Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/cross--cultural--teamwork/5021664/
As part of our work in early childhood we want children to know that our communities, country, and the world are very diverse places, whether or not that’s true in our own program. Those who embrace anti-bias curriculum always have our antenna up for teachable moments. If we’re fortunate enough to work cross culturally, we’ll find many opportunities to deepen our understandings about other cultural perspectives and the role of racism, gender, linguistic, and socioeconomic biases. When we work at understanding institutional as well as personal biases, we can move closer to honest, respectful, and equitable relationships.I was delighted when a colleague, Fran Davidson (Pelo & Davidson, 2002), co-author of That’s Not Fair: A Teacher’s Guide to Activism with Young Children, suggested I meet Guille Lopez and Sadie Cunningham to learn about their work at University District Children’s Center in Seattle. Fran described these toddler teachers as “most enthusiastic about their love of the children, their love of the work, their love of each other, and their love of how well they’ve figured out how to work deeply and richly together. It is infectious to be around them! I think they are great models of what cross cultural reflective practitioners ...