NAEYC Interest Forums • Asian • At-Risk and Special Needs • Black Caucus • CEASE/Violence in the Lives of Children Children—Socioeconomic Class • Children of Incarcerated Parents (CHIPS) and Equity • Children’s Global Issues • Community Collaboration • Diversity and Equity NAEYC’s Diversity and Equity • Early Childhood Education/ Licensing Dialogue Issues related to Interest Forum is for early childhood education practitioners committed class both directly socioeconomic class (for example, com- • Ethics in Early Childhood Education to preparing and supporting adults affect all aspects ments from family to bring about diversity and equity • Faculty in Associate Degree Early of early childhood members or educa- education with children, families, and tors) and indirectly Childhood Preparation Programs education work. This teachers. It provides an environment (for example, media • Family Child Care • Finance column (adapted from “Learning about in which to come together for mutual invisibility or bias). • Health and Safety in Child Care education, self-reflection, networking, Economic Class and These influence their • Infant/Toddler Professionals Fairness,” from the and strategic planning. ideas and feelings • Intergenerational Caucus of Early forthcoming NAEYC For further information, contact about where and how Childhood Professionals book, Anti-Bias Natalie Seer at nseer@wested.org. they live, what they • Kindergarten • Latino Caucus Education: Tools for own or do not own, Empowering Children how they speak and • Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Ourselves, by Louise Derman-Sparks, behave, and what they eat and wear. • Men in Education Network Julie Olsen Edwards, and the ABC Task • Nannies • Play, Policy, and Practice Force) seeks to increase the visibility of • Primary Grades • Research, Practice equity issues and to encourage discussion Explore your own beliefs and atti- and Policy in Early Care and Education of this important aspect of families’ and tudes about socioeconomic class • Student • Technology and children’s lives. It also offers some con- Young Children • Tribal and Indige- crete suggestions for your classroom. Our personal experiences regarding We use the terms socioeconomic class class influence our ideas and work. Think nous Early Childhood Network (TIECN) and socioeconomic status to mean the and talk with colleagues about the follow- • Worthy Wage economic and social conditions under ing self-reflection questions: which people live, which can determine • When you were a child, what did you their access to financial security and to think and feel about your family’s socio- social institutions. However, in the United economic status? What messages about States, the lines between classes are fuzzy, class did you get from home, school, as people’s socioeconomic circumstances media, and peers? change over time, and mixed-class experi- • What is your earliest memory of realizing ences are very common. that some people had more money and oth- The economic resources of a family do ers had less? How did you feel about that? Diversity and Equity Inter- not determine how much they love their est Forum facilitator Louise children or whether they are skilled at Derman-Sparks wrote this childrearing. However, we know that fami- column with Coordinating Committee members Chris lies’ access to quality food, nontoxic hous- Even very young children Amihault, Sandy Baba, ing and neighborhoods, optimal preventive Natalie Seer, and Stacy health care, effective treatment of child- learn value-based, biased Thompson. hood illnesses, and quality education affect messages about socio- children’s development. In addition, even ® very young children learn value-based, economic class. 1, 2, 7 biased messages about socioeconomic
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• What and from whom did you learn lies going to private doctors’ offices • Make it equally possible for all about the comparative value of blue- (instead of to clinics); shopping in children to enjoy classroom activities? collar work (for example, farmwork, malls (but hardly ever at thrift stores For example, have smocks or thrift trucking, carpentry), pink-collar work or garage sales); traveling in shiny store shirts available for children dur- (for example, beautician, secretary, cars (but forgetting about buses or ing messy activities and ensure that server), and white-collar work? walking); living in detached houses paints are truly washable. Find sen- • Have you or your family ever with trimmed lawns (but rarely in sory materials that are not food. For received public assistance (welfare)? apartments, community housing, or example, use sand or birdseed rather What was that like? What did you older buildings); and as one family to than cornmeal at a sifting table. learn about people who receive assis- a home (rather than as an extended tance? Have your thoughts and feel- family in shared quarters). Materials ings changed? How? and activities must honor the many Support the value and aspects of life. contributions of all families • Which socioeconomic class of fami- lies is easiest for you to work with? • Make visible all the jobs that sup- to the community and port a community’s survival, not only Which is hardest? Why? children’s lives the work of doctors, nurses, firefight- In addition, consider the following ers, and police officers but also the • Read aloud books about the contri- questions about your work. Do you work of people in food service, on butions of people in many jobs and • Demonstrate respect for all families’ farms, in stores and offices, and so on? roles and throughout your local area efforts to build caring, healthy, eco- • Teach about the unpaid work at and the international community. nomically viable lives? home that keeps families going (and is Invite family members to tell the chil- • Teach that all people are valuable, done by both women and men—with dren about their work by visiting the regardless of material possessions? the help of children)? program or by other means if families • Make visible and appreciate the cannot take time off from work (lend many kinds of work that families do, a digital camera or provide a journal paid and unpaid, in the home and in for telling their story). Support family the wider world? members’ visiting by writing letters to Without your attention, • Teach children to care for the their employers, explaining why you things in their environment and skills materials and curricula would appreciate their allowing peo- for conserving and recycling those ple time off. Make a large wall chart may teach and reinforce materials? • Help children recognize and discuss value-laden and biased biased messages regarding socioeco- images and ideas about nomic status? • Teach advocacy for self and others socioeconomic class. when teasing or rejection occurs?
