Activity 2.2 | Anti-bias practice (identity, diversity, justice, action)

After engaging in the reading and looking back on your notes, reflect on a place in your practice where you can intentionally engage with ideas of identity, diversity, and justice and take action.

In the article "History in the Making: Embedding Historical Learning in the Early Years"(Cho & Gill, 2024), the educators reflect on a conversation that emerged while a child drew. This was not a planned lesson; instead, it was a way of responding to a moment pedagogically, from an anti-bias pedagogy. The educator used the opportunity to discuss race and to bring marginalized histories into the conversation.

In her book, WAYI WAH! Indigenous Pedagogies: An Act for Reconciliation and Anti-Racist Education (2022), educator, philosopher, and Two-Spirited member of the Kitsumkalum First Nation, Jo Chrona, offers reflective questions that might help you consider this more deeply.

In her chapter called “Yes, You Have a Role,” Jo Chrona (2022) asks:

• What are the stories you are telling about how this country came to be?
• What are the stories you tell about your place in this country?
• What are the transformational stories you will tell about your role in Reconciliation through education? (p. 51)

Select one of the above questions and articulate how you will take action. This might involve: selected children’s literature and an intentional action (having children’s books on the shelf written by Indigenous authors does not demonstrate anti-bias, you need to actively engage and mediate the intended learning); a conversation into a living inquiry about something you learned from Challenging Racist "British Columbia": 150 Years and Counting (2021); inviting in a guest speaker or planning a field trip; or a professional development opportunity for your team. (If you intend to use children’s literature, you must evaluate the resource for its authenticity in representing First Nations, Inuit, or Métis Peoples). 

The Authentic First Peoples Resources for Use in K-9 Classrooms (2021) offers an evaluation tool on page 179. 

Remember that as a child care manager and leader, you are a role model. Prentis Hemphill cautions that “Perfectionism is a commitment to habitual self-doubt” (brown, 2021, p.18). The goal is not perfection, but rather, to commit yourself to a process.

It might be valuable to reflect on how it would feel to share your process, wade in your questions, and invite yourself to be seen in a muck of uncertainty. And how would it feel to do it anyway?

References

Cho, J. & Gill, N. (2024). History in the making: Embedding historical learning in the early years. Exchange Magazine, (Issue 276). https://hub.exchangepress.com/articles-on-demand/44876/

Chrona, J. (2022). WAYI WAH! Indigenous Pedagogies: An Act for Reconciliation and Anti-Racist Education.

First Nations Education Steering Committee. (2022). Authentic First Peoples resources: For use in K–9 classrooms (Updated August 16, 2022). https://www.fnesc.ca/wp/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/PUBLICATION-K-9-FN-Authentic-Resources-updated-2022-08-16-2023-WEB.pdf