center, where two home languages are

spoken in addition to English, the staff have organized

a mul t i l ingual l i teracy curr icu lum. Chi ldren meet in lan-

Anti-Bias Education

guage family groups with a bil ingual staff member for a designated period of t ime every day. They also some- t imes, at thei r choice, v is i t another group. Chi ldren 's early writ ing, visible on the walls, reflects their l i teracy development in thei r home language and in Engl ish. An additional benefit is the significantly increased par- t ic ipat ion of the chi ldren 's fami ly members, inc luding grandparents, because they see their home language resoected in the classrooms.

Planning for how your program will include staff

who speak the home languages of the families in your

c--ommunity calls for commitrnent and strategic think-

ing. Our profession needs to find ways to enable teach-

ers to becorne fluent in languages other than English

ancl to recruit more people who speak languages other

than English to become early chilclhood teachers.

Continued research to determine the most effective

rr-rethods for implemer-rting bil ingual or multi l ingual

approaches in varying settings wil l also help us sup- port chilclren's home languages in all <tf our programs.

Make cultural sameness and difference real No matter how homogeneous your program appears

to be, it is essential to explclre the rnany cultural

clifferences ancl sirnilarit ies representecl among its

families ancl staff. Remernber that all cl 'r i ldren have

a home culture and each family tras its own style of

rlaily l iving. Even when all or rnost of the chilclren

come from the sarne racial grc-rup (e.g., White) or

ethnic group (e.g., Mexican Anrericatr), cl ifferences

exist in how each family l ives. When early chilclhoocl programs fclster comfort ancl respect wittr regarcl to

clifferences, they create a founclation for children's

abil ity to thrive in our culturally complex worlcl.

One approach to supporting children's under-

standing of human cliversity is to clevelop the therne "We are all the same; we are all cl ifferent." Given young children's diff iculties in understanding abstract

ideas about things they cannot touch, taste, or experi-

ence, it is important to ground your teaching about

culture in everyday issues. The same/different theme

can be built into the ongoing curriculum throughout

the year, with a tone of delight, interest, respect: "All people eat, but they eat different foods." . . . "All

babies are carried, but they are carried in different

ways." . . . "All people sleep, but they sleep on many

objects." . . . "We all have words, but we have differ-

ent words, different languages (even s<-1, we all say

Mamal)." At the center of this theme is fir imriy as the

basic unit: "ln some families Big Sister cooks dinner,

and in some families Daddy cooks dinner, and in some

families everyone cooks dinner together."

LearningAbout Culture, Language, & Fairness

Conversations about human sameness and differ-

ence can take place during many teachable moments

throughout the day. For example, "All the children are painting, but you each made different pictures." . . . "Everyone at the table wanted a drink with snack, but

some of you l iked the orange juice and some of you

wanted water."

Principles for planning activit ies

There are many activit ies that work for exploring

cultural cliversity and similarit ies as long as those

activit ies aclhere to a few basic principles. We will

cl iscuss those principles here and get into more spe-

cif ic ideas for activit ies in the next sections. Following

these principles wil l facil i tate your helping children to

feel proud of their own culture and learn respect fclr

others (see chapters 1 and 4). The principles wil l alscr

help you to avoid the traps clf a tourist curriculum (clescribecl in ctrapter 4). Remember to address any

and all signs of misinformation, cliscomfort, fear, or

rejection of cultural differences. Use both immecliate

ancl long-term interventions ancl teaching strategies (see the sections "Positive Interactions wittr Children"

ancl "Curriculum Planning, lncluding l 'ersclna Dolls" ir l

chapter 4).

l Connect cultural activities to concrete, daily life

experiences. Culture is not an abstraction to young children. It

is livecl ancl learnecl every day thrclugh the way family

rnembers interact: through lar-rguage, patterns of corn-

munication, family stories, family routines, religious practices, music, household customs, and the respon-

sibil i t ies of fnmily members. Talk about these family

interactions with children to develop the theme of "We are all the sarne; we are all cl ifferent" (e.g., "Yes,

in your house children watch a video befclre becl, and

in Micah's house children l isten to a storybook").

