By Nicole Catalano, BSc in Sociology, Director of Artisan Childcare Center - Newton
Embracing the diversity of families and staff has always been a key component in the Early Childhood Classroom and especially in the Artisan Childcare Community. With regard to recent social-justice topics and how news of these events might impact children, I wanted to share with you some ways myself and our educators gain knowledge and implement developmentally appropriate conversations and lessons regarding diversity and inclusion into the classroom setting. It is our goal to help parents raise kind, compassionate and respectful individuals who will one day grow up to be the leaders of tomorrow.
All of Artisan’s Early Educators are required to obtain twenty hours of professional development per year, seven of which must pertain to diverse learners. Some teachers at Artisan far exceed this requirement through their ongoing education at college, or through their love for learning and developing their knowledge. Because young children have the capacity to notice diversity from an early age, ensuring our educators receive proper professional development through state required trainings is crucial.
Artisan celebrates differences and welcomes parents into the classroom to talk about their culture, heritage, and traditions with the children. We believe that for our educators to be successful, well-rounded teachers, it is important that they partner with parents to learn about their students’ histories, cultures, languages, background knowledge, and experiences. Artisan also embraces the diversity of our staff, inviting teachers to showcase their culture, language and traditions in the classroom as part of our inclusive environment. For instance, many of our teachers are bilingual, which provides support for diverse young children and families upon transitioning into the center or when learning English as a second language.
The teachers at Artisan Childcare Center have autonomy in creating their curricula and are mindful about incorporating diversity and inclusion into their lessons each day. Diversity and inclusion are part of The Department of Early Education and Care’s Core Competencies for Early Education and out of school time educators, which are designed to improve an educator’s level of competence in a particular area through professional development trainings and courses. These eight areas are:
- Understanding the Growth and Development of Children and Youth
- Guiding and Interacting with Children and Youth
- Partnering with Families and Communities
- Health, Safety and Nutrition
- Learning Environments and Curriculum
- Observation, Assessment and Documentation
- Program Planning and Development
- Professionalism and Leadership
As mentioned, Artisan educators have autonomy in the lessons they create, however administration does require some specific topics to be discussed throughout the year, including at least two units on different artists/composers and four author studies. In response to recent social-justice news, and in addition to our daily mindfulness about diversity and inclusion, Artisan will now be adding an inclusion unit into our required lessons. This will include developmentally appropriate conversations with children about what makes people unique and positive language to use when describing the wonderful differences that makes each and every person irreplaceable.
In addition, social skills and character development are important parts of our daily lessons. Teaching kindness, respect, accountability, and skills for creating healthy relationships are all part of what helps to raise inclusive, compassionate and open-minded individuals. Our culturally responsive educators and lessons help to facilitate positive cross-racial relationships and inclusion within the center, which in turn, will create culturally competent adults who will lead our future.
Books to read at home!
• It's Okay To Be Different by, Todd Parr • The Kindness Book by, Todd Parr • The Family Book by, Todd Parr • We All Sing With The Same Voice by, J. Philip Miller & Sheppard M. Greene • Happy In Our Skin by, Fran Manushkin • All Are Welcome by, Alexandra Penfold • I Like Myself by, Karen Beaumont • One by, Katheryn Otoshi • Here We Go Round The Mulberry Bush by, Barefoot Books • If You're Happy and You Know It by, Anna McQuinn • Be Kind by, Pat Zietlow Miller