CCC is an Anti-Bias School. What does this mean?
Anti-bias education is a framework that influences everything that happens at CCC—including our interactions with children, families, staff, and our environment—and shapes our curriculum daily.
Why do we practice Anti-Bias Education in preschool?
We practice anti-bias education because we live in a society where biases are deeply ingrained. From infancy, children absorb social messages about who and what is considered important, and they are exposed to stereotypes that stigmatize or associate negative imagery with certain bodies and social groups. Children are injured when they receive messages about themselves—or others—that say they are not fully capable, intelligent, or worthwhile. Dr. Beverly Tatum describes racism as like the “smog in the air”: it’s all around us, and we can’t help breathing it in. We can’t raise children who are “innocent” or “removed” from racism and other biases, because biases pervade our media, culture, institutions, laws, relationships, and our own internal values and beliefs. However, we can actively counter bias through continuous learning and ongoing, age-appropriate conversations with children.
When teachers and families integrate the four anti-bias education goals into teaching and childrearing and engage children in positive, informative conversations about human diversity, children develop the conviction that who they are is valued and important. When adults help children notice and address unfairness, even very young children are able to be strong and clear in standing up for themselves and others.
Preschool is a critical time to introduce anti-bias education because it is during these early years that children begin forming their understanding of themselves and the world around them. Preschoolers are naturally curious about differences and similarities among people. Anti-bias education taps into this curiosity, helping children explore diversity in a positive, constructive way, before stereotypes and prejudices take root.
Anti-Bias education in preschool helps children:
Appreciate the uniqueness of themselves and others
Disrupt the formation of negative stereotypes
Develop important social and emotional skills
Feel safe, valued and included.
The Four Core Goals of Anti-Bias Education
Four goals guide CCC’s anti-bias education, fostering a safe, supportive learning environment. These goals aim to nurture children’s confident sense of identity, comfort with diversity, understanding of fairness and justice, and the ability to feel empowered to advocate for themselves and others. Together, these goals prepare children to live in a diverse and unequal society.
Goal 1: Identity
“I’m okay.”
Teachers nurture each child’s construction of knowledgeable, confident, individual personal and social identities.
Children demonstrate self-awareness, confidence, family pride, and positive social identities.
This goal means supporting children to feel strong and proud of who they are without needing to feel superior to anyone else. It means children will learn accurate, respectful language to describe who they and others are. Teachers will support children to develop and be comfortable within their home culture and within the school culture. Goal 1 is the starting place for all children in all settings.
Goal 3: Justice
“That’s not okay.”
Teachers foster each child’s capacity to critically identify bias and nurture each child’s empathy for the hurt bias causes.
Children increasingly recognize unfairness (injustice), have language to describe unfairness, and understand that unfairness hurts.
This goal is about building children’s innate, budding capacities for empathy and fairness, as well as their cognitive skills for thinking critically about what is happening around them. It is about building a sense of safety, the sense that everyone can and will be treated fairly.
Goal 2: Diversity
“You’re okay.”
Teachers promote each child’s comfortable, empathetic interaction with people from diverse backgrounds.
Children express comfort and joy with human diversity, use accurate language for human differences, and form deep, caring connections across all dimensions of human diversity.
This goal means guiding children to be able to think about and have words for how people are the same and how they are different. It includes helping children feel and behave respectfully, warmly, and confidently with people who are different from themselves. It includes encouraging children to learn about how they are different from other children and about how they are similar. These are never either/or realities because people are simultaneously the same and different from one another. This goal is the heart of learning how to treat all people caringly and fairly.
Goal 4: Activism
“Okay, what are we going to do about it?”
Teachers cultivate each child’s ability and confidence to stand up for oneself and for others in the face of bias.
Children demonstrate a sense of empowerment and the skills to act, with others or alone, against prejudice and/or discriminatory actions.
Goal four is about giving children tools for learning how to stand up to hurtful and unfair biased behavior based on any aspect of social identity. Biased behavior may be directed at oneself or another. It may come from another child or adult or from children’s books, television, and films. This goal strengthens children’s development in perspective taking, positive interactions with others, and conflict-resolution education. When children have experiences of making change happen, and making unfair things fair, they develop a sense of individual and collective power that counters
Our Anti-Bias Education Goals Are for Adults Too
ABE goals are for parents, teachers, and all adults in our community! They parallel the four core goals for working with children.
