STAGE
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QUESTIONS
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Stage 1 self-knowledge:
Every teacher recognizes his/her personal bias pertinent to background
and selection of text
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- 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
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Stage 2 Classroom
Environment:The teacher is working to establish an atmosphere of mutual
trust, validation and inclusion in the classroom
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- 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?
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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.
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- 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?
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Stage 4 Preparation
for Dealing with Text: In planning for instruction, the teacher reflects.
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- 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?
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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
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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?
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Stage 6 Metacognition:
The students have developed metacognitive skills around recognizing
and dealing with bias.
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- 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?
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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
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3 years
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4 years
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- 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
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- 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
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- 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
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.
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.