ERIC Number: EJ1029450
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2014
Pages: 8
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0037-7996
EISSN: N/A
"You Are a Racist": An Early Childhood Educator's Racialized Awakening
Summer, Melissa
Social Studies, v105 n4 p193-200 2014
This article details my racialized awakenings as a White kindergarten teacher after being called a racist by a parent of one of my students. I chronicle critical reflections of myself and my school in terms of latent institutional racism and actions. I share the actions that I have begun in my efforts to counter racism and move toward teaching for social justice. Changes in my teaching included interrupting deficit perspectives, talking explicitly about race, critiquing literature that I use in my classroom, and exploring ways to provide ongoing counternarratives that honor culturally and linguistically diverse students. I conclude with implications for other Early Childhood teachers who are teaching across racial boundaries. While I do not position my findings as the solution to countering institutional racism in the classroom, I hope that my journey can be enlightening to educators facing similar conflicts.
Descriptors: Preschool Teachers, Racial Bias, Teacher Attitudes, Racial Attitudes, Whites, Kindergarten, Personal Narratives, Social Justice, Language Usage, Cultural Pluralism, Student Diversity, Early Childhood Education, Student Behavior, African American Students, Consciousness Raising, Social Attitudes
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 325 Chestnut Street Suite 800, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Fax: 215-625-2940; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Early Childhood Education; Kindergarten
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A