Anti-bias Early Childhood Programs



Anti-bias Early Childhood Programs

© Julie Bisson

Adapted from: Bisson, Julie (1992). Celebrating Holidays in the Anti-bias Early Childhood Education Program, Pasadena, CA: Pacific Oaks Master’s Thesis.

1. Decide on the underlying goals for holidays in your curriculum.

Answering the “why” question precedes decisions about what, when and how. Consider the reasons for doing holidays in relationship to the staff, children, and families, as well as the four anti-bias education goals. There are several possible functions for holidays in an anti-bias approach. Here are the ones identified by the early childhood educators I interviewed:

a. To promote connections among children, families and staff.

Holiday celebrations build and strengthen connections between home and school, and among children who share the same holidays. Done thoughtfully, holiday activities also promote a sense of community among children in the program who celebrate different holidays.

b. To support the experiences of children, their families and the staff in the program.

Holiday celebrations at school support children’s experiences at home and in their communities, and thus strengthen positive group identity. This is especially valuable for children and families whose holidays are generally not seen in the institutions of the dominant culture. The needs of children whose families do not celebrate certain or any holidays must also be considered.

c. To celebrate both similarities and differences in the children’s lives.

Holiday activities can help children realize the (1) people celebrate different holidays honoring events and beliefs unique to their ethnic group, (2) people celebrate the same holiday in different ways, (3) sometimes different holidays share the same theme, and (4) all holidays are important to the people who celebrate them, and are to be respected.

d. To stretch children’s awareness and empathy.

Joining in holiday activities different from their own is one method for encouraging children to move away from egocentric thinking and become aware of other people’s ways of life. However, anti-bias educators point out the importance of never using holidays as the only method of learning about a different group. In fact, some believe that introducing holidays of groups not represented in the program runs too high a risk of being a tourist activity and so, they only celebrate holidays of the families being served.

e. To teach children to think critically about bias.

Many holiday images and messages from television, radio, stores, decorations, magazines, and billboards may unfortunately include gender, race, culture, and class biases which should be challenged in an anti-bias approach to holidays. Activities and discussions can also challenge the commercialization and mass marketing of certain holidays.

f. To teach activism.

By celebrating social justice holidays such as Passover, Martin Luther King Jr.’s Birthday, and Mexican Independence Day, children learn about what real people struggled over in the past to create a better life for themselves and others. These activities can also lead to discussions about people who are working today for social justice.

g. To give children accurate information about specific holidays.

Holiday activities can support what children learn about home and correct misconceptions children may have about other people’s holidays. This has particular relevance for newly immigrated children and families who have never experienced our national holidays and do not understand the meaning of the symbols and rituals they see around them.

h. To have fun and mark time for children.

Holiday activities are fun. They add spice to the daily routines of life. Holiday celebrations can also mark certain times of the year by celebrating beginnings and endings and other deeper rhythms such as seasonal changes.

2. Develop a holiday policy that outlines how holidays will be used in the program.

Issues such as (1) what role you want holidays to play in the program, (2) how many holidays you want to celebrate, (3) how much time you want to spend celebrating holidays, (4) how you will make decisions about which holidays to celebrate, and (5) how to involve parents and other staff, are just some of the topics to consider.

3. Decide which holidays will be celebrated in your program

a. Develop a draft list of holidays staff think are important to do.

After identifying the goals you want holidays to serve in the curriculum, develop an initial list of specific holidays you want to use. Be clear about how each one relates to your goals. This list is a starting place.

b. Find out what holidays are important to the families in your program.

Gathering information about their holidays is one piece of the overall task of learning about each family. (This includes finding out if there are families in the program who do not celebrate particular holidays or any holidays.) Remember that you are asking for special, and sometimes private information, and must build trust with families before expecting them to readily share their traditions. Consider how to represent all families fairly while keeping within the framework of your holiday policy. Plan ways to inform and discuss with parents decisions about choices of holidays, ways to implement them, and how they might participate.

c. Identify holiday activities that are an expected component of your school/center and community.

Are there holidays that are pre-set every year by the organization or institution to which your program belongs that you are expected to take part in?

