This is the time of year where students are cutting out turkeys out of construction paper and soon, they will be sharing about their Christmas list. However, that is not the case for everyone. During this time I think about how schools are creating space for those who may not celebrate Thanksgiving or Christmas and in what ways can we build an inclusive environment for all to honor other cultural traditions and practices to reduce feelings of pressure to be like everyone else or shameful because one may not celebrate those holidays.
Another thought that surfaced recently in thinking about the Thanksgiving holiday is how to honor the narratives of the natives of this land and recognize how their side of the story is not told. I think back to my elementary school days where I was told stories about how the pilgrims and the natives came together to share food to demonstrate peace between the groups of people. I still see this story being told in our classrooms and I feel there is an opportunity to role model cultural humility by learning stories from the natives of the land to honor their voices during a holiday that may remind them of trauma that the entire native population had to experience.
So as you are thinking about what you are going to cook this holiday season , just take a moment and think about the untold stories and how we can start to create spaces to listen and learn from diverse cultural traditions and practices.
There are many critical practices for promoting anti-bias education. Here are a few to consider when entering this season of holidays and events that favor those students who participate in the dominant culture:
Another thought that surfaced recently in thinking about the Thanksgiving holiday is how to honor the narratives of the natives of this land and recognize how their side of the story is not told. I think back to my elementary school days where I was told stories about how the pilgrims and the natives came together to share food to demonstrate peace between the groups of people. I still see this story being told in our classrooms and I feel there is an opportunity to role model cultural humility by learning stories from the natives of the land to honor their voices during a holiday that may remind them of trauma that the entire native population had to experience.
So as you are thinking about what you are going to cook this holiday season , just take a moment and think about the untold stories and how we can start to create spaces to listen and learn from diverse cultural traditions and practices.
There are many critical practices for promoting anti-bias education. Here are a few to consider when entering this season of holidays and events that favor those students who participate in the dominant culture:
Blog Post Written By: Cristina Sanchez-Cruz, Behavior Support Specialist at Montalvin Elementary School
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