With all of the racial unrest within our nation at the
moment, reading Starting
Small: Teaching Tolerance in Preschool and the Early Grades (1997) was
extremely therapeutic. I started thinking of ways to support my teachers with
teaching tolerance within the classroom through everyday occurrences. I started to look at times of the day, which
were already imbedded into their daily schedule, and discuss various issues
related to tolerance. I particularly
looked at Friday as their official class meeting day, to discuss and read
children’s literature related to diversity.
During the reading, I was taken back to a multicultural course I had
taken in undergrad. During this course
the myth of “solving” issues related to diversity was put to rest and the
notion to empower and educate was emphasized.
During the reading, I was reminded that there is not a “one size fits
all” model to teaching tolerance, being flexible and knowledgeable to a variety
of strategies is the best tool. I
enjoyed this book, because it had three components at the end of each chapter,
which were very resourceful: references, reflection, and application. All of these resources provided me with even
more background as to how the stories presented where successful.
Additional resources to support the book: https://www.tolerance.org/classroom-resources/film-kits/starting-small
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ReplyDeleteAbsolutely! Culturally relevant pedagogy is a must for leaders, teachers, and students in today's climate. When looking at all of the world's happenings, I tend to look at through the lens of what was this person taught in school. How was there school experience? What things can I leave with my students to combat and help prepare them for the world? Unfortunately, I think education missed the buck with culturally relevant pedagogy and SEL skills to produce some of the citizens and thinking that is currently being displayed from fellow Americans. It is a sad situation, and a ton of pressure is ultimately falling on today's educators to fix the wrongs of tomorrow. PLEASE keep up the good fight! YOU are brilliant!
ReplyDeleteThe topic of tolerance is very timely. Does the book move discuss acceptance and inclusion? I would imagine those would be next steps on a continuum. What prompted you to read the book?
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