If so, then consider how you will make these activities authentic, developmentally appropriate, and respectful to all your children and families.

d. Consider the pros and cons of introducing holidays of cultural groups not present in your classroom.

It is important to refer back to your goals for holidays in your curriculum as you think about this step. If you decide that you want to introduce holidays that aren’t celebrated by the families in our program, deciding which ones to implement requires thoughtfulness. (Remember that the decision to introduce an ethnic group comes way before thinking about their holidays.) To avoid “tourist curriculum” traps, make sure holidays are only a small part of the activities about ethnic groups not present in your class. Connect new holidays to your children’s experiences, so that similarities as well as differences are explored.

e. Decide if there are holidays you want to avoid or down-play.

Some anti-bias educators choose to down play some of the national holidays because they know their children are already experiencing the holiday and want to choose holidays that are less acknowledged by the dominant culture; or, conversely, their children’s families do not celebrate a particular holiday; or they object to the commercialization of a certain holiday.

f. Consider inventing your own special days or rituals that become part of the culture of your classroom.

These holidays represent shared, meaningful occurrences in the lives of the children at school. Examples are as varied as there are programs: “Apricot Tree Harvest Day”, “Wheel Days” (everyone rides bikes, skateboards, roller skates), “End of the Year” celebrations, “Earth Week”, or a “Candle Group” ritual which takes place during the winter holidays.

4. Plan how you will implement each holiday while being consistent with your holiday policy and goals for celebrations given who the children in your program are.

a. Consider the developmental abilities of your children.

Don’t confuse adult needs for holiday celebrations with children’s needs. Both are legitimate but may have to be met in different ways. For preschoolers, and most kindergarteners, holidays are about what their families do. Some holiday activities can be scary for individual children. Moreover, too much emphasis on holiday activities can be over-stimulating, or conversely, boring if they are too adult initiated and directed.

b. Pay attention to the balance between holiday activities and other components of the curriculum.

Keep in mind that holiday activities are only a small part of an anti-bias curriculum. Keep evaluating both your goals for activities and the amount of time they take up in your program in relation to your overall educational goals and philosophy.

c. Decide how you will address the religious beliefs and content that are at the core of many holidays.

It is sometimes impossible to separate the “non-religious” part of a cultural belief or practice from its religious part, and doing so may result in trivializing the meaning of a holiday (e.g. the commercialization of Christmas). Moreover, for many families across various ethnic groups, struggles for freedom and justice have been/are entwined with their religious beliefs. Staff and parents need to thoughtfully consider what aspects of religious beliefs to share with each other and with children. Many of these decisions will be based on the kind of program you are in (i.e. private, public, church-based).

d. Make a plan for avoiding a tourist approach to diversity when implementing holiday activities.

Holiday activities must not be used in isolation to teach children about differences. Rather, they must be part of an inclusive curriculum about cultural diversity, you can be sure that you are staying true to your goals for holidays, the needs of your individual children, and the underlying meaning of individual holidays. This will prevent teachers from stereotyping a group of people or trivializing a special celebration.

e. Identify what stereotypes are present in each holiday you have chosen to celebrate, and make decisions about how you will deal with them.

If you choose to celebrate a holiday that contains stereotypic images and messages, you must plan how to address those stereotypes with children and give them the accurate information they need to counter them.

f. Plan how you will meet the needs of children in your program who do not celebrate holidays.

Teachers must approach parents who don’t celebrate holidays with some options for their child and then work together to reach mutually agreed upon strategies for both the noncelebrating families and the celebrating families.

g. Plan how all staff and parents who want to be involved, can be.

It is important that all staff members and parents in the program have input in all steps of the process: setting goals, writing the holiday policy, deciding which holidays to celebrate, and implementing holiday activities. Issues around holidays can be sensitive and emotionally charged for all adults. A process of ongoing dialogue and commitment are essential to reaching consensus.

The above information is adapted from Bisson, Julie (1992), Celebrating Holidays in the Anti-bias Early Childhood Education Program, Pasadena, CA: Pacific Oaks Thesis.

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