Goal 1: Identity
We will increase our awareness and understanding of our own individual and social identities in their many facets (race, ethnicity, gender, ability, sexual orientation, family structure, economic class, etc) and our own cultural contexts, both in our childhood and currently.
Goal 3: Justice
We will identify how we have been advantaged or disadvantaged by the isms (ableism, classism, heterosexism, racism, sexism, etc.) and the stereotypes or prejudices we have absorbed about ourselves and others.
Goal 2: Diversity
We will examine what we have learned about differences, connection, and what we enjoy or fear across all aspects of human diversity.
Goal 4: Activism
We will explore our ideas, feelings, and experiences of social justice activism. We will open up dialogue within our community about activism and all of these goals. We will develop the courage and commitment to model for young children that we stand for fairness and we will be an activist voice for children.
Anti-Bias Education in Action with Children
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Children are playing at a water table. A child who is often a leader in play announces, “This water table is for girls only!” A teacher overhears. They know that one child at the table is gender-fluid and they see that child start to leave. The teacher approaches and begins to play alongside the children. “What about gender-fluid people?” The teacher asks in a curious tone. The children hesitate. “They can play too.” The teacher notices that the gender-fluid child hears this but does not return to the table. They have moved to another activity nearby. The teacher knows that this child does not like special attention or to be called out. “What if a boy wanted to come and play too?” “Well… they could.” “Were you thinking that everyone playing here is a girl?” “Well, yes, because we are all girls.” “Remember that you can’t tell just by looking. The only way to know if someone’s a girl, or gender-fluid, or an inbetweener, or nonbinary, or a boy, is by what they tell you!” One of the other children at the table says, “I’m actually an inbetweener. And a girl.”
“Look at all the wonderful genders we have in our community!” The teacher says. “And there might be more as well! I have a question for you. Is it okay to change your gender?” The children say yes. “Is it okay to exclude people because of their gender?” The children say no. “What can you do if you see that happening?” The discussion continues.
Follow-Up Actions
The teacher presents a puppet show during group time, exploring how it feels to be excluded.
Another group time features a song introducing various gender identities, allowing children and adults to share their genders if they feel comfortable.
Without pressuring anyone to share publicly, the teacher compiles a list of different gender identities on a chart: inbetweener, girl, boy, nonbinary, transgender, everything, spider, witch, golden power-ranger, and Elsa.
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Three Backyarders are playing “Puppies” during Twilight Time. These three play together often.
ELIS: I'll be "Ruff!"
ORIN: And I'll be "Blue!"
DU: I'll be... "Mik-ae-lee-a!"
ELIS: No Spanish names in the puppy game.
DU: That's not fair!
ORIN: Yeah, Elis, that's not fair!
TEACHER: Elis, why did you say no Spanish names?
ELIS: Because I started the game so I get to choose.
DU: That's not fair. I can pick whatever name I want.
ORIN: Elis, you don't get to choose other people's names for them.
ELIS: Yes, I do! Because I started it. I don't want you to have a Spanish name.
DU: Well that makes me mad because Spanish is one of my languages and when you say that it makes me feel like grumbling and kicking!
ELIS: [after a pause] Okay. You can pick a Spanish name, but it has to be your favorite Spanish name.
The teacher did not say anything else in the moment, as Du had advocated for herself quite effectively.
Follow-Up Actions:
The teacher shared this interaction with their coworkers and they brainstormed ways to incorporate and validate Spanish and other languages besides English at school. They found bilingual books and books that incorporated Spanish phrases in the text, and learned multi-lingual songs to sing with the children.
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CCC Teachers raise conversations about skin color and racial identity, fostering an environment where diversity is celebrated.
Activities About Skin Color and Racial Identity
Reading Inclusive Books: Teachers engage children with books like “All the colors we are / Todos los colores de nuestra piel,” offering facts about where our skin color comes from (our ancestors and biological parents; melanin) and opening discussion.
Artistic Exploration: Art projects encourage children to explore their skin color, fostering creativity and self-awareness.
Promoting Positive Representation: Teachers introduce books, songs, stories, and images depicting Black and Brown joy and power.
Example Language We Use
Teachers use language from the National Museum of African American History and Culture, including:
We are all the same. All people have skin. Skin keeps our insides in! Skin is wonderful stuff. We are all different. Our skin comes in many colors from dark, dark brown to light, light cream.
