Creating an early childhood program that reflects diversity and equ

EDUC6358: Strategies for Working with Diverse Children “Your Commitment to Anti-Bias Work”

Program Transcript

[MUSIC PLAYING]

NARRATOR: Julie Olsen Edwards offers parting words of clarity, inspiration, and challenge to you as an anti-bias early childhood educator and an emergent leader in this field.

JULIE OLSEN EDWARDS: Life is filled with key decisions. Decisions that change who we are and what we do. You made a decision to get an MS in Early Childhood Studies. And furthermore, you made a decision to focus in on diversity– on diversity equity issues at the heart of what you are studying. It was an important decision.

Somewhere in your life you experienced, you learned about, you observed, you saw the ways that people are injured by inequitable treatment, the ways that children become less than what they could be, and you made a decision to become someone who addresses those issues. And now you are joining with teachers all over the world, not just here in our country, but all over the world to address and see what we can do to raise children proud in who they are, connected to their families, connected to their communities, open to, eager to embrace people who are different. This is an important journey. It's a journey that will entice you, frustrate you, compel you. It's filled with new things to learn and it goes on for a lifetime. No matter how much you know, there's always more to learn.

It's not that we are different that causes problems. It is that we are treated badly based on those differences. The issues of our economic class, our gender, our racial identities, our culture, our language, our ability, instead of those being strengths we build on, children get taught we are less because of those things. These internalized messages, unless key adults step in, these internalized messages keep our children from being fully who they can be. It requires adults who step in and contradict the misinformation that children are surrounded with. It requires adults who speak up and make a part of every day in the classroom, in the school, in the community, a statement building on the strengths of children and giving them that sense of dignity about who and what they are. This work requires adults who are ready to be allies to children and families. To help children develop the skills, the strengths, the capacities to thrive in this world of ours, which is so torn apart and polarized right now. Everything you've been doing in this course has been focused on helping you deepen your understanding of how diversity and equity issues shape what happens to children.

People often say doing something new is scary. It can be. But doing something you believe in, making something that hasn't felt right to you right, taking a step in the direction of what matters to you is also exciting, challenging, yes, but challenging in that sense of I'm moving. Addressing something that hurts children is a proud and fulfilling moment. You can't wait till you know enough. We never know enough. In this arena there's always more to learn. Like all other learning, you take two steps forward and you'll take one back, and you have to re-figure it out. And step-by-step you begin to build your own skill level, your own ability to figure out what's going on here and what do I need to do. It's never a straight line. Those goals for children? They're the goals for us too. For us, inside ourself, we need to also keep working on who am I and how can I be proud and clear about who I am? Who is different from me out there, and how can I see them fully as complete human beings, and embrace our differences? How can I come to truly identify what's unfair here, what's wrong here, what should be instead of just what is? And then what do I need to do to try to make things better? This work requires support. You can't do it alone. We need allies too.

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You've been involved for the last eight weeks, emailing people, talking to people online. These are some natural allies for you. As you move forward in your professional life in this work, you need groups of people you can talk to about, this is what happened, how do I figure it out? I tried this it didn't work. What else could I try? What resources will address this issue? What do I do when it blows up, when I tried it and some of the parents didn't like it? You've got to have a circle of people you can go to.

And just as important, you need a circle of people who you can call up, or email, or write, or blog and say, it worked. I did it. I had the courage. I tried it. I talked to those kids about skin color, and it worked, and the families were excited. Celebrating our successes is what feeds us and keeps us going. This is a lifetime of work. You need people around. You need to build a community both of around you at home and online, so that you have people to keep you growing as an anti-bias educator.

You made a decision to become a Diversity/Equity Educator. There's a whole community of people out here who support you and walk with you. It's important. It matters. Welcome. The children are waiting for you.

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