There are many different types of families that exist in the world that we live in today. Many individuals have existing biases that enable them to be accepting of the changes that have transpired and the changes that lie ahead.
Those individuals that believe that early childhood centers should avoid the inclusion of books depicting gay or lesbian individuals such as same-sex partnered families need to be educated. At my facility we do have an inclusion policy that is stated in our parent handbook. I would also tell those individuals that are a program that incorporates all types of family cultures and beliefs. We serve ALL families and do not discriminate against anyone for any reason. Literacy is an intricate part of our program and we provide books that revolve around various cultures, foods, race, and gender. There are actually pictures in my current location that I purchased through Lakeshore that includes a family consisting of two mommies.
I have had a parent to voice her opinion in reference to a lesbian teacher that she did not want her children to interact with. I told the parent that I respected her preference, but this caregiver was excellent and provided our children with exceptional care. I told her that if her children were going to be enrolled in our program that this particular teacher would be their caregiver and she had an option of whether she wanted to stay enrolled or not. I personally do not desire to have those types of parents in my school. Everyone deserves an equal opportunity to be the best that they can be.
Thank you for taking a stance on equal opportunity and rights. I am glad that your facility includes materials that depict the LGBT community. I think it will take time for all facilities to make a movement like this, but in 30 years I think the next generation will look back on our history and not be able to identity with why there was a "sexuality war" just how this generation has many people who can not relate to the Civil War and why different races being equal was a big issue.
ReplyDeleteTheresa I appreciate how you have such a clear vision about anti-bias teaching and take such a strong stance in it. Literacy is such a valuable part of any program and gathering resources that reflect anti-bias on different levels is an integral part of a school library. Here in the Middle-East, there is no way one could even broach the subject. You are also correct in that everyone does deserve to have an equal opportunity to develop into the very best that they can be. I was wondering if you would take the time to give this parent an opportunity to develop her understanding through building relationships or would you just give the option to choose another school from the outset?
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your post and applaud you for not giving in to the parent. I also feel that as long as a person can do the job-nothing else matters. There are many people that feel uncomfortable around anything that they don’t understand. All we need to do is be open minded and not infringe on another person’s beliefs and way of life.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing!! I like how you classified a person’s sexuality as a culture. This is a great way to be able to open up conversations with families about the various sexualities in our ever changing society. People tend to shun away from anything that has to do with sex or sexuality due to the fact the dominate culture of society has deemed it socially inappropriate to discuss or expose such subject matter with children. However, by approaching this challenging conversation by using ‘’culture’’ is a great idea! I am going to use this phrasing in the future when working with parents that are struggling with homosexuality. In addition, I like how you focused on providing an inclusive learning environment for children;) Great post!!
ReplyDelete