Check out this great resource from the College of Early Childhood Educators! Let us know what you think in the comments below.
Category: Cooks
Call to Action
Now that February has come to an end, it’s important to consider how to continue combating anti-Black racism all year long. Below is some information from the Canadian Centre for Diversity & Inclusion on how to be a better ally to Black communities.
Call to Action
Source: Canadian Centre for Diversity & Inclusion Sustaining the Black Lives Matter Movement in the Workplace toolkit (2021)
Non-Black employees can sustain the BLM movement by striving to be allies to Black employees. Allies actively seek to understand, earn trust, continuously educate themselves and show accountability for their mistakes and repair work relationships when harm has been done.
Part of being an ally is acknowledging your privilege and using it to support others. One way to begin this journey is by asking yourself:
- What privilege do I have because of my race, education, gender, sexual orientation, ability, socio-economic background, etc.?
- How can I use that privilege to support/amplify colleagues?
- Are there opportunities in my workplace to listen to the lived experience of Black colleagues? If not, how can I support/advocate for the creation of these spaces?
- What educational initiatives can I participate in/start to promote diversity and inclusion at my workplace?
- What can I do to be an agent of change within my spheres of influence?
Want more tips? Click Here to Download the Toolkit
A Night to Remember!
Trivia Night was a HOOT, led by your very own…
MACARONI MEGAN
ALEX LASAGNE
annnd JODI FETTUCINI!!
Thank you so much to all who came out to have some fun with us. Participants went head-to-head for 3 main Kahoots – Child Care and Early Years Trivia, Local Landmarks, and Community Partner Logos. It quickly became clear that Jocelyne is the Kahoot Trivia extraordinaire!! …but everyone was a winner because of the fun and laughs we had together! And nobody will forget all of our pasta-tively amazing jokes…
Where did the spaghetti go to dance?
The meatball!
The winners took home the following prizes:
Let us know what types of prizes you would like to win at our next FUN EVENT in the comments below.
Don’t be upsetti-spaghetti if you missed out on this incredible experience, there will be more fun to come… including, BINGO NIGHT! Join us on Thursday, April 21 for BINGO! We will have more awesome prizes, and maybe even some NEW JOKES!
Please let us know in the comments below what other type of events you would like to see. Our participants shared some awesome pasta-bilities with us last night – draw-a-saurus, scattergories, karaoke, and more! Help us decide what to plan next.
Black History and Early Childhood Education
On February 22, we shared how educating yourself about Black history is one of the ways in which you can help to combat anti-Black racism. Today, we are encouraging you to become familiar with Black early childhood leaders, and other resources and information related to our field of work. Being open to different perspectives, diverse resources, and being knowledgeable about Black pedagogy can help you to better support all children and families.
- Early Childhood Leaders to Celebrate for Black History Month: https://www.himama.com/blog/black-early-childhood-leaders/
- Celebrating Black History Month: https://www.zerotothree.org/resources/3876-celebrating-black-history-month
- Black History Month Resource Guide for Educators and Families: https://centerracialjustice.org/resources/black-history-month-resource-guide-for-educators-and-families/
- Black History and Early Childhood Education: Five Resources to Explore for Black History Month: https://www.naeyc.org/resources/blog/five-resources-explore-black-history
JOIN OUR PLANNING TEAM
Are you interested in expanding your professional experiences in the early years sector? Do you want to try something new and exciting this year?! Join our planning team and get ready to have some fun!
The team at TBDSSAB is looking for 5 enthusiastic, energetic and creative individuals to participate in the planning of Child Care Worker and Early Childhood Educator Appreciation Day 2022!
What do you want to see this year as we celebrate the incredible and talented educators in the early years field? What fun ideas do you have that we may be able to incorporate into an event?!
Your voice matters – and we want to hear it!!!!
Please fill out the form HERE if you are interested in joining our planning team! If you have any questions, e-mail us at early.years@tbdssab.ca!
Click HERE to download a copy of our poster.
You’re A Superstar!
We want to recognize and celebrate all of the incredible people that are working to support child care and early years — you included! Please take a moment to tell us a bit about yourself so that we can feature you on our Child Care and Early Years’ Portal.
Click HERE to complete the form and receive a SUPERSTAR shoutout on the Portal!
COMBAT ANTI-BLACK RACISM
“There are many actions we can and must take to start to eliminate anti-Black racism in Canada and drive lasting change. It starts on the individual level, where we encourage Canadians to speak up, identify inequities, commit to action, and become allies in the movement for change.” – Civic Action, 2020
Three Things You Can Do To Help Combat Anti-Black Racism
Source: » anti-Black Racism Social Action Cards from Centennial College and City of Toronto
1. Acknowledge how racism has shaped you
Racism is like an invisible gas that we all breathe. Whether we benefit from it or internalize messages that harm us, racism shapes our thinking and actions, often unconsciously, even if we don’t want it to. Once we acknowledge that, we can begin to explore how we contribute to the problem and what we might do to stop it.
2. Educate yourself
Become aware of the holes in your knowledge. Once you are aware of the holes, it is your responsibility to begin filling them in.
3. Speak up and do your part
Too often, the job of speaking out against racism is left to people of colour. This is unfair. To be effective, all people must be willing to do a good part of the heavy lifting.
EXCITING EVENTS COMING UP!
Make sure to check out our calendar for upcoming events. Some exciting plans we have in store are:
- Virtual Trivia Night! – Wednesday, February 23 from 7-8pm [we’ve got PRIZES!}
- Virtual Tour with Abiinojiishiik-amino-yawook EarlyON Centre – Tuesday, March 29 from 10-11am
Don’t forget to register! You can visit the Calendar for more details, or register HERE.
Anti-Black Racism in Canada
“Black History Month in Canada is essential since it educates Canadians. Few Canadians know that slavery once existed in Canada, or that many of the British Loyalists who came here after the American Revolution were Black. They do not know that segregation was accepted in Canada well into the 1960s. It is a reminder to all Canadians that racism is not a matter just of the past.” – (Donald H. Oliver, 2008)
Despite how far society has come, anti-Black racism remains an ongoing issue in Canada. A 2020 report from Civic Action sheds light on the pervasive reality of anti-Black racism in Canada and what to do about it.
To encourage ongoing learning in honour of Black History Month, we encourage you to read this report to better understand how anti-Black racism continues to impact Black Canadians: https://www.bcg.com/en-ca/publications/2020/reality-of-anti-black-racism-in-canada
Some highlights from the report include:
- Black students are four times more likely to be expelled from a Toronto high school than White students
- Black university graduates earn only 80 cents for every dollar earned by White university graduates – despite having the same credentials
- Black women are three times less likely to have a family doctor than non-racialized women in Ontario
For more information about the pervasive issue of anti-Black racism in Canada, you can read the Civic Action report or check out the following educational resource from the Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion on the history of race relations in Canada: https://ccdi.ca/media/2342/20200804-toolkit-a-brief-history-of-race-relations-in-canada.pdf
JOIN US FOR TRIVIA NIGHT
Don’t forget to register for our upcoming events, including… TRIVIA NIGHT! Be sure to check out the Calendar for details and to warm up your trivia skills!
…and did we mention, there will be PRIZES!