Assignment Task: One strategy from this section that was informative to you. Please be specific and refer to the examples in the text (children's comments and teachers' responses) while writing your opinion.
Strategy
"Make Racial Diversity Visible in Your Learning Environment Children learn what is important to adults in the program by observing what is and isn't in the learning environment. Here are a few examples (see also Chapter 3). Make racial diversity visible in the books, posters, dolls, puzzles, and art materials (crayons, felt pens, paints, and paper in different skin tones). Be sure to include accurate images of children and families with biracial and multiracial identities.Some teachers mix up all the people figures in one box so children can form whatever variation of a family they wish. • Go through your classroom library and assess your collection. How many books do you have in which the main characters are White? In how many are people of color the main character of the story? What stereotypes of people of color do your books perpetuate? Make a list of books you would like to have in the classroom and outline a plan for how you will acquire new books. Add to your collection with books from your local public library."
"Make Racial Diversity Visible in Your Learning Environment Children learn what is important to adults in the program by observing what is and isn't in the learning environment. Here are a few examples (see also Chapter 3). • Make racial diversity visible in the books, posters, dolls, puzzles, and art materials (crayons, felt pens, paints, and paper in different skin tones). Be sure to include accurate images of children and families with biracial and multiracial identities. Some teachers mix up all the people figures in one box so children can form whatever variation of a family they wish. • Go through your classroom library and assess your collection. How many books do you have in which the main characters are White? In how many are people of color the main character of the story? What stereotypes of people of color do your books perpetuate? Make a list of books you would like to have in the classroom and outline a plan for how you will acquire new books. Add to your collection with books from your local public library."