STAGE

QUESTIONS

Stage 1 self-knowledge: Every teacher recognizes his/her personal bias pertinent to background and selection of text

  • What are my personal biases toward the teaching of this particular subject/lesson?
  • What are my personal biases toward the content of this particular subject/lesson?
  • What conditions and. contexts have shaped these biases?
  • How do the conditions and contexts of my present position differ from those that have shaped by biases?
  • What assumptions about learning and teaching have been derived from these biases

Stage 2 Classroom Environment:The teacher is working to establish an atmosphere of mutual trust, validation and inclusion in the classroom

  • How do I incorporate student opinions into the class discussions?
  • How do I ask for and accept feedback from my students toward any aspect of the lesson?
  • How do I encourage student contribution to the development, delivery, and assessment of the curriculum?
  • How do all students in my class feel included in the content and in the discussion?
  • How do I affirm each student's contribution so that it adds to the learning?
  • How do I handle extreme points of view that arise during class discussion, or expressions of prejudice in children?
  • How do I ensure that my students regularly take risks by expressing their opinions, asking questions. or disagreeing with the teacher or with each other?
  • How do I ensure that my students have the confidence to raise issues in the classroom?
  • Have I encouraged students to extend their enquiries beyond the classroom?

Stage 3 Knowledge of Students: The teacher, in planning for instruction, reflects on:

  • the experiences and attitudes of the students based on their social identities and stages of development
  • her/his past experiences with students from specific backgrounds.
  • What are the experiences or backgrounds of the students in my class with the issues that are central to the text?
  • Have I tried to learn about the contributions of the cultures of my students?
  • What additional or background information do my students need to deal with this text/topic?
  • Does my past experience with a particular group of students shape or limit my expectations of, and interactions with, individual students?
  • Does my understanding of the stages of development in children include an understanding of how critical thinking develops? ...of how children learn to understand differences and similarities?

 

Stage 4 Preparation for Dealing with Text: In planning for instruction, the teacher reflects.

  • Why have I chosen to use this particular text?
  • How does this text further student learning on the theme or topic?
  • Who is validated in this text? Who is not validated in this text?
  • Does the language reflect the prejudices and biases of a culture through labels, metaphors and similes?
  • Is the point of view limited by historical perspective and/or author's purpose?
  • Do the images represent the wider perspective of the world at large?
  • What do I require to supplement the text in order to provide a balanced view, or to validate the backgrounds and experience of my students?

Stage 5 Teaching the Text: In dealing with a text in the classroom the teacher considers the three stages:

  • Pre-Reading
  • During Reading
  • Post-Reading

a) Pre-Reading: The teacher uses specific strategies and approaches with students before they read/experience the text.

  • Before the students read the text, have I discussed how texts are constructed from a particular perspective or using a particular bias?
  • Have I encouraged open discussion of bias, prejudice, and stereotypes, and the ways they are manifested and challenged in school life and/or community life?
  • Have my students examined and analyzed films, television shows, and experiences which illustrate bias, prejudice, and/or stereotyping?
  • Have I helped the students to place the text in a broader historical/social context so that issues do not remain at the personalized level?
  • Is it appropriate at this pre-reading stage to invite resource persons into the classroom to discuss bias and backgrounds?
  • Have I chosen or provided materials with similar issues? ... which provide a balance? ... which provide positive themes and role models?
  • Have I taken steps to ensure that my students (and their parents/guardians) are aware that we are about to study/discuss materials which may appear controversial?

b) During Reading

The teacher helps the students to focus during their experience with the text, and handles any concerns as they arise. The teacher consciously models anti-racist attitudes and behaviour in conducting classroom activities and in discussing material containing bias.

  • Have I taught methods to help students to read critically?
  • Am I dealing with the bias in the text as it is portrayed, rather than idealistically or theoretically?
  • Am I taking steps to encourage my students to question the material presented to them?
  • Do I ask questions which encourage students to think critically by examining more than one perspective?
  • Do I use constructive ways of dealing with student responses as they arise?
  • Have I taught my students how to separate the writers' assumptions from the roles/traits the writers have given to their characters?
  • Have I drawn attention to alternate perspectives and points of view?
  • Is it appropriate to bring in resource people to discuss biases and backgrounds?

c) Post-Reading

The teacher processes the issues in the text with students, making sure that they have recognized and dealt with the bias contained in the text.

