Paradigm Project Fifth Annual Conference

The intention of anti-bias education is to foster the development of fair, empathetic, and inclusive communities. An anti-bias leader engages in critical thinking, dialogue, reflection, risk-taking, and problem-solving in a genuine and continuous effort to honor difference, challenge biases, and evaluate cultural beliefs, language, and behaviors. In this session, we will review the goals of anti-bias education and characteristics of supportive anti-bias environments.
Our personal and cultural notions about “family” play a vital role in our ability to partner with families in our programs and help children develop strong self-identities and family pride. During this session, we will deconstruct “family” and assess how stereotypical depictions of family inhibit our ability to uphold goals of anti-bias education as we will challenge ourselves to reconsider classroom and school-wide practices and culture.
Underlying this session is the assumption that many educators are uncomfortable discussing topics related to identity, diversity, justice, and activism as to not inadvertently offend others or teach prejudice. However, by recognizing that “children learn prejudice from prejudice,” this session requires educators to face potential discomfort or disequilibrium in order to construct new knowledge to implement effective anti-bias approaches.