We get our skin color from our birth parents who got their skin color from their birth parents. Our skin is a mix of colors from our families. In the same family, people may have different shades of skin – and they are still a family!
No one has black skin (black like shoes, or like licorice), but they may call themselves Black. Other people may call them Black too. People who call themselves Black may have skin that is from very dark brown to very light cream. What they mean is that they are part of a big, big family that once-upon-a-time came from countries in a big, big place called Africa. (People may also call themselves African Americans).
No one has white skin (white like socks or like cow’s milk), but people may call themselves White. What they mean is that they are part of a big, big family that once-upon-a-time came from countries in a big, big place called Europe. (They may also call themselves Euro-Americans). Some came a long time ago, some came recently. White people may have skin that is from very dark tan to very light cream.
There are also people whose big, big, once-upon-a-time families came from places all over the world. They may call themselves Latinx or Asian or maybe they use the names of the countries their families came from, like Mexican American or Japanese American. And these people may have skin that is from very dark brown to very light cream.
Lots of people are parts of big families that are a mix of places from all over the world. They have many different skin colors. There is only one way to know what they call themselves. You have to ask!
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Ohlone Land Acknowledgement: Teachers want children to know that CCC, Berkeley and our whole big country is on land that was once unfairly stolen from Indigenous peoples by European settlers. Not only that, Indigenous people’s names and languages and games and stories and way of life were also unfairly stolen. We also want children to know that Indigenous people still live here and are part of our CCC community.
Sharing Indigenous Stories: We talk about how this place where CCC is was once called xučyun (Huchiun- (Hooch-yoon)), and that for thousands of years, Chochenyo (Cho-chen-yo)- speaking Ohlone (Oh-low-nee) people lived here until it was unfairly stolen. Teachers read Rumsien Ohlone Stories told & illustrated by Linda Yamane, introduce Indigenous storytellers on the listening station, read books about modern-day Indigenous children and families, and sometimes incorporate persona dolls.
Community Involvement: We also talk about how many people are helping to make it fair. People are remembering and practicing the languages and games and stories and way of life that were stolen. People are giving the stolen land back and giving money to live on the stolen land. Sometimes we help to make it fair by going to marches and writing letters and telling government leaders our opinions. We ask children how they think we can make it more fair?
Cultural Exchange: All families at CCC are invited to share family traditions including cultural traditions with our community. Families of Indigenous descent have shared traditions and invited Native drummers and dancers from their community to visit CCC.
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During the Standing Rock action in 2016, a teacher invited a friend who was planning to travel to Standing Rock to come and speak to the BY class about what was happening there and why she was going to help. Teachers began the discussion by reading “Water” by Frank Asch and asking children, why do we need water? After the discussion, children dictated messages to the water protectors at Standing Rock and made collage fish. Teachers and participating parents and family members helped write the messages on a banner and sent with the friend to deliver. Here are pictures of some of their heartfelt messages.
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We know that young children are aware of what’s happening in the world around them; from the news, their families, peers and local action, our kids are exposed to global issues regularly. Our teachers are committed to providing an environment where children are free and safe to engage in robust conversations about important topics - in 2023-2024, Palestine and Israel. Our teachers wanted to help children process what they were hearing while fostering empathy, their sense of justice, and encouraging empowerment. Teachers were also aware that while several families and community members shared Jewish culture and traditions at CCC that year, outside of books, we did not have any Muslim representation at the school.
One teacher introduced a special persona doll named Noor, who has Palestinian and Afghani heritage. Persona dolls are unique in that they aren’t toys for play but rather tools for teaching. They help us talk about important topics in a way that feels safe and respectful for everyone. When used correctly (as we try hard to do--and this is the caveat about using persona dolls) they also help counter harmful stereotypes about social groups. You can read more about using persona dolls here.
Noor first visited the class to share her likes and dislikes, asking and answering questions, asking advice, just like any new friend would, building connections with the class. Later she shared a book about olive harvesting in Palestine, which led to the children trying Palestinian olive oil. Noor also talked about her keffiyeh, a scarf she wears to show pride in her Arab heritage and also to show support for her family in Palestine. Through Noor, we gave the children a chance to learn about different cultures, build empathy across difference and express their thoughts and feelings.
