Discussion Topic
Directions:
Overview
Early childhood is a time of exploration and discovery. Children are continually learning during this stage of life. Many of the lessons learned in the early years stay with us long into the future.
With the increasing diversity in America’s early childhood programs, there is a shift underway in representing the majority. Today, it is not uncommon for there to be more “minority” children than “majority” children enrolled in early childhood programs. This is especially true in urban areas where there has been a steady influx of immigrant and diverse families.
For this discussion, first, watch the following Videatives video. I attached the recorded video.
Videatives – Assessing the Quality of Collaborative Play https://streaming-videatives-com.eu1.proxy.openathens.net/playlists/share/f7fc4919323c4214d3b0d1355d2769e9
The children at the water table are having fun playing together. You did not see what happened earlier when a child who was different (child in the background with an orange shirt) wanted to play in the water. The children at the table told him he could not play because he was different.
Discrimination can happen to anyone, regardless of color, language, or size.
Instructions
In your initial post,
- Explain the educator’s role in helping children develop non-biased attitudes and behaviors.
- If you were the ECE professional in this room, what would you do?
- Would you intervene, or would you let the children work the situation out themselves?
- Would you discuss the incident with the children involved? The child’s family?
- Is there anything you would do with all the children?