Being in Community With Children

Understanding Racial Identity in Young Children

“Racial identity” refers to a person’s understanding of different racial identities, one’s preferences for a particular racial identity and how identities are ranked in their family, their society and in their own mind. Toni Sturdivant has spent her career developing a library of books and a collection of teaching ideas for the early childhood classroom that will help young children establish a positive racial identity. In this episode, she talks about her work and her particular focus on boosting the confidence and resilience of young children of color.

Guest: Toni Sturdivant is director of Early Learning and Head Start for the Mid-America Regional Council in Kansas City, MO. She is also a parent, coach, professor and author who focuses on young children’s racial identity.

Discussion Guide:Early Risers Season 5 Episode 6 Discussion Guide

Episode Resources:

More from Toni Sturdivant: her books and other interviews

Toni’s personal statement: https://www.naeyc.org/about-us/people/governing-board/elections/toni-sturdivant

Video: Unpacking parenting with Toni Sturdivant

2021 Scholarly research report from UNC: “Ethnic-Racial Identity Formation in the Early Years”

More resources on positive racial identity in BIPOC children

An Anti-Bias Approach to Classroom Management

One of the hardest parts of teaching is managing the classroom to promote learning, keep order and inspire students. Many approaches to classroom management are punitive and reproachful. Reddy describes a different approach that–at its core– celebrates students and gives them opportunities to practice their identities.

Guest: Shawn Prakash Reddy was an elementary school teacher in Chicago public schools for nearly ten years. He is now Associate Director of Teacher Development at National Louis University in Chicago and a field coach for teachers in training.

Discussion Guide:Early Risers Season 5 Episode 5 Discussion Guide

Episode Resources:

This study explores how teachers can be taught “racial noticing” to increase awareness in the classroom.

This webinar is from the “Cultural Competent Knowledge Cafe” series that Shawn Reddy is facilitating with the National Louis community.

More from National Louis University on their work to train teachers to be conscious of race, racism and bias.

Grassroots Work on Structural Racism

Structural racism is different than interpersonal racism. It is the set of policies and practices that put BIPOC communities at a disadvantage from the earliest stages of life. So how can we work in our early childhood communities to identify structural racism and make change so that young people - BIPOC and white - are no longer harmed by structural racism? Jen Neitzel shares examples from her work in communities across the United States.

Guest:Jen Neitzelis the executive director of the Educational Equity Institute based in North Carolina. Neitzel works with educational communities across the United States to deconstruct whiteness, dismantle racist policies and identify opportunities to introduce equity into classrooms and other community spaces.

Discussion Guide:

Early Risers Season 5 Episode 4 Discussion Guide

Episode Resources:

More information about theEducational Equity Institute

More from Jen Neitzelon the anti-racism work at the Educational Equity Institute

Making the Classroom Reflect the Community

Theressa Lenear was practicing anti-bias education long before it was widely known as an approach to early learning. As a young Black teacher in Alaska, she tapped into her intuition to guide her practices with young children. She created a classroom-wide deep respect for her students’ cultures. She shares her perspectives on how to support BIPOC children in underserved communities.

Guest: Theressa Lenear is an early childhood education instructor at Goddard College. She has worked with young children and their teachers for nearly 40 years. She is profiled in the book “Stories of Resistance: Learning from Black Women in Early Care and Education.”

Discussion Guide:Early Risers Season 5 Episode 3 Discussion Guide

Episode Resources:

Theressa Lenear’s profile in the book “Stories of Resistance: Learning from Black Women in Early Care and Education”

Theressa Lenear’s personal statement about her insights from her career in early childhood education

Theressa Lenear’s article in Exchange magazine about the conflict between two young students, which she discusses in the episode. (Paywall)

Being in Community With Children

Many programs that offer innovation in education ask teachers to adopt a new curriculum or implement a new procedure in their classroom. But when it comes to anti-bias work, Veronica Reynoso says there is no new curriculum. Instead, you need to be in community with children and disrupt the biases and stereotypes they pick up from the world. She explains how she does this and how the children respond.

Guest: Veronica Reynoso is an early childhood teacher and mentor teacher at Hilltop Children’s Center in Seattle, Washington. She grew up in Chicago in a Mexican American family. She has been featured in articles, podcasts and a film highlighting her anti-bias practices in the classroom.

Discussion Guide:Early Risers Season 5 Episode 2 Discussion Guide

Episode Resources:

More from Veronica Reynoso on this Embrace Race webinar

More from Veronica Reynoso in this Exchange article (paywall)

Veronica Reynoso and other early childhood teachers are featured in this film “Reflecting on Anti-bias Education in Action: The Early Years”