Persona doll stories involve general things—dealing with potty accidents, welcoming new students, asking for help when needed, expressing emotions, navigating classroom rules, joining into play, etc. Later, problems involving the dolls' social identities including dealing with unfairness / pre-prejudice will come into play. This sequence is important as children need to see and relate to the dolls as whole, complex people rather than as reduced to being a representative of a particular social identity group. The dolls can help us talk about things that have happened at CCC -- while offering a different focus of attention so that none of our classmates feel uncomfortable attention -- or to raise discussion topics that children are likely noticing and forming opinions about but haven't yet directly vocalized at school.
Using persona dolls like Noor helps us foster a caring, inclusive environment where children can explore big ideas and develop empathy for others. It’s one of the many ways CCC supports growth of compassionate, thoughtful young minds.
The ideas for specific anti-bias education content and activities come from three major sources.
Children’s questions, interests, or interactions with each other that teachers and families see as important to respond to and develop.
Adult-initiated activities based on what teachers and families think is important for children to learn.
Significant events that occur in the children’s communities and the larger world that classroom teachers think need to be explored with children.
Here are some examples of an anti-bias education in action at CCC. Names have been changed or removed to protect children’s privacy.
Opportunities for Connection in the CCC community:
All-school meetings: We invite guest speakers on equity topics, sparking meaningful conversation.
Practice sessions, book clubs, discussion groups, and online threads: These platforms allow for deeper exploration and dialogue on important issues.
Staff and team meetings and in-service days: Monthly meetings ensure that learning and reflection are integrated into our daily practices.
Unpacking White Supremacy Culture:
At CCC, teachers and families work together to address and dismantle white supremacy culture within our community. To counteract these harmful influences, we actively reflect on and adapt our community culture, policies and processes. We emphasize community, sustainability, equity, partnership,power-sharing, constructive feedback, and the importance of learning from mistakes. We believe in embracing discomfort and recognizing diversity as a strength, ensuring that our cooperative values continuously evolve toward equity and inclusion. (illustration by Teacher Allie, based on work by Tema Okun et al. )
Supporting Social Justice Causes:
Beyond the confines of CCC, teachers and families actively support each other in advancing social justice causes. Together, we explore age-appropriate ways for children to participate, extending the commitment to justice beyond the classroom.
Commitment to Ongoing Learning
CCC teachers are committed to continuous learning and self-reflection, recognizing the importance of unpacking biases, individually and as a community, even when it feels uncomfortable. Our Diversity and Equity team, comprised of families and staff, plays a crucial role in creating opportunities for families to connect, reflecting on identity, oppression, privilege and social justice.
What Anti-Bias Education Looks Like in Practice with Adults
Moving the Work Forward
In the 2023-2024 school year, CCC created an Equity Initiative uniting parents and teachers and including board chairs, teacher directors, membership chairs, school treasurer, and other parents in the community to advance three goals:
Evolution of Tuition Structure: Continuing the previous year’s project, we work towards creating a new tuition structure for CCC that shifts from a charity model to a mutual aid approach.
Ongoing Education: The Diversity & Equity team provides opportunities for education on Anti-Bias Education topics with focus (this year) on themes exploring class, defining mutual aid, and asking: How do we come together across differences and get our needs met?
Research on BIPOC Family Barriers: A new research project to identify and address barriers that BIPOC families may face in participating fully at CCC, ensuring an inclusive and accessible educational experience.
Meanwhile, building on our creation of a new mission statement for CCC in 2023 that recognizes diversity and empowerment as crucial to the education of young children [link to Mission Statement], teachers and a parent representative used our fall in-service day to clarify our school values including anti-bias values. Teachers also worked to articulate Anti-Bias Education goals, curriculum, principles and values to our full community.
Citations
This text incorporates language from:
Anti-Bias Education for Young Children and Ourselves, 2nd Edition. Louise Derman-Sparks and Julie Olsen Edwards with Catherine M. Goins. NAEYC: 2020.
“Understanding Anti-Bias Education: Bringing the Four Core Goals to Every Facet of Your Curriculum.” Louise Derman-Sparks and Julie Olsen Edwards. NAEYC: 2019. Available online at: “https://www.naeyc.org/resources/pubs/yc/nov2019/understanding-anti-bias
"What Young Children Need to Know About Skin Color, Racial Identity & Injustice: From the National Museum of African American History and Culture Early Childhood Education Department." Julie Olsen Edwards.
Teachers, staff, children and families at CCC (in the examples)