Should Early Childhood Teachers Discuss Bias?

In a Hechinger Report article called "Alabama doesn’t want early childhood teachers talking about bias; researchers say they need to," Ariel Gilreath writes: Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey ousted the state’s early ed director over a teacher training manual that mentioned bias, privilege and racism. The governor told reporters that educators instead need to stick to the 'basics of education.' Iheoma Iruka, a professor at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and a coauthor of the manual, said that child care and preschool require far more than that. “For children to actually fully lean into and engage, they need to also feel safe; they need to feel comfortable,” Iruka said. “So, I think that’s a problematic lack of understanding about child development and how things are actually integrated, especially in the early years. That’s why a lot of our standards don’t just say, 'Teachers, teach reading.'” Studies show bias is a big problem in early education programs, and experts say not enough has been done to address it.

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