Talk about the similarit ies ancl differences amonq

children's everyday experiences (e.g., "Saresh's ntom

isn't wearing a costume. We call her dress a.sari. It 's

a different kind of dress than the one your mama

wears." . . . "You went to the St. Patrick's Day parade

with your family this weekend. Mickey ancl his family

spent Sunday at a church picnic. And I was at home

making playdough! We all do such interesting things

on the weekend").

o Be intentional about including the cultural life of

all families in your activities. Remember that every child has a home culture

and every family in some ways is both different from

and the same as every other family. Do not make the

mistake of focusing on only the culture of children

67

F -

from so-called "ethnic minority" groups. Children from White ethnic/cultural backgrounds, including those children whose families have lived in the United States for many generations, are cultural beings, too.

o Explore the similarities that exist among people

across all their differences. Everyone laughs, cries, eats, works, and plays

because we are all human beings. Yet people do all these activit ies in different ways. No group's way of doing things is superior to others, nor is one culture's behavior the standard and all others simply varia- tions from that norm. For example, sleeping in a bed together with siblings is just as "normal" as sleeping in your own roorn is. Likewise, speaking languages other than English is equally effective fclr communica- tion (e.g., "Tomds asked for leche, and Tommy asked lor milk. You both wanted the sarne thing!"). In our culturally diverse worlcl, there are many ways to meet the common human neecls that all peoples share.

o Avoid the editorial "we" when talking with chil- dren about cultural practices.

"We do such ancl such" makes assumptions about homogeneity that may not be true. Say, "This is what I clo." or "This is what we do in our classroclm; vou do it differently at home. Both ways are okay."

o Avoid singling out one child or only a few chil- dren in your program whose cultural backgrounds differ from the rest.

Remember that children in the cultural minority in your program are in a vulnerable position. They may not want to be different from the other children ancl wil l neecl teacher support to be comfortable with who they are as they fincl ways to connect with their peers. Make learning about these chilclren's families part of learning about every child's family. Help the chilclren learn that there are many other people l ike their classmates. Before beginning activit ies that acldress the culture of a child who is in the program's

minority, talk with the child and family about what you plan to do. Tell the child, for example, "l want the other children to know more about people who are Vietnamese like you, so I 'm going to read some books, tell a story about our doll Trang, and invite some friends of mine to school."

o Always begin by exploring the cultural similari- ties and differences among the children, families, and staff in your program. Then expand to cultural groups beyond your classroom.

This principle is vital to building children's understanding that differences and similarit ies are part of and enrich all of our l ives. This is the bridge to

respectfully learning about cultural ways of l i fe with

which the children do not have direct exDerience.

Activities to get you started Now that we've explored basic principles for planning

activit ies, here are a variety of activity suggestions to get you started exploring the diversity among the families in your program. We'l l look at how to engage children in learning about several specific areas of a family's daily l i fe. Acldit ional areas of cultural l i fe

are discussed in chapters 6 through I l. In particular,

the many ways family members work are explored in chapter 8, and how families celebrate holidays is

explored in chapler I l . As you read our activity suggestions below and

create ones of your own, remember that cultural diversity exists even when families are all members of

the same racial ancl ethnic/cultural group. If you look

for diversity, you wil l f ind it l

1'he many people in our families

This is a good starting place to explclre similarit ies and clifferences. While the structure of families both within and across cultural groups varies greatly, all families carry out many sinti lar tasks.

o Borrow and take photographs of all the people who live witl-r each chilcl and any others seen by the child as part of the family. Make a bulletin board of "The

People in Our Families." Label each photo with the person's name and relationship to the child. Talk with

children about ttre similarit ies and differences among their families in terrns of who lives in each household.

o Make a class book about "Our Families" for children to take hclme to share. Make a page for each child and each teacher about who lives with them and what work their family members do in and outside of the home. For the children's pages, get information from family members and from the child. For example, Maurice's page might say:

"This is Maur ice 's fami ly . He l ives wi th h is dad and h is grandma. His aunt and uncle sometimes take care of him, too. Maurice's dad goes to college to learn to be a teacher, and he cooks dinner for Maurice and puts him to bed. Maurice's grandma brings him to school and works as a secretary. A dog named Gruffy lives with Maurice and his family."

Focus on what the child's family members do on any given day, not on where they are employed. Be aware that some children's family members may be tempo- rarily or chronically unemployed. And some children may have a family member who is incarcerated (see

the box "When a Child Has a Parent in Jail" in chapter

68 AntLBias Education

:()r suggestions on how to support children in this - : ua t i on ) .

