Dayton Daily News education reporter Scott Elliott writes about schools, kids, teaching and learning.
Home > Blogs > Get on the Bus > Archives > 2005 > October > 01 > Entry
Race and young children
Here’s what Milwaukee teacher Rita Tenorio’s first graders think they “know” when it comes to race: They believe it’s better to be light skinned than dark.
Tenorio’s article in a magazine called Rethinking Schools (I first spotted a shorter version in NEA Today) centers around an issue I find fascinating — do very young children notice racial differences and sense racial bias or stereotypes?
The short answer is yes.
This was the subject for one of the most interesting education stories I’ve ever written — a story about a program to reduce racial prejudice by focusing on early elementary school children in Springfield.
I remember talking to kindergarten teachers about their kids and they were adamant — six year olds did not notice race, they were very accepting and inclusive, the teachers told me. Then I showed them the research study led by University of Dayton professor Ron Katsuyama. Here’s an except from the story I wrote in 1998 for the Springfield News Sun:
“The study showed they are affected by the stereotypes of society while even their teachers often don’t sense it. On one test, researchers asked children to choose between a picture of a black child and of a white child for a playmate.
“In schools with high minority enrollment (29 to 40 percent), there was no preference,” said Katsuyama. “Schools with low minority enrollment (5 to 10 percent), there was a two-to-one preference for white children over black — even among black children. That was kind of surprising to me.”
When asked how their students would fair on these tests, teachers universally predicted they would choose fairly, picking black playmates as often as white ones.
“That blacks would prefer white playmates is a red flag,” Katsuyama said. “It indicates a prevailing stereotype in our society.”
The research showed as children get older, they increasingly become more aware of race as a source of tension, Katsuyama said. For the study, participants were shown a picture of two children fighting and asked to explain what happened. Third graders were much more likely than kindergartners to include racial factors in their account of how the fight started.
Katsuyama said some cultural or racial tension is natural. Programs like Reaching Our Children aim to impart skills to children to deal with others when tension arises.
“Some conflict may be inevitable when people of diverse backgrounds interact,” he said. “It’s the working through conflict that leads to greater understanding and appreciation of differences. Children are so receptive to these types of experiences.”
There are many lessons here. Among them:
—This is a strong argument for creating diverse schools. As the study showed, when diverse kids attended school together, they tended to understand each other more and show less bias. It’s schools with very low diversity that show the worst signs of bias, which then leads to prejudice.
—We must understand that bias is subtle. It’s not that most people of one race actively hate people of other races. And most acts of prejudice are not violent, they’re small unfairnesses that accumulate, causing frustrations to build.
—It’s up to us, as adults, to create change. Your kids, even your very young kids, observe you much more closely than you might notice. They internalize your preferences and make them their own. They want to be like you.
Modeling good behaviors in your daily life is among the best lessons your child can ever learn.
Permalink | Comments (5) | Categories: My Favorite Posts, Teaching and Learning
Comments
By DeputyHeadmistress
October 7, 2005 11:18 AM | Link to this
Our society, no surprise, seems to have conflicting messages on this issue, and I don’t think our assumptions are always based on reality. One example- I’ve seen several articles and library displays about diversity and being a prejudice free society that seem to say the opposite of what you do. One library board said something like, “You choose your socks because of color, not your friends,” and I’ve seen a bulletin board for Indian kids to find penpals where the adult owner published her own rant about how disgraceful it was for white kids to write to her asking for an Indian penpal. She said that was prejudiced and bigoted. It seemed to me to be just an attempt by kids to reach outside their familiar world and create a little diversitiy in their lives- very proactively- and they got blasted for it. In short, it’s often cited as prejudice to seek out people from minority groups for friendships and aquaintances, yet based on the report above, it’s the best way to overcome prejudices. Sometimes it isBy Paula
October 7, 2005 10:32 AM | Link to this
I always remember a song from the musical “South Pacific” that talks about racial prejudice. One of the lines speaks of this modeling behavior and says, “You have to be carefully taught.” Thank you for reporting on this. I grew up being ‘carefully taught’ by one parent but not by the other. Mercifully, much of the more negative teachings didn’t stay with me.By Vernice Jones
October 6, 2005 11:14 PM | Link to this
Well said Scott. Because these issues are so subtle, many teachers and schools don’t see it and leave things to take care of themselves. The question is how do you help someone detect subtle bias. Earlier this year my school district decided to provide diversity training for teachers. I thought that the training should be practical, using subtle, but real examples of bias from parents in the district. (I suggested they be used to make composites.) The point was that this CAN happen in our district. It didn’t go over well. What do you think about that?By Hube
October 6, 2005 2:34 PM | Link to this
“It’s schools with very low diversity that show the worst signs of bias, which then leads to prejudice.” Low minority enrollment was cited earlier as being more prejudiced; however, does the above statement refer to majority minority schools as well?By JennyD
October 5, 2005 3:44 PM | Link to this
Hi Scott.I’m in NYC at We the Media blogging conference. Richard Colvin is here. We were talking about how great your blog is.