Child Development 42 Roots and Wings Affirming Culture in Early Childhood Programs Dr. Gallegos

CH. 1 The Changing Face of our Classrooms  Three points are critical to understanding the impact of diversity on early childhood classrooms:  The United States is a racially, ethnically, and linguistically diverse country that diversity is increasing and not diminishing  Most education in the United States does not take this diversity into account and a result ineffective for students of color  Professional standards in the early childhood field increasingly require that early childhood teachers view diversity as a strength nd provide culturally relevant programs.

 2010 Census if California  Population Total Population 37,253,956  Households with individuals under 184,713,016  Population by Sex/Age  Male 18,517,830  Female 18,736,126  Under 18 9,295,040  18 & over 27,958,916  ,765,949  ,317,877  ,872,529  ,599,045  65 & over 4,246,514

Racial Diversity in the United States 2010 Census if California Population by Ethnicity Hispanic or Latino 14,013,719  Non Hispanic or Latino 23,240,237 Population by Race  White 21,453,934  African American 2,299,072  Asian 4,861,007  American Indian and Alaska Native 362,801  Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander 144,386  Other 6,317,372  Identified by two or more 1,815,384

“Minorities” are becoming the “Majority”  By 2025, nearly one in four schoolagers will be Latino.  America’s children are more diverse than the general U.S. population.  By 2050, half of all Americans will be people of color, which means that, according to the NAEYC 92001), “U.S. babies born today will reach adulthood in a country in which no one ethnic predominates.”  Immigration  It has been a major force shaping America’s history, economy, and social life.  Diversity is Spreading beyond the inner city  Today’s immigrants are settling in suburban and rural areas.  It caught many community leaders, administrators and teachers by surprise  They must rethink their practices and change the way they provide services.

Unauthorized Population by Country of Origin, 2012

Teacher-Student Mismatch  Demand is great for bilingual teachers and teachers of color.  In accordance to the book, there is a lack of 17 years discrepancy. Unequal Outcomes  U.S. continues to be sharply divided along racial, cultural, social class, and gender lines.  Children of color score lower on standardized tests and have higher dropout rates  They are more likely tan white children to be identified as having special needs, more often placed in non-college tracks, less likely to be recommended for gifted and talented programs, and more likely to receive more harsher discipline in school.

Unequal Outcomes  Reasons for such unequal treatment and outcomes include the following:  You can’t teach someone whose identity you are truing to ignore or aren’t willing to acknowledge.  The classroom, the teaching-learning process, and the curriculum are oriented European American or white students.  Teachers assume children of color or children who are English language learners are inferior and as a result set lower expectations for these children.  Children of color experience a lack of success in the early grades, which discourage them or alienates them from school.

Redefining Good Teaching  Heard start Performance Standards-include principles for multicultural programming and addressing diversity in the classroom. It includes teacher behaviors such as demonstrating respect for children’s cultures, offering a classroom environment that naturally reflects the cultures, offering a classroom environment that naturally reflects the cultures of the children, promoting children’s primary language while helping them acquire English, and avoiding stereotypic materials and activities.

Questions to Discuss  What are your dreams for society?  What will happen if we don’t revise the way we prepare teachers?

CH. 2 Children and Prejudice  Differences children notice

Child Development  Infants  Toddlers  Twos  Threes and Fours  Fives and Sixes  Sevens to Nines

Research about Children’s Awareness of Human Differences  Stages of Racial Awareness and Prejudice  Infants  Toddlers  Twos  Threes and Fours  Fives and Sixes  Sevens to Nines  Nines and Twelves

What is Prejudice?  The Root of Prejudices-Stereotypes  Discrimination