  • Have I helped students to process their responses to the material?
  • Have I encouraged students to research gaps in the material (s)/presentation?
  • Have students from each group validated the findings and conclusions of other groups?
  • Do my students feel encouraged to pursue issues concerning bias and stereotyping?
  • Are my post-reading activities/assignments enabling students to deal critically with the bias contained in the text?
  • Has the approach helped to enhance the students' understanding of the text and consequently of their own learning?
  • Can students formulate questions about the text that would illustrate their ability to apply higher order thinking skills - analyze, synthesize, extrapolate?
  • Can students respond to text both on the personal as well as on the theoretical level?

Stage 6 Metacognition: The students have developed metacognitive skills around recognizing and dealing with bias.

  • Can my students explain the processes they used to recognize the bias, intention, and techniques used in the text?
  • Are my students able to apply the same processes to other texts?
  • Can my students explain this Role of the Reader Approach in their own words to other students? ... to parents or guardians?
  • Are my students able to formulate action plans to deal with bias, racism, stereotyping, sexism, which they encounter beyond the school environment?
  • Do my students confidently deal with bias, racism, stereotyping, sexism, etc. which they encounter beyond the classroom?

STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT: AWARENESS OF DIFFERENCES

"If children are to grow up with the attitudes, knowledge, and skills necessary for effective living in a complex, diverse world, early childhood programs must actively challenge the impact of bias on children's development."

(Louise Derman-Sparks, The Anti-Bias Curriculum)

By the ages indicated. most learners:

2 years

3 years

4 years

  • primarily notice physical characteristics of identity
  • notice skin colour, hair colour and anatomy
  • notice gender differences.- male and female anatomy, roles
  • notice and name body parts
  • notice physical differences, such as facial features, hair colour, texture, style
  • notice disabilities, special facilities, e.g., wheelchairs
  • start applying "labels" to people, e.g., Mom does the housework and Dad goes to work
  • show discomfort around
  • unfamiliar physical characteristics such as beards, glasses, skin colour, and disabilities
  • learn colour names which they begin to apply to skin colour
  • can identify people according to their physical characteristics
  • are aware of variations and wonder where they fit in
  • do not understand that objects and people stay the same even though their physical appearance may change
  • focus on one aspect of an object at a time
  • notice different languages and accents
  • may exhibit "preconceptions" about others on the basis of gender, race or being differently abled
  • can take very first steps toward awareness of cultural diversity if appropriate experiences are part of their daily classroom life
  • begin to react to others on the basis of racial differences
  • want to know how they got their colour, hair, and eye characteristics
  • use racial reasons for refusing to interact with children different from themselves and exhibit discomfort with people who are physically challenged
  • have anxieties and fears about people with disabilities - worry about being hurt themselves or "catching" the disability
  • internalize stereotypic gender roles, racial bias, and fear of the differently abled
  • are sensitive to other children's attitudes toward their skin colour are becoming aware of societal bias against dark skin
  • engage in gender appropriate behaviour defined by society

 

5-6 years

7-9 years

9 years -Adult

  • begin to understand scientific explanations for differences in skin colour, hair texture, and eye shape
  • can understand that there is a range of physical differences within racial groups
  • can understand that there are similarities between racial groups
  • begin to understand cultural identity
  • begin to identify stereotypes
  • choose friends of same sex and the same ethnocultural background
  • use words to hurt others
  • use insults and call each other names
  • can understand concept of what is fair and unfair use their increased language ability to show aggression
  • understand that things stay the same even though they change in appearance, e.g., their gender and skin colour will remain the same as they grow
  • understand that they are members of a group
  • see group membership as a way of distinguishing themselves from others
  • can learn about important people and events that have shaped the world
  • develop a true sense of empathy for others
  • Children's racial attitudes are set after age nine, unless they experience major changes or they are taught other perspectives.

Change of attitudes can continue to occur through socialization, reflection and through intentional structured teaching-learning situations.

.

Sources:

The Anti-Bias Curriculum: Tools for Empowering Young Children, by Louise Derman-Sparks and the National Association for the Education of Young Children, Anti Bias Curriculum Task Force (Calif.). Washington DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children, 1993.

Roots & Wings: Affirming Culture in Early Childhood Programs, by Stacey York. St. Paul MN: Redleaf Press, 1991.