Creating a learning community that is supportive and reflects consistent, positive, caring relationships among children, teachers, and families is paramount to realizing the goals of anti-bias education.

Review the scenarios below. Based on the strategies shared in Chapter 4, “Creating an Anti-Bias Learning Community,” analyze each scenario by asking the following questions:

• How effectively did the early childhood professional respond to the given situation? Where do the responses fall short? Identify references and examples from the reading to support your ideas.
• What might the early childhood professional have said or done to improve the quality of the interactions and better promote an anti-bias learning environment?

Scenario 1: While children are working on an art project in the classroom, the teacher overhears Amanda say, “Boys can’t use the pink paper!” Not wanting to escalate the situation, the teacher ignores the comment. A few minutes later, the teacher sees Amanda grab a piece of pink paper out of Miguel’s hands. Miguel begins to cry. The teacher intervenes by asking Amanda to apologize to Miguel for hurting his feelings.

Scenario 2: When dropping off his daughter at the day care center, a father approaches the coordinator with a complaint. “My daughter tells me that she is getting picked on by some of the other children because of the way she speaks. They call her a baby. Now, she doesn’t want to come here in the morning.” He is clearly upset. The coordinator responds by stating, “I have not seen or heard any of this happen to your child. You know, we spend a great deal of time talking to the children about how to respect each others’ differences. We have a very accepting environment here. There is really no need for you to worry. I’m sure it will all work itself out.”

Next, rewrite the scenarios in such a way that the early childhood professional facilitates positive interactions with children and families that exemplify ways to build respectful, supportive anti-bias learning communities. Include an explanation of any follow-up actions, activities and/or discussions that might also be helpful for each situation.

By Day 4

Post:

• Your analysis of the early childhood professional’s responses as revealed in each of the scenarios. Support your thinking by citing references to the course text reading.
• Your rewritten scenarios that demonstrate a more effective anti-bias approach.