Table of Contents

Contents

Introduction:
Embracing Social Justice in Early Childhood Education — ix
by Ann Pelo

Language Matters — xv
by Ann Pelo

Part One:
Prioritize anti-bias, culturally sensitive teaching and learning. — 1

What Color Is Beautiful? — 3
by Alejandro Segura-Mora

Why an Anti-Bias Curriculum? — 7
by Louise Derman-Sparks

Developmental Themes, Tasks, and Goals in Anti-Bias Work — 13
by Margie Carter and Deb Curtis

Raising Issues of Race with Young Children — 17
by Rita Tenorio

Using Persona Dolls to Help Children Develop Anti-Bias Attitudes — 23
by Trisha Whitney

Miles of Aisles of Sexism: Helping Students Investigate Toy Stores — 29
by Sudie Hofmann

Where Are the Game Girls? — 35
by Ann Pelo

Rethinking ‘The Three Little Pigs’ — 41
by Ellen Wolpert

What If All the Kids Are White?:
Anti-Bias Themes for Teaching Young Children — 43
by Louise Derman-Sparks and Patricia Ramsey

Unwrapping the Holidays:
Reflections on a Difficult First Year — 49
by Dale Weiss

Part Two:
Make ample time for play and exploration. — 55

The Scripted Prescription:
A Cure for Childhood — 57
by Peter Campbell

What About Play? 61
by Sharna Olfman

Confession:
My Students Play in the Classroom — and It’s Good for Them — 65
by Seth Shteir

Playing with Gender — 67
by Ann Pelo

Cybertots:
Technology and the Preschool Child — 75
by Jane Healy

Part Three:
Use curriculum approaches that are responsive to children’s developmental and intellectual pursuits.— 85

Why We Banned Legos: Exploring Power, Ownership, and Equity in the Classroom — 87
by Ann Pelo and Kendra PeloJoaquin

‘Lego Fascists’ (That’s Us) Vs. Fox News — 95
by the Editors of Rethinking Schools Magazine

‘I Just Want to Read Frog and Toad’ — 99
by Melanie Quinn

Tuning In to Violence:
Students Use Math to Analyze What TV Is Teaching Them — 103
by Margot Pepper

Talking with Children About War and Peace — 108
by Ann Pelo

Testing Tots:
Why We Need a Better Means of Evaluating Our Nation’s Children — 109
by Richard Rothstein

Testing Lang — 113
by Amy Gutowski

Think Less Benchmarks:
A Flawed Test Does More Harm than Good — 115
by Amy Gutowski

From Critique to Possibility:
New Zealand’s Radical Approach to Assessment — 119
by Margie Carter

Part Four:
Cultivate a sense of place — of belonging to a particular patch of earth and sky — and a connection to the earth and its creatures. — 121

A Pedagogy for Ecology — 123
by Ann Pelo

Bringing the Earth Home:
Professional Development on Ecology — 131
by Ann Pelo

Don’t Know Much About Natural History:
Education as a Barrier to Nature — 133
by Richard Louv

Food Is Not for Play — 137
by Jean Hannon

Lessons from a Garden Spider:
How Charlotte Transformed My Classroom — 139
by Kate Lyman

Part Five:
Emphasize children’s social-emotional learning. — 145

Holding Nyla:
Lessons from an Inclusion Classroom — 147
by Katie Kissinger

Fairness First:
Learning from Martin Luther King Jr. and Ruby Bridges — 151
by Stephanie Walters

Staying Past Wednesday:
Helping Kids Deal with Death and Loss — 155
by Kate Lyman

Part Six:
Learn from and stand with families. — 159

Welcoming Kalenna:
Making Our Students Feel at Home — 161
by Laura Linda Negri-Pool

Holiday Lessons Learned in an Early Childhood Classroom — 165
by Julie Bisson

Strawberry Fields Forever?:
An Early Childhood Teacher Draws on Her Past to Teach Children of Migrant Farmworkers — 171
by Cirila Ramírez

Talking the Talk: Integrating Indigenous Languages into a Head Start Classroom — 175
by Cathie DeWeese-Parkinson

Heather’s Moms Got Married — 177
by Mary Cowhey

Bringing the Lives of Lesbian and Gay People into Our Programs 180
by Ann Pelo

Activism Brings Us Power:
An Interview with lda Magaña — 183
by Jacqueline Lalley

Part Seven:
Advocate for children, families, and early childhood workers. — 187

Who Cares for Our Children?:
The Childcare Crisis in the Other America — 189
by Valerie Polakow

It’s All of Our Business:
What Fighting for Family-Friendly Policies Could Mean for Early Childhood Educators — 197
by Ellen Bravo

Improving Conditions and Status for Early Childhood Educators — 201
by Charles Bruner

Caught in a Quagmire:
The Effort to Improve Wages and Working Conditions for Childcare Teachers — 203
by Patty Hnatiuk

Part Eight:
Resources — 209

10 Quick Ways to Analyze Books for Racism and Sexism — 211
by the Council on Interracial Books for Children

Music for Social Justice — 215
by Rita Tenorio

Books and Multimedia Resources — 219
Recommendations from Contributors

Organizations and Websites — 223
Recommendations from Contributors

Index — 225