One of my greatest joys in this life is being a teacher. Teaching kindergarten is full of ups and downs, joys and heartaches, and laughter and (at times) tears. There are about 35 million reasons why I love teaching this age group but I will save that for another day. There are so many things that this age group NEEDS to hear regularly as they are developing their own concept of self and learning more about their identity. Many of the things that they are so eager to talk about have to do with the way that they look. This can mean the color of their skin, the gender assignment that they were born with, the size of their body, how many freckles they have, what their hair looks like, the color of their eyes, etc...Kids love to notice these things about themselves, and notice these things about others.
The work comes in when they have already created (or been given) a construct or judgment about what is good or bad about each of these distinguishing identity features. I do not believe that children are born hating anybody, but I do believe that society consistently messages them (from birth) with what they should deem as good or bad. "My mom says ____ skin is better than ____ skin", "My mom says that you shouldn't eat____ or you will get____", My dad says that freckles are ____". You get the point.
The beautiful thing about teaching kindergarten is that from day one in the classroom you get the chance to create a new culture around all of these things and flip the script on what they may be hearing everyday. In my classroom we talk about skin, race, gender, ability, family make-up, and body image regularly. There are literally hundreds of amazing books out there that help facilitate these courageous conversations. As a (enter identity markers here) woman educating students of varying identities it is important for me to consistently challenge my own thoughts and the messages that I am receiving and possibly transmitting as an adult. The second that I become complacent to these issues is the second that I am no longer the teacher that my students deserve.
We must interrupt messages about what the "best" skin color, hair texture, intelligence level, gender, body size etc... are, and then be there to create intentional dialogue about why this kind of human evaluation system is so damaging. Children often just repeat what they have heard or seen and when are actually questioned about their words have no real attachment to them. Classrooms must be safe places devoid of hateful words and actions. LOVE is the language that connects us and must be at the root of all of the words we speak. It is my dream that kinder, more compassionate and accepting kindergarteners will someday grow up to be kinder, more compassionate and accepting adults.
Lastly, children WANT to talk about the things that they can see or feel, the way people look, and what makes them similar or different from one another. Creating common and respectful language about how to have these conversations gives children tools to use for the rest of their lives. Go forth and have the hard conversation and when you find yourself holding judgment or feeling a specific way about something find out why-- and choose love and acceptance over the old narrative. It is never too late to return to the kindergarten way of doing things...it just takes a little more time.
The work comes in when they have already created (or been given) a construct or judgment about what is good or bad about each of these distinguishing identity features. I do not believe that children are born hating anybody, but I do believe that society consistently messages them (from birth) with what they should deem as good or bad. "My mom says ____ skin is better than ____ skin", "My mom says that you shouldn't eat____ or you will get____", My dad says that freckles are ____". You get the point.
The beautiful thing about teaching kindergarten is that from day one in the classroom you get the chance to create a new culture around all of these things and flip the script on what they may be hearing everyday. In my classroom we talk about skin, race, gender, ability, family make-up, and body image regularly. There are literally hundreds of amazing books out there that help facilitate these courageous conversations. As a (enter identity markers here) woman educating students of varying identities it is important for me to consistently challenge my own thoughts and the messages that I am receiving and possibly transmitting as an adult. The second that I become complacent to these issues is the second that I am no longer the teacher that my students deserve.
We must interrupt messages about what the "best" skin color, hair texture, intelligence level, gender, body size etc... are, and then be there to create intentional dialogue about why this kind of human evaluation system is so damaging. Children often just repeat what they have heard or seen and when are actually questioned about their words have no real attachment to them. Classrooms must be safe places devoid of hateful words and actions. LOVE is the language that connects us and must be at the root of all of the words we speak. It is my dream that kinder, more compassionate and accepting kindergarteners will someday grow up to be kinder, more compassionate and accepting adults.
Lastly, children WANT to talk about the things that they can see or feel, the way people look, and what makes them similar or different from one another. Creating common and respectful language about how to have these conversations gives children tools to use for the rest of their lives. Go forth and have the hard conversation and when you find yourself holding judgment or feeling a specific way about something find out why-- and choose love and acceptance over the old narrative. It is never too late to return to the kindergarten way of doing things...it just takes a little more time.