How should I, a kindergarten teacher of four, five, and six
year olds, take on the challenges and changes of today’s society; while still
preserving their innocence? Wow,
this seemed like a huge question that I continued to reflect back on as I
completed all of the supplemental readings/materials for this week.
Before I dig deeper into this cycles material and my
connections or thoughts with it. I
want to start off sharing my initial thoughts as I read the Introduction to
Cycle 3.
Throughout the reading of
Cycle 3 I kept thinking back to my experience as a student in kindergarten
through high school. Throughout my schooling experience I can remember students
that were bullied and students that were just different. I can remember in high school hearing
more about homosexuality but with regards to the way I was brought up I just
sort of dismissed it and never really considered it anymore. Now this does not mean I was not aware
that there were students amongst me that were indeed gay or lesbian but I just
never really thought of them as being different. When I was in high school I was very involved in
soccer (both club and school), I ran cross-country, I was in the band, I was
also a member of various organizations both in my high school and in my
community. Needless to say I had
many different types of friends and could easily get along with everyone that I
met. Some of my favorite memories
are from my high school years. It
is hard to think that for some people this was some of their worst memories or
a time where they actually considered ending their life. I guess in a way I was
sheltered from all the bullying and hate that some kids faced on a daily basis. It was not till my senior year of high
school that I heard a real story about how bullying and our society’s attitudes
towards gays and lesbians ended a person’s life. One of my soccer teammates brothers, whom at every practice
helped us with ball control, committed suicide because he was a victim of
bullying based on the fact that he was gay. I remember that time clearly and that was a time where I
needed my parents support more than ever.
I needed to make sense of this all.
Now as I began to dig deeper into this cycles material I had
to put my emotions a side and think, how can I, a kindergarten teacher teach my
students about sexuality and tolerance?
When I first started teaching kindergarten, three years ago,
I thought that all my students were as innocent as I imagined I once was when I
was in kindergarten. However, I
quickly learned that my students are aware of the challenges society faces
today. They are aware in the most
simplistic of ways but many of them over hear things through their parents, older
siblings, neighbors, or from kids on the bus. It is true that young students
are not as innocent as I once imagined.
Therefore, as teachers I believe that we do need to be there for our
students and help them make sense of what they are hearing. As Jonathan Silin, stated, “The role of
teachers is to help their students make sense of the world.” (246). We need to help our young children
replace fear with an understanding and misinformation by facts. (Silin,
246). This is crucial in making
school a safe place for our students.
Knowing this I do believe that it would be beneficial to have a time,
whether it is a part of our health class, or a part of a social learning
time. But have a time where
teachers teach the most simplistic issues that are in our society. One way I believe that I could fit in a
beginning discussion about homosexuality is through the conversation about what
is a family? What makes a family
diverse? During the first marking
period, in kindergarten, we have great discussions and lessons covering: Who I
am? Where I came from? Who is in
my family? Who I live with? These topics spark lots of discussion
because we quickly can see that many students do not have a traditional
family. Many of my students are
from single parent families, grandparents raising the families, aunt and mom
raising all the kids and cousins, just a variety of family settings. Immediately at the beginning of the
year my students can share about their families, which allows them to make a connection
and feel more secure at school. We
also talk about what culture we are from and special activities or traditions
that our families have. This is
just a great way for each student to feel accepted and appreciated. This also may be an opportune time for
students to connect and ask a question or share a thought regarding a current
topic in society. I agree
with Jonathan Silin in that “teachers need to create environments in which
human differences are discussed and valued.” (252). If we create this opportunity, young children, especially kindergartners
will share some of their random thoughts or concerns. For example, I have had a student raise their hand and ask me
why do teachers have to be girls?
The student based this information on the teachers that he saw everyday
in our wing of the building, and we just happened to all be females. Young learners are full of these
questions and it is up to us as a teacher to help guide them through correcting
these misinterpretations. Erik
Eckholm’s article referenced the “welcoming schools” curriculum for grade
schools, so I went to this website to explore more. I found the following video or trailer for this
project to be very fascinating.
After watching this video I explored further because as a
teacher of young children I am still hesitant on going into lots of details
with my young learners. This
website provided me with a list of guidelines for teachers to use as a place to
begin when talking about gender and children. Here is this link. http://www.welcomingschools.org/pages/gender-children-place-to-begin
As I read through this list, I was relieved to see that many
of these things I already do in my classroom. For example it is important to create an atmosphere of
acceptance in the classroom that affirms all children, I do this with my family
and who am I unit. Another tip is that teachers need to greet all children and avoid
using the phrase boys and girls. I
call my students, “friends” or “learners”. You can often hear me say good morning friends or learners
show me you are ready! Another tip
was role-play with your students.
I do this all the time, especially when going over expectations,
procedures, or when discussing bullying.
I am curious to know if other grade levels could also agree that they follow some or most of the guidelines already for Educators. Also, what do you think about this guideline, “Establish a gender-neutral bathroom in your school that students can use.” I have this in my classroom because in all our kindergarten classrooms we have one kid bathroom that all our students use. I just wonder how this would work for the other grades.
Finally, I am a teacher that likes to see things in
action. I would like to observe a
program or sit and talk with other teachers who have been involved in a
specific program before I test it out myself. So, I began to wonder what programs were out there for
kindergarten students. How
detailed did this information need to be presented, while still preserving our
young students innocents or the parents right to filtering content? I found this Sex Education Curriculum
for Farmington Public Schools, with a date of 2007. It is very likely that this information has changed but
something for me to refer to. I
scrolled through and a lot of the major discussions began in fourth grade but
than if you scroll down to page 25, it provides us with a quick synopsis of the
ideas that are covered in kindergarten through third grades. I felt very comfortable with this
information and think that it could be implemented perfectly into my school’s
health curriculum as we already talk about drugs, alcohol, good touch/bad
touch, strangers, etc.
I am curious as to what others think about this curriculum and if this
is something they have seen implemented in your school district or if you use
something else?
For my closing thoughts, I think back to what City
Councilman Joel Burns had to share.
School must be a safe place to learn and grow. We as teachers need to provide students with the knowledge
and tools to be able to function safely and respectfully in our community. As a kindergarten teacher, I need to
make sure to correct my student’s misunderstandings through children’s books or
other interactive learning experiences, all while keeping it age
appropriate. I also need to be
there to support my students and bring an end to bullying! After all, it is important for our
students to learn at a young age, just how important they are. “Society will change, please live long
enough to see it… The bullying and harassment has to stop!” (Joel Burns,
2010). We all can make a difference
for the students we teach, even if they are just beginning their education
process.
