Anti-Oppressive Policy

[Inspired by Reggio]

I definitely believe in teaching children diversity and helping to 'eliminate' stereo types and so forth ... it is definitely a fine balance when doing it with OTHER peoples children for sure!

I make sure when choosing materials for in my program that the images, books, music and so forth represent the diverse backgrounds of Canada as well as are reflective of my own group ... IMO this helps children to ask questions and learn in a way appropriate to their age and observations about their world - I do not plan 'themes' around these things though but rather just ensure that we are 'diverse' in our thinking and accepting of different observations and thoughts .... if the children were discussing something consistently and seemed really interested in learning more than we might explore getting more books and resources to learn about that topic and I would let clients know that this was a topic of interest of the crew and did they have any 'resources' to add to the kids learning ... this allows me to ensure that I am approaching any learning from a diverseness of my current group.

So if Sally firmly believes that Boys cannot wear pink because someone she loves and trusts has told her that - she is entitled to that OPINION because it is not my place to tell her that I think her loved one is WRONG and I do not want to damage her bond of trust with her parent or loved one however she IS taught to accept that Jane thinks differently and her brother loves pink that is OK too because while 'some people think boys should not wear pink there are those who do not agree and really it is a personal choice and what makes our world so special'

I am more about the teachable moments of diversity and open mindedness with children while balancing the needs of the group at the same time ... I agree it would be hard for me to provide service to someone who was 'anti' anything and I hope that my policies and mission statement make it clear that my intent is to help raise open minded creative empathetic children despite not coming right out and having a policy on 'diversity'.

hope that makes sense