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from neighborhood stores. Projects do Invite children to share information about experiences not have to be costly. • Have an open-door policy in your they have with their families rather than show-and- classroom, and plan ways to welcome tell about objects their families buy. and include family members when they visit. Be sensitive to their pos- sible discomfort and anxiety about about ways your families contribute to their lives, such as What to Do about being in a school setting. Provide the community. Pollution (Shelby 1993); Somewhere child care services during parent-night Today: A Book of Peace (Thomas activities at school. • Create a class book with photo- graphs of all the support people who 1998); Subway Sparrow (Torres 1997); • Get to know the children’s neighbor- keep your program going: the mail and Pearl Moskowitz’s Last Stand hoods (for example, shop locally, visit carrier, the kitchen staff, the garbage (Levine 1993). Encourage your librar- community centers, attend neighbor- collector, the janitor . . . everyone! ians and administrators to identify hood forums or religious services, Invite each person to talk to the and purchase more of these books. go to the library). Use these times to children about their lives and work. collect material for your class, such After the visit, write thank-you letters as photographs to turn into posters, together with the children. Figure out Help children learn to resist books, and puzzles. Identify stores ways with the children to help make messages in advertising that are resources (for free materials the work of support staff a little easier, and marketing that convey and possible field trips) and commu- such as by cleaning up at cleanup time nity members to invite to your class. the idea that having lots of and cutting down on waste. • Set up a family room/resource cen- material things makes you a • Support local activists and organiz- ter. This might include a coffee or better person tea pot; a lending library for children ers in their work for families with low incomes and for working people’s Materialistic messages invade chil- (with books, tapes, paper, pencils, rights. Invite these advocates to dren’s environments through films, games); a learning center/lending school to share their stories or tell the CDs and DVDs, videos, television, library for parents (with typewriter, children about them. clothing, online stores, and more. computer, and tape recorder and audio cassettes on your program’s • Encourage children to value internal, philosophy, goals, activities, and nonmaterial qualities like kindness, Recognize and nurture empathy, and generosity, and teach parenting issues to help parents who children’s resilience—their them ways to express these qualities. have reading difficulties). Perhaps ability to face challenges, include a center where individuals • Invite children to share information can make things and is a place for accept disappointment and about experiences they have with workshops (you supply the materi- failure, and forge ahead in their families rather than show-and- als; families make toys for home and tough situations tell about objects their families buy. the school). Invite families to help • If you choose to include holiday acti- create an on-site literacy program for • Make sure that you have the same vities in your curriculum, use them parents. high expectations for children from to emphasize gifts of the heart rather families with lower incomes as you do • Learn what each family needs to than purchased gifts. Create an ongoing help them participate in the class- for all others. class book, “The Best Gift of All,” about room, conferences, and meetings • See yourself as a working partner with people being kind to one another. and try to meet their requirements. families, supporting their children’s in- Resources that make involvement herent strengths rather than as some- in their child’s program possible one who is “saving” children and help- Establish beautiful, welcoming are readily available to families with ing them make up for their deficits. environments that reflect higher incomes but tend to be less • Learn about and acknowledge the the lives of families and the available to families with lower resilience of families in your program community incomes. Most service and blue- and who are confronting new lives in a pink-collar employers do not allow new country, in difficult jobs, and with • Involve families and other commu- employees to take time off during limited resources (Chafel et al. 2007). nity members in projects to improve the day, which is possible in many • Read books that tell about all the community environment and seek professional and upper managerial working people’s efforts to improve support and financial contributions positions. Transportation to meetings
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