Anti-Bias, Anti-Racist Work

A core component of our work towards equity and access is our anti-racist and anti-bias work. It is our responsibility, as educators and community members, to be proactively and tirelessly involved in this work. ABAR work requires us to think critically about our role in systemic oppression, and gives us countless opportunities to disrupt oppressive cycles. ABAR work asks us to challenge colonial, euro-centric ways of knowing that are overrepresented in education; it asks us to lean into necessary discomfort and shine light on our unconscious biases in order to eradicate them; it asks us to unlearn false, damaging narratives and build new ways of approaching and understanding learning and teaching. In doing this work, we are given the opportunity to make our programs and policies more culturally responsive, representative, inclusive, and safe.

Here is a non-exhaustive list of what being an ABAR educator means to us:

We see color. We do not live in a colorless world, nor would we like to! We are committed to seeing, respecting, and celebrating each learner for all of who they are, including their racial identity. 

We understand that race is a social construct, and we also know that racism is real. The concept of race has no foundation in science, rather, the concept finds its roots in a fictional justification for slavery. We also acknowledge that racism--a very tangible result of the concept of race--is prevalent and systemic. It is our responsibility to notice, understand, and eliminate racism from our ways of knowing and doing. 

We believe in intersectionality, a term coined in 1989 by professor Kimberlé Crenshaw. This theoretical framework helps us understand how different aspects of an individual’s identity can interact and shape their lived experience of both privilege and marginalization. In our dedication to seeing the whole learner, we must also be mindful of the intricacies of their identities and personhood, and we must be mindful of the many interconnected aspects of their lived experiences in order to create meaningful learning opportunities.

Culturally Responsive Practices

What experiences do we make available to our students? What narratives are we centering in these experiences? What narratives are being neglected in our teaching? What beliefs, practices, and ways of knowing are present in our community, and how are we positioning those experiences in our time together at school or camp? These are some of the questions that we must ask ourselves in our work to create a culturally responsive learning environment. Culturally responsive teaching requires us to think critically about who we are, who we serve, and how we do what we do. It is both our responsibility and our privilege to expose our learners to information that mirrors and validates their lived experiences as well as information that provides windows into other ways of living and knowing. We enact this value through intentionality in our curriculum design, classroom language, books, videos, and classroom culture.

Lifelong Learning and Reflective Practice

The beauty of growth is that it is a never-ending process. Knowing this, we are committed to our continuing development both as adult human beings and professionals in the field of education. We are always listening and learning. Through our yearly academic research as well as our close work with our educators, families, and children, we continue to grow our practice to better serve our community. 

We believe in the relevance and value of our programs and our pedigological stance, and at the same time, we know that our work is a strong foundation upon which we can always continue to build. Essential to our responsive approach is our commitment to rigorous, continuous assessment of what we do and how we do it, which enables us to improve our practice to meet the needs of each learner and their families. Our weekly, monthly, and yearly faculty reviews are not complete without considering the question: How can we do better?

Science Belief

We believe in science. We believe in research. Though these statements can sometimes be considered controversial, we hold firm to our belief that robust scientific inquiry is anything but political. Authentic, accredited scientific work continues to better our world, save lives, and improve our own practices in countless ways. In the classroom, we know that scientific inquiry supports our learners in developing social and critical thinking skills necessary to navigate the world. Outside of the classroom, the work of scientists, sociologists, psychologists and researchers continues to influence our pedagogy and our understanding of the world in which we are preparing our children to thrive.

Social and Emotional Learning

Part of seeing the whole learner means seeing not only the academic learning and potential of our students but also their potential as social and emotional beings. Throughout our lives, and especially in early education, we are learning not only how to read, write, and count, but also how to feel, manage our emotions, and relate to others. At Hollingworth, we see social-emotional learning as equally essential to human development. Through books, intentional conversations, and other SEL activities we guide our learners through this process of understanding their own and each others’ emotional lives.

As a result our classrooms become safer environments for learning, communicating, feeling, and thinking. We have the opportunity to support our learners in identifying, understanding, and regulating their emotions, so that they can feel able to help themselves or communicate the help that they need. In doing this, we cultivate a classroom culture of care, where every child (and adult) knows that they are safe and respected, that their feelings are okay, and that they have access to emotional support to navigate those feelings in a safe way.