Celebrating Black History Month

So my experience from this week comes from my own preschool classrooms. Like almost every classroom, we have been talking about Black History Month : why it is important and acknowledging some achievements of certain individuals. February is almost over and I wanted to make sure that the students were grasping what MLK, Rosa Parks, Harriet Tubman, etc.., helped do for our community as well as our country. I had remembered a lesson that I had watched in our diversity class. It was of the teacher that separated her students-- giving one group hats and the others a white collar. She picked one group and told the class that the groups she picked, whether collared or hats, was the better, smarter, prettier group. However, the other group was mean, stupid, smelly (negative things).

So I tried this approach with my preschoolers. Since we wear  uniform shirts that the students choose from to wear daily, I chose the color I was wearing (blue) as the "better" group. The other students not wearing my color was a bunch of negative things (preschool lingo: bed wetters, booger eaters, do not color in the lines). The blue group was deemed smarter, prettier, never had accidents, not cry babies, colors in the lines, etc. and I began to reward them with treats and goodies fir their "awesomeness". Eventually everyone began to react to the things I was telling them.

To my surprise, majority of the non-blue shirts denied everything I told them they was not. They said, "yes we are smart!" "Yes, we are pretty, or handsome!" Some of the younger ones revoked their friendship of the blue shirts, others cried. The blues shirt students began to tease the other shirt students. They began to call them "pee-pee" kids and saying "na na na na na, we are smarter!" Even when I asked the blue shirt students if they were friends with the other students, they replied "NO!"

I did not allow the example to go as long as the other teacher but I just long enough to be able to get my point across to them.I showed them that just from one person saying something can divide or unify people. MLK fought for unity along with many others. I elaborated from here asking them if it was fair for the blue shirts to turn on them the way they did. I asked both side how it made them feel. You would be amazed how three and four years old respond to prejudice and discrimination.

I enjoyed doing this example with my preschool students. It opened up for a bunch of discussion and they were make a connection in their own lives. I even learned from them as well. I can  connect this experience to Standard 2:Teachers establish a respectful environment for a diverse population of students, with a focus on standard 2b. Teachers embrace diversity in the school community and in the world. I can also related to standard 3d. Teachers make instruction relevant to students.