Evaluating Impacts on Professional Practice

A small group of preschoolers was sitting at a table waiting for the afternoon snack.

A boy said to one Indian girl who is his peer, "Your color is black." Teacher D who was at bathroom changing another child overheard and stepped in and asked, "What color is Ms. Deidre?"

Deidre is another teacher in the classroom who was sitting near him.

The boy looked at Ms. Deidre and said without hesitation, "Black."

Teacher D asked again, "What is my color?", standing by the door of bathroom.

The child responded immediately, "Brown."

Teacher D continued asked, "What color is Ms. Sara?", I was putting cots in the closet and standing by the door of the closet. The closet is next to the bathroom.

Everyone was attracted by the conversation and listened to the dialogue. The boy looked at me and looked at teacher D, hesitated.

Teacher D asked again, "What color is Ms. Sara?"

The boy slowly with lower voice said, "White."

The conversation stopped suddenly. No further dialogue. The air of the classroom was freezing at the moment and silent.  Children and teachers looked at me and teacher D. None of us say any more word. The silent had made me thinking there was a problem. If the dialogue kept going on toword more other people in the classroom, I would not feel the issue.Teacher D is an American African dyed with gold hair. My skin color is dark yellow without any make-up. My color is much similar with the color of teacher D. The Indian girl's color is dark brown, lighter than Ms. Deidre's.

I was thinking how the boy identified me as white at the moment. How should I respond the dialogue? I felt something there related prejudice with race and did not know how to react at the moment and to make it a learning moment. I have been in teaching and diversity program for years. I have learned about child development and the significant influences adult relationships have on children's social, emotional, and cognitive growth and the forming of social identities. So, what happened to me at that moment? I experienced a hard time of separating my personal self from my professional identity about issues related to diversity. I was dull.

The child is from a Caucasian family, turned 3-years-old by the week of the dialogue. Children looked the faces of people around them and developed the identity starting at infant age. “The concept of race is a socially defined construct used as a way to divide people into groups ranked as superior and inferior”(Derman-Sparks and Olsen Edwards, 2010, p.77). The child has received the concept of race most likely by his observation on people around. I do not think his teachers and family had taught him about the racial identity. He made a prejudice based on the colors of people by putting me in his group and the Indian girl in the Africa American group. Race in the scientific consensus has no biological basis- we are all one race, the human race. (Derman-Sparks and Olsen Edwards, 2010). Thinking back the scenario, it is important that making the racial identity activity as a part of the preschool curriculum. It will help children as well as teachers learning the truth in an anti-bias way and develop their positive identity.

Reference

Derman-Sparks, L., and Olsen Edwards, J. (2010). Anti-bias education for young children and  ourselves. Washington, D.C.: National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).