Children notice way more than most adults realize. It is their way of learning about the world around them and it is our job to help them make sense of it. I am going to share an experience I had at the preschool where I work where a teacher could have helped a child to properly make sense of her world.
I was helping a teacher in the toddler classroom one day and they were playing in the sand table. One of the black children was wearing her full hair in pigtails. The pigtails were big and fluffy and unique for this young child. I overheard one of the white children noticing that her pigtails were big. She liked looking and playing with them. The teacher I was working with told the child not to say that out loud and that she should not be concerned with this girl's hair. I thought to myself, why doesn't the teacher just tell the white child how pretty this girl's pigtails are? Why does the teacher turn her comments into negative ones? There are several other way the teacher could have capitalized on this learning experience. The child surely caught on to her teachers way of thinking. I see this type of communication too often with teachers.
Jalice,
ReplyDeleteYou are correct. From your description of events, neither child was in distress. So what a wonderful opportunity to discuss diversity. The teacher could have easily responded “yes, her hair is very pretty. And yours is too.” This could have been followed by a simple discussion about other physical difference they saw in the class and how these differences make us unique. Such a missed opportunity. Some adults are uncomfortable dealing with topics of diversity, because at the core they are uncomfortable with diversity.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts,
Amanda