. r 'reate a family shelf for families to take turns dis- af ing objects they use in daily l i fe and on special

r 1\'s. Or ask families to bring in an object that f its a -:recific theme, such as "Things we use to make our ,rrnes pretty." Intervene if a child makes fun of any irject. Explain that it is hurtful to make fun of an bject another child's family uses, even if he has not

-,,t 'n it before. Ask the child if he wants to learn about ( )w his friend uses the object, and invite the friencl to

. l row him how i t is used.

o Reacl chilclren's books about families that are r.cflective of the ethnic/cultural groups in your class. \lways use more than just one boclk about a particu- irr {roup-no matter how accurate and respectful

'hat book is. Talk about the differences and similari- : ies between the children's l ives in the books and the lives of the children in your program (e.g., "ls this :row you make dinner in your family?"). Eventually, r 'xpand your selection of books by reading about t ultural groups that are not represented in your class- room but that are present in your larger community or visible in the meclia.

o Tell persona doll stories. Have the dolls' stories reinforce specific families' ways of l iving, introduce new variations on a group's cultural patterns, and provide opportunities for the children to explore similarit ies and differences within and among families (e.g., "FIow is [,uisa's family l ike yours? How is her family different? Isn't that interesting?").

The many ways our families speak

Learning about the many languages spoken by children's families is one part of exploring cultural similarit ies and differences. (This curriculum area, learning about language diversity, is not the same as supporting home language development and bil in- gualism discussed earlier in this chapter.) Even if all the children in your program speak English as their home language, people speak English in different ways. In addition, English-speaking children need to become comfortable with the reality that people in the larger community outside their classroom speak other languages.

None of the activity suggestions that follow requires you to know another language well- although it does help, and learning a second language as an adult wil l give you a wonderful way of connect- ing with families who themselves are learning English. If you choose to learn another language, however, plenty of resources are available, including friends,

Learning About Culture, Language, & Fairness

dictionaries, CDs, and college and community college faculty. You can even learn along with the children in your classroom.

The following activity ideas suggest possibil i t ies for both multi l ingual and monolingual groups.

r If your group is multi l ingual, you wil l already be incorporating their home languages into your pro- gram through writ ing as well as speaking. you l ikely already have labels, children's books, signs, and so on, in their languages. All children can learn the words for common objects, numbers, days of the week, and so on, in the languages represented in your program. The families and children are resources ro help staff do this. At snack time, refer to food in more than one language. Make a poster and a book about "The Ways We Speak" featuring four or five words children commonly use: names clf family members and pets, thank you, water, play, and the like.

o lf your group speaks only English, then use some of the methods just described to introduce a language that the children are l ikely to hear in their commu- nity. Display different writ ing systems (e.g., Chinese, Hebreq Brail le) to broaden their understancling that there are many ways to write the same words.

Respect ing the Eng l ish Language Learner

I used to go in early to the center to pick up my daughter, Amanda-Faye, so I could stay to observe. One clay I decided to stay for story time. Mohammed, one of the teachers, was reading a book and mispronounced some of the words. When the preschool-age chi ldren started giggl ing, he put the book down gently and said, " l want to tet l you that I come from a country cal led lran, and we speak Farsi there. English is my second language, and many of the words are difficult for me. When I make a mis- take and people laugh at me, it hurts my feelings. It's okay i f you wil l help me say them right."

He was so gentle in his del ivery. From the look on the chi ldren's faces, I could see that they under- stood. From then on, when I would hear Mohammed reading and making a mistake, I would also hear the chi ldren say, "Mohammed, that 's not the r ight way. This is how you say i t ." Then he would thank them for their help.

I real ized that i t didn't matter that I st i l l mis- pronounced words. I decided to try Mohammed's technique with adults and chi ldren and found that i t really generated respect and understanding.

S",r."".,qaupt"d from L.l. Jim6nez, "Finding a Voice," in C Alvarado, et al.,1n Our Own Way: How Anti-Bias Worh Shapes Our Liues (St. Paul, MN: Redleaf, 1999),32-34.

69

Consider introducing American Sign Langr.rage if you know it or know someone who does.

o Ask friends or stafi who speak other languages to teach you how to sing a simple song in those languages. Luz Cardona, a preschool teacher, had parents help her learn to sing "Where, oh where, is our f r iend [ch i ld 's name];way down yonder in the paw paw patch" (a favorite song game) in English, Spanish, Croat ian, Russian, and. lapanese. The chi l - clren would call out the language they wanted her to sing and woulcl then sing with her adding their nantes in the appropriate place.

Teach all children respectful ways to interact with people who speak a clifferent language or speak English differently than they clo (see the box "Respecting the English Language Learner"). Never let chilclren tease or make fun of someclrte about hclw he or she sueaks.

