What does this look like in the classroom?

Diversity in the Preschool Curriculum
We consciously construct a curriculum that provides an anti-bias education, defined by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) as “an active/activist approach to challenging prejudice, stereotyping, bias and the ‘isms’ in a society in which institutional structures create and maintain sexism, racism, and handicappism.” For example, on any given day you might see preschoolers:

• Reading books that reflect a variety of races, ethnicities, genders and abilities including The Colors of Us by Karen Katz, The Family Book by Todd Parr, All The Colors We Are/Todos los Colores de Nuestra Piel by Katie Kissenger, Shades of Black by Sandra L. Pinkney, family-made and class-made books, and many, many more
• Listening to guest speakers who break stereotypes; for example, female firefighters, male nurses and people with differing abilities
• Participating in project work that reflects the variety of people who make up our world such as family share and parent activities, role playing, sharing family photos, introducing words and languages from families and teachers, looking at various cultural artifacts, tasting and cooking food from families represented in the classroom, and exploring ideas of equity and justice in the classroom and beyond

Diversity in the Elementary Curriculum
In the elementary grades, students are eager and curious learners—they want to read and write, to add and subtract, to figure out the world and how it works. These years provide an important opportunity for teachers to build students’ empathy, their sense of fairness and their commitment to equity and justice. Some examples of this include:

• Discussing the realities of differently-abled individuals and meeting with a guest speaker and a guide dog companion for an in-depth discussion about physical differences, special needs and how to be aware of these issues
• Students studying the founding of Jamestown in 1607 from multiple perspectives to gain an understanding of the different impact of events on all peoples
• A classroom question about gender becomes the springboard for a discussion about gender identity and a study of the differing perceptions of gender in various cultures and times

Diversity in the Middle School Curriculum
The middle school years are a critical time of intellectual, physical and emotional change. At the same time, the reality is that there is tremendous external societal pressure to conform to some limited idea of acceptable sameness. So our teachers have the challenge—and the opportunity—to foster the empathetic imagination of our middle school students in order to reinforce ideas of equity and justice: that people do not have to be, think or live the same way (understanding and tolerance), that all people have a right to their differences (giving people “space”) and that the qualities and traits of one person are his or hers alone (avoiding stereotyping). A few examples:

• A teacher seizing a teachable moment arising from a conflict to lead students in a discussion of kindness and acceptance, resulting in student-generated guidelines for the classroom around respect, understanding and compassion
• Our robust community-based learning program, where students learn-through-doing, gaining understanding of the power of taking community action for positive social change, and learning to value and appreciate people of all ages and means as citizens with talents and experiences to share
• Students seeing themselves and others reflected in the world as they research mathematicians and scientists who are LGBTQ, people of color and/or women