It is not enough to be compassionate.
You must act.
Dalai Lama
Before Racism is delivered to preschools and childcare centers via a combination of resources provided through online learning, print materials, and in-person training. A vibrant and engaging web-based instruction program helps teachers, childcare professionals, Before Racism facilitators/coaches, and parents discuss and learn from each other.
All materials and activities are designed for two specific age groups, acknowledging their differences in cognitive, social-emotional, and language development: (1) children ages 1–2 years and; (2) children ages 3–5 years.
Two foundational strategies form the core pedagogy of the program: (1) creating a physical classroom environment that supports and encourages the development of anti-bias and anti-racist attitudes and behaviors and; (2) emphasizing experiential learning in delivering the program to children.
HOW
Early childhood education and developmentally appropriate practices inform both the design and delivery of the Before Racism program. Chief among these practices are: the importance and use of play in a very young child’s education; one-to-one and small group conversations with children; storytelling and story-acting; multi-sensory and multi-media experiences; children’s own artwork; and the inclusion of elements common to each child’s culture including music, food, and clothing.
Program design also includes recommendations about how best to establish an environment that is safe, open, interactive, consistent, exploratory, and developmentally appropriate—one which fosters a strong sense of self-worth and supports a sense of belonging.
In all cases, the goal of the Before Racism program is to identify methods to easily incorporate it into existing teaching and childcare practices by utilizing professionals’ own experiences and expertise.