At some point in our lives we will be faced with some
type of stereotyping or prejudice. How we handle it will be a reflection on our
ability to work with young children and their families. I don’t have to imagine
experiencing isms, they have been present in my life for many years. People
react to situations and circumstances based on their knowledge about them. For
many years things that are not considered normal have been labeled by society.
Being a single parent, the mother of two children with
disabilities, and being a part of a culture not considered to be the dominant
culture, I am very familiar with the negative behaviors and actions of others.
People have formed their negative, bias behaviors and opinions based on those
facts alone and not fully understand the circumstances of my situation.
Not all people can take what others perceive to be
negative and use it to help create a loving and caring environment for other
family structures. Being a single parent people automatically assume that I was
not married not knowing my situation resulted from my husband passing. It is
important to recognize that that children’s experiences in single parent
families vary widely, it can be by choice or by life circumstances such as
divorce or death (Derman-Sparks & Edwards 2010). My personal experiences
with biases and stereotypes along with my strong passion and desire to serve
young children encouraged my work in the early childhood field. Instead of
allowing the opinions of others to affect me negatively, I can take what I know
and have learned and use it to help create an environment that is free from
stereotypes and bias behaviors.
References:
Derman-Sparks, L., & Edwards, J. (2010). Anti-bias
education for young children and ourselves. Washington, DC: NAEYC
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