We live in a society that is plagued with biases,
stereotypes and prejudice which give rise to various ism. An ism is the
attitude and actions that surround institutional advantages and disadvantages
people experience due to their membership in certain social identity groups
(Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2010). Hence, as educators we are not immune to
experiencing isms. More so, we bring our
own ideals, perspectives, values and experiences to the classroom. As such, experiencing isms can not only
affect our personal live but also our professional life. This therefore can influence the way in
which we interact with children and families.
An ism which I experienced happened quite early in
my teaching career was ageism. I
remember I was teaching a Grade Two class at the time. The parent came to a class meeting and was
very astonished to know that her son had a very young teacher. The parent being young herself, openly
questioned whether I would be able to nurture her son, teach him right from
young and get him disciplined if she was unable to do it. Although that experience did not hinder my
interactions with the child and we were able to develop a nurturing
relationship if did take a toll on my relationship with the mother. Whenever she was invited to a class meeting
she would not come. At
parent-conferencing the communication would be one way. However, being knowledgeable on the
importance of parental involvement in the child’s school I decided to ‘go to
the mountain’. Whenever or wherever I saw
her I would begin a conversation with her about her son’s progress. Eventually, she realized that I was having a
positive impact on her son as his behavior at home began to change. Gradually she began coming to class meeting
and visit the child in the classroom. It
even came to the point where she apologized to me for her behavior towards me.
We are all human and experiencing isms may cause us
to falter as we may feel
confused, hurt or develop poor self-esteem and identity. However, as anti-bias educators it is
imperative that we engage in self-reflection and get to know our true selves so
that we can counteract these negative emotions and do what is in the best
interest of the child; develop nurturing, positive, respectful relationships
which child and family. Likewise if ageism
was experienced in the workplace because of senior staff members its negative
consequences can be avoided by creating an atmosphere where everyone is
comfortable to share and discuss issues, celebrate and respect each staff
member, and partake in development activities (Derman-Sparks & Edwards,
2010). If each staff member feels that
he or she is of equal importance to the program then the environment and
climate created at the center will transcend to the families we serve.
Reference
Derman-Sparks, L., & Olsen
Edwards, J. (2010). Anti-bias education for young children and ourselves.
Washington, D.C.: National Association for the Education of Young Children
(NAEYC).
Hi Zephirina,
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful post! I feel if we do not experience people different than ourselves, as well as other cultures we will never realize what biases are, or that we have them. Nor will we as educators understand that we may not be able to reach, or meet all children, and their family’s needs if we did not have effective anti-bias education that help us as teachers understand how important it is for us to get to know, and acknowledge our own biases toward others. Furthermore having an understanding that these unknown, and known bias we have may keep us from effectively helping young children develop successfully, and building a strong relationship with the families of the children we work with.
Hi Zephirina,
ReplyDeleteI too have experiences ageism. It sounds as if you handled the situation extremely professionally. Wonderful job! I once had a parent question my teaching because I did not have ten year. I have found that it is not the number of years you have taught but the amount of knowledge and skill you have that makes you a good teacher.