Anti-Bias Practice
I am deeply aware of our flawed systems, my own privilege, and the way it impacts my unconscious worldview. I am working hard to make the unconcscious-conscious.
The children I describe in my bio were much more my teachers than I was theirs; as a white artist entering into classrooms full of beautiful Black children, they taught me so much more about the preciousness of life than I could ever teach them. This was only the beginning, in 2007, of my cultivation of anti-bias, anti-racist, equity-based approach to providing services to children and families. Now, in 2021, I continue this lifelong journey into the roots of my own privilege and the way it impacts every relationship. I grow in amazement of the magic and strength in young Black, Indigenous, and People of Color to tell their truth in a world made for whiteness. [Thank you, Austin Channing Brown, for your brilliant courage and authenticity in truth-telling].
Why do I consider myself and my approach “Anti-Bias”? Well, for starters, I am an Early Childhood Educator and self-proclaimed Child Empowerment Specialist. I care deeply about the well-being of children. I am aware of the ways our broken systems often block access to children and families, who do not identify as typically developing or dominant-culture (white, cis-gendered, English-speaking, heteronormative...). I am dedicated to pushing against these barriers across my lifespan.
I learned early in my career with children and families about the plight of young people’s oppression: institutionalized oppression placed on young citizens. I believe in Anti-Bias education, as a foundation for our youngest learners to adapt to new experiences and celebrate differences.
I continue to be ignited and amazed by the level of resilience in BIPOC fellow humans, especially children.
Please see more in my resources.
Meantime, I want to share with you the Anti-Bias Pledge, by Louise Derman Sparks and Julie Olsen Edwards. I stand by this pledge and honor all parts of it in my work with children and families.
All Children Belong Here.
This is Our Promise to You
• We will build an open, safe, and mutually respectful community in which each child and each family is an important and equal member.
• We will never allow differences of any kind to be an excuse to make fun of, exclude, or hurt you.
• We will listen carefully and lovingly to what worries you and give you thoughtful, age-appropriate information and support.
• We will nurture you to feel strong and proud about yourself and your family.
• We will facilitate your skills to be friends with classmates who are alike and different from you.
• We will honor your family’s importance to you by building respectful partnerships with them.
• We will provide support to you and your family when they feel stress, anxiety, or fear because of current events or acts of prejudice or hate.
• We will learn about and help your family use legal and community resources to keep you safe.
• We will work to uproot our own personal biases as adults and will speak out against prejudice and bias wherever we encounter it.
• We will mobilize our courage and become active with others to resist and change any policies and practices that threaten to hurt you or your family.
