A time when I witnessed an adult reprimand or silence a child after he or she pointed out someone they saw as different was when we were at a restaurant and my younger cousin said "Why does he walk like that?" and his brother told him to shut up. My aunt told him to lower his voice so the individual would not hear him. Once, we got seated at the table, my aunt then explained to him that everyone is different and there can be different reasons why he may walk differently including being handicapped, injured, or born that way. She then explained to him that it is not nice to stare and that because he walks differently does not mean you single him out or treat him any differently.
Some messages that might have been communicated to my cousin by my aunt's/other cousins response include:
- maybe in trouble
- confused
- a misunderstanding
An anti-bias educator might have responded to support the child or classroom with understanding is by paying attention, ask questions, listen carefully, and responding appropriately to the child and the situation ( Derman-sparks & Edwards, 2010). It is essential to acknowledge these questions and use them as teachable moments to foster a diverse anti-bias learning community ( Derman-sparks & Edwards, 2010).
Anti-bias Education For Young Children and Ourselves
- Creating an Anti-Bias Learning Community, pp. 32-47
Children are incredibly inquisitive and their language can appear to be inappropriate. Regularly, they are ignorant of certifiable significance of the language being used. Adults consistently revolve around ensuring that their adolescents dependably show fitting behavior, in any case the useful minutes that happen are unbelievably critical. In the functional minutes, gatekeepers can show the fitting words to use for their youths and have a canny conversation. If a comment is made in the homeroom, I would propose using the model talk around the completion of your post to show for adults who experience issues driving this sort of discussion.
ReplyDeleteJamie,
ReplyDeleteI have seen instances like this in public. When I had a total knee reconstruction surgery I walked with a completely different gait than I normally would. I had children point at me and ask. I liked being able to tell them that I had a surgery and my leg was a little different than it used to be. It is an opportunity to teach children that it is okay to be different.