Speaking the Truth

1. Speaking the Truth and Acting Powerfully

2. “First do no harm.”

3. NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct P-4.6. We shall report the unethical or incompetent behavior of a colleague to a supervisor when informal resolution is not effective. • First, go directly to that person and discuss the matter with them; then seek assistance from a supervisor

4. Code of Conduct P-4.7. We shall be familiar with laws and regulations that serve to protect the children in our programs. • Stay current on legislation • Copies of state licensing standards must be readily available to those charged with implementing those regulations

5. Code of Conduct P-4.8. We shall not participate in practices which are in violation of laws and regulations that protect the children in our programs. • We are required by both ethics and legislation to comply with laws and regulations

6. Code of Conduct P-4.9. When we have evidence that an early childhood program is violating laws or regulations protecting children, we shall report it to persons responsible for the program. If compliance is not accomplished within a reasonable time, we will report the violation to appropriate authorities who can be expected to remedy the situation. • First, attempt to work within and change the existing system • If no resolution is found, contact authorities

7. Code of Conduct P-4.10. When we have evidence that an agency or a professional charged with providing services to children, families, or teachers is failing to meet its obligations, we acknowledge a collective ethical responsibility to report the problem to appropriate authorities or to the public. • You are protected for violations reported in good faith by a “whistle blower’s law”

8. Code of Conduct P-4.11. When a program violates or requires its employees to violate this Code, it is permissible, after fair assessment of the evidence, to disclose the identity of that program • You are not bound by confidentiality to an institution but to individuals, including children and families • unless maintaining confidentiality jeopardizes the welfare of the child • unless you are an employer, in which case you are bound to a certain degree by the confidentiality accorded to your employees, within the constraints of the law

9. Code of Conduct “All that it takes for evil to exist in the world is for good men to do nothing.”

10. Diversity Issues: What Do You Do? • A child reports that his parent has “burned the cold out of him”, and you discover rows of what appear to be burn marks on his back

11. Diversity Issues: What Do You Do? • A child reports that her mother has “burned the cold out of her” by lighting a newspaper in her ear

12. Diversity Issues: What Do You Do? • A family, who are are Jehovah’s Witnesses, want to enroll their children in your child care program, where you have traditionally celebrated virtually all holidays and birthdays

13. Diversity Issues: What Do You Do? • A family interested in your program says that they do not want their children immunized on religious grounds

14. Diversity Issues: What Do You Do? • A newly enrolled child in your program presents with a high lead screening score. You advise the parents about the need for chelation treatment, but the parents say that they have no money to for it, ignore your recommendation that they go to the Board of Health for help, and do nothing

15. Diversity Issues: What Do You Do? • The family of a preschool aged child, who are new immigrants to this country, requests that you serve only warm milk to their child because he has a cold

16. Diversity Issues: What Do You Do? • The family of a child with special needs in your program, informs you that they have put a DNR (Do Not Resuscitate) order on their child, who is medically fragile

17. Our Past, Present & Future: How Much Do We Tell Children? Depends on • Age/stage/maturity of children • Goals and objectives of lessons • Preparation Consider long-range implications of distorted views on history Remember that, “History is told by the victors.” With young children, do not dwell too much on injustices Temper according to developmental needs, so that children are not overwhelmed with distorted, negative, or positive viewpoints

18. Why Temper? During the preoperational period, between ages 2 to 7, young children become involved in increasingly more complex symbolic play. They are intuitive and engage in animism, attributing lifelike characteristics to non-living beings. Imaginative thinking and transductive reasoning, where cause and effect are erroneously attributed to unrelated variables, can sometimes “get the best of them”, triggering fears of the dark, monsters, and other unknowns over which they feel powerless.

19. “The Best Country in the World” • Are we truly, “the best” or relatively “the best”? • Is there no need for improvement? • Is it a competition? • Who do we anger and/or alienate when we make such a claim? • Can we claim to be great without claiming to be better than others?

20. Final Thoughts: First Steps for New Beginnings • One of the most compelling arguments against multicultural education is the tendency to stress the differences between people • Provide balance by emphasizing equally the similarities amongst people

21. Between and Within Group Tensions • There can be as much diversity within groups as between groups • The same dynamics that cause tensions between groups can also be the source of tension within groups

22. Reducing Between & Within Group Tensions • Ethnocentrism – We internalize our own culture (race/religion/gender, etc.,) and that becomes the standard by which all other groups are judged • Assumption: In order for our group to be the best, other groups must be wrong or worse, e.g., Win/Lose • SOLUTION – Emphasize that it is NOT a competition, that each group can be great and right, that no one group is better than any others, e.g., Win/Win

23. Reducing Between & Within Group Tensions • Frustration-Aggression – Scapegoating – Blaming another group for one’s own failures. - Assumption: If some can overcome adversity, so, too, can all others • SOLUTION – Model taking responsibility for one’s own part in successes and failures • Encourage children to take ownership of their parts in social disputes • Teach the language necessary for resolving social discord • Teach self-advocacy skills • Support efforts to advocate for the rights of others

24. Reducing Between & Within Group Tensions 3. Authoritarian Personality – Inflexible, rigid personality type characterized by adherence and obedience to rules and authority, accompanied by fear of, and low tolerance for difference. • Assumption: This is a personality trait that is inborn and inflexible to remediation • SOLUTION – Fears are learned • Emphasize early exposure to and celebrations of human similarities and differences • Introduce to alternate notions of fairness based on need and flexible rule-making, including the notion of “handicapping” in golf, etc., in order to level the playing field for those at a disadvantage

25. Reducing Between & Within Group Tensions 4. Power Theory – Competition and exploitation. Negative views of subordinate groups justify their unequal treatment and exploitation. • Assumption: Accuracy of negative views and existence of “natural pecking order” • SOLUTION – Emphasize cooperation rather than competition • Do not feed into discriminatory or prejudicial views • Remember that “absolute power corrupts absolutely” and empower those who demonstrate altruism; do not condone those who take unfair advantage of others.

26. Avoid the Tourist Approach To avert people feeling like foreigners when studying different cultures, incorporate diversity into daily routines with: • Photographs of people from diverse groups decorating the environment • Dolls and other materials from diverse groups in dramatic play area and other learning centers • Multicultural games, songs, stories, etc. • Encourage family involvement