Ktantanim Balev

  As I reflect upon Gender, Gender identity, and Sexual Orientation, there are a few issues to consider: Homophobia and heterosexism permeate young children's world and are reflected in books, the packaging of toys, commercials, and movies. I displayed photos, figurines, and picture books that show professional workers representing both genders in my learning environment, for instance, an image of a male nurse and a woman truck driver or a doctor. Also, in the dramatic play area, I display props that will encourage rules and roles. For instance, allowing boys to experimenting with a "maternal role" (Pelo, 2008, p.68) and feed or dress a doll. Also, I use my observation for teachable moments to scaffold the children's thinking (Derman-Sparks, 2010).  There may be cases that parents will share with me their concern about having books depicting same-sex parents. My answer will be that Some of the significant goals of anti-bias education are to foster children's self-...

The scenario that I observed occurred in the park. I watched a mother sitting with her child (about two years of age). The child was holding a picture book, paying attention to the pictures. As the child was pointing to a particular image, her mother named the objects. What caught my attention was how the mother adapted her pace and answers to her child’s speed, as her daughter was taking her time to look at the pictures. The mother was paying attention to her daughter’s facial expression, voicing her daughter’s excitement when looking at a horse. “A horse, Grace, you love horses! Does it remind you of Jungo? Then the mother took a stuffed horse from her purse and gave it to Grace. “Horsie my horsie,” says Grace. She started bouncing both the book and her stuffed animal together back and forth. It was evident to me that the mother was very tuned and accurate to her child’s wishes. For instance, Grace was holding a picture book in her hands. As her mother observed Grace closely, she not...

  As I plan my affirming environment, I will focus on the diverse children and families I have to reflect their cultural background in the program. Additionally, I will plan to represent our diverse community at large (Derman-Sparks, 2010).   My main focus should be to achieving the four goals to support anti-bias education in my classroom: I will foster the children’s social-emotional growth, self-esteem, and pride in their family, heritage, and cultural background., embracing their social identity (Derman-Sparks, 2010). I will foster visibility, empathy, care, and respect for diversity in each child (Derman-Sparks, 2010).  I will cultivate in children the sense of justice in diversity (Derman-Sparks, 2010).  I will encourage children to feel competent to speak up when they experience or face prejudice (Derman-Sparks, 2010). Planing my environment, the pictures and photos I display should represent my diverse classroom and our local environment, representing th...