The many religious belief's and practices of our families

As chilclren learn abclut one another's families, they may note clifferences in religious ltractices. Families worship in various places-in ctrurches, synagogues, ternples, mosques, perhalrs clutclclors. Some farnil ies do not worship at all. Acceltt chilclren's talk about their religiclus ideas as part of ttreir farnily's way of l ife. Explain that each family has its clwn ideas about what and whcl God is (or isn't), ancl that all deserve respect in the classroom.

Religion often comes up when children are trying to understand issues of l i fe and death. One 3-year-old asked her teacher if she could visit her grandfather in heaven. T'he teacher asked her what her mother said about that. The child replied she hadn't asked. "Let's

ask her together when she gets here," her teacher saicl. This conversation inspired another child to announce that if they all saicl a prayer before eating, they would go to heaven. The teacher replied, "Some

families say prayers befclre eating, and some fami lies don't. Here at school you can say a prayer if you want, or you don't have tcl."

Religious beliefs are a central part of many fami- l ies' home cultures ancl can provicle clirection, focus, anrl cornfort for family mernbers. Although public pro- grarns cannot teach a particular religious perspective or ut i l ize re l ig ious icons, ch i lc l ren of ten br ing those clbjects intcl a classroom. Fclr example,

Stefania and Betina arrive at the center from a home- less shelter, where the sisters and their mother had taken refuge after an earthquake, shaken both emo- tionallv and literallv. Each child comes with a white satin Bible and instructions from their mother to keep it with them at all t imes. The staff aren't sure at f irst how to respond, but it is clear the Bibles are a source of comfort and reassurance. The teachers helo the girls f ind clean places to put the Bibles during art and snack. Over the weeks, as the family recovers, the Bib les are le f t in the g i r ls 'cubbies for more of the day and eventually at home.

Anti-Bias Education70

Children may make biased comments about reli- gious beliefs. Handle such incidents as you would any other attack on a child's identity. In an anti-bias cur- riculum, every family has the absolute right to believe as they wish. At the same time, no one has the right to insist that one belief is better than another or to reject someone because of his or her family's religion. For example:

Five-year-old Andrew casually announces at circle time, "All you kids are going to hell." His teacher asks, "Why do you say that?" Andrew replies, "Because they didn't go to my church l ike I told them to." The teacher calmly answers, "Everyone does not go to the same church, and this is okay. You cannot tell others which church to go to. lt hurts their feelings when you te l l them they wi l l go to hel l . "

In a reliqious school, where a particular l)elief system is part of the curriculum, anti-bias activit ies woulcl inclucle teaching respect for 1>eoltle wh<t clcl not practice that religion.

'lhe many ways our families eat

Activit ies involving food shoulcl be part of a larger exploration of the many ways chilclren's families are the same ancl different. Whenever l lossible, provide what children normally eat at home fclr snacks ancl lunch. lnclude foocls eaten by every child's farnily.

o Cooking and foocl preparation activit ies prclvicle one way to build pre-literacy ancl pre-math skil ls, to encourage healthy eating, ancl to infuse anti-bias educaticln into the program on a regular basis. Ask families to help with recipes ancl ideas for places tcl get ingredients. Choclse easy-toJ)repare foocls that are appealing tcl young children ancl healthy such as salsa dip ancl vegetables, bean curd sticks, and c/r.r/rrra.s (rice in grape leaves). Check out lclcal farmer's rnarkets for sources of interesting foocls that reflect the cultural cliversity in your community.

o Do not stereotype. F'or example, if you cook black- eyed peas, emphasize, "This is one of the things that Selena eats at home with her family. I l ike them, too." Do not say, "This is what African American people eat." If other children from the same cultural group eat clifferent things, point that out.

o Do not mix up specific cultures. Families from Guatemala do not eat the same food as families from Mexico. Families recently from Mexico may not eat the same foods as third-qeneration Mexican Americans.

o Teach children ways to decline food without dispar- aging it. Invite, but do not force children to try new foods. Help them understand that "sometimes we

Learning About Culture, Languoge, & Fairness

like new things and sometimes we do not." Intervene immediately if children make fun of the food or call i t "yucky," explaining that it is hurtful to make fun of the food another child l ikes. Teach them to respond considerately by saying things such as, "l 've never tried that before; what does it taste l ike?" or "lt tastes different to me." Teach them to say, "No, thank you. I don't want any today," when they really do not want to try a food.

