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Identity is individual and personal. It is a bouquet of lived experience, authenticity, and temperament. Children need safe spaces where they are seen and have the agency  to experiment with their own identity. 

By confronting our own bias, changing the perception of our own story, and giving ourselves permission to shine, we can create a space where each child and everyone is validated and given autonomy over their own organic existence. 

The preschool classroom is a diverse community of experience. For many young learners it is their first experience outside the home environment. Each child needs to be seen for who they are, where they come from, and what they have lived. Being able to connect with children and their families in ways that are equitable and just requires     humility, self reflection, compassion, grace, and acceptance 

In the book We Are the Change We Seek, Advancing Racial Justice in Early Care and Education, Iruka et al. discuss using a Culturally Relevant, Anti-Biased, Anti-Racist (CRABAR) lens in assessing young children and creating spaces that promote a sense of belonging. They emphasize the importance of family support, understanding lived experience, humility, self-reflection and critical consciousness.

As early childhood professionals we have a unique opportunity to change the trajectory of the future through the impact we have on the children trusted to our care. By recognizing our own implicit bias and how it affects our interactions, we can learn to change our own internal narrative, and model a future where justice, fairness, and equity will prevail

We cannot teach what we do not practice. Racism exists. Being able to identify racism in our systems, communities, and ourselves is the first step towards developing an anti-racist lens. Attendees will participate in small group discussions, self-reflective activities, and receive resources and tips to help provide our littlest learners with the language and skills to recognize and call out racism.