The many ways our families sing, dance, and make music

Regularly play music from the children's horne cul- tures and from the cultures in your community at movement ancl dance times, for relaxing at rest and nap times, and as backgrouncl music at eating times. Also have this music available in the l isteninr{ area. Use songs from all the cultural groups in your com- munity that people from those qroups really sing and listen to, not sonrls rnacle up by a person from out- sicle the group. Ask family members for suggestions. Choclse songs that reflect concrete aspects of l i fe that interest young children: work, lullabies, adventures, funny stories. Gather a collection clf rhythm instru- ments used by those qroups. Sharing clne another's music not only helps children enjoy other cultures but it alscl contributes to building a sense of commu- nity among the wfrole class.

The many important people in our communities

Chilclren thrive on stories about hercles-female and rnale, past and present-who have macle important contributions to society. These heroes can include people in the larger sclciety that ctri ldren hear about, but it is important to begin with those people clos- est to the children's l ives and families. Children often see especially beloved family members as heroes, as well as people in their neighborhoods who help their families with various tasks or who tell wonderful stories. Some children know people who work with others to improve their community. For example, Louise's mother worked with people in the housing project where Louise grew up to get a new school for the neighborhood.

When discussing well known people, be very concrete and tie their contributions to children's interests and everyday l ife. For example:

"Stevie Wonder is a composer and singer who has made many people happy wi th h is music. He is a lso blind. He wrote a special birthday song for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., now sung by many Black families on the birthdays of their own children."

!il

"Dolores Huerta helped farm workers and their chil-

dren have better homes, food, toys, and education.' '

"Maria Montessori was a doctor and a teacher, and it

was her very good idea to have chairs and tables that

are just the right size for you to use!"

Be sure to include the heroes of every child in your

class.

Introducing diversitY beYond the classroom Once you have established a classroom culture that

honors the diversity within your group, then you can

begin to adcl learning opportunities about cultural

groups beyond your program. Choose people from

cultural groups with whom the children are most

likely to interact in the broader community and when

they go on to elementary school. Learning about

people of even one new ethnic/cultural group helps

children to think more broadly about human differ-

ences and sameness. You are also modeling respectful

ways to learn about people with whom the children

are not yet familiar.

o Get to know people-lnvite in members of ethnic/

cultural groups you want to introduce to the children'

Choose people who are able to participate regularly

in your program so the children can get to know

them. Guests can tell the children stories about their

families and their work, show and explain household

and art objects, ancl teach songs and new words (if

they speak a language other than English)' They can

also join in the children's activities. You may want to

inclucle people who are artists, as well as people who

are especially respected for their contributions to

their communities.

o Reacl children's books-Put together and use a

selection of accurate books about children and fami-

l ies from the cultural group you plan to introduce'

Most of the books should focus on current l i fe in the

United States (unless the group is transnational and

travels back and forth between the United States and

their home country on a regular basis; then you want

books that show both lifestyles). Look for books that

discuss themes that are common in the children's

lives. (For ideas on where to get books, see the "Anti

Bias" section of the NAEYC website: wwwnaeyc'org')

a Create your own materials-Give one or two per-

sona dolls the cultural identity of the cultural group

you are introducing. Tell stories about the dolls' l ives

that relate to the l ives of the children in your group'

Interview people from that cultural community and

make a poster or Big Book with photographs about

them.

o Use folktales appropriately-Folktales (fairy tales'

fables) are stories that come from the oral tradition,

and every culture tells some. However, folktales do

not teach children about the current, daily l ives of

people. Because the i l lustrations in most folktale

books depict past t imes, using them to introduce new

cultures can reinforce young children's misconcep-

tions. Would you use CindereLla or Sleeping Beauty l<t

teach children about current European or American

life? Then clon't, for example, use an African folktale

to teach children about people's l ives in toclay's

Africa. Insteacl of misusing folktales in that way' use

the many beautifully written and il lustrated folktale

books as a way to help children explore the many

mclral dilemmas these stories portray. Ask chilclren'

"How would you solve this problem?"

Fostering chilclren's 0""",*-".t of a pclsit ive cul-

tural identity and their comfortable, respectful inter-

action with the cultures of others is the founclatit ln of

all anti-bias education work. In the following chapters,

we look at several acldit ional areas of iclentity and

fairness-race, gender, economic class, family struc-

ture, abil it ies, and holidaYs.

As you move from one chapter to another, think

of a kaleidoscope. Like the glass at the kaleidoscope's

center. the core elements of anti-bias education are

unchanging. Yet each turn of the kaleidoscope-like

the diverse perspectives we hope to support as anti-

bias educators-shifts those unchanging elements to

create a new pattern. The values of anti-bias educa-

tion wil l never change, but the perspectives on it are

endless.

Remember to do culture and language activit ies that cultivate all four anti-bias education goals

72 AnttBias Education