Early Childhood Settings

In the article Creating Welcoming and Inclusive Environments for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Families in Early Childhood Settings, authors Tracy Burt, Aimee Gelnaw, and Lee Klinger Lesser discuss the importance for educators to create classrooms and learning environments that are inclusive of LGBT children and families. Through their discussion of the importance of LGBT inclusion Burt et al., break the article into two topics. They begin with describing why it is vital to include the discussion of LGBT families within the classroom and commonly used language, and they provide examples of how to create LGBT inclusive environments and opportunities to build positive relationships with LGBT children and families. Research has long shown the importance of family involvement in children’s education and building both strong and positive relationships between families and the classroom. However, LGBT families are often times excluded from much of the discussion and exposure to learning environments for young children in regards to family (XXXXX). Often times this lack of exposure is related to educators’ personal basis or their lack of understanding of how to address the topic of LGBT families within their classrooms and instructional opportunities (XXXXX). As Burt et al. stated “without thinking about it, many teachers act on the assumption that all children in their class are or will be heterosexual” (XXXXXXXX). Educators actions and assumptions often times lead to children having negative experiences of feelings towards themselves and their families, which again often times results in the feeling of being unwelcomed and unrecognized by their educators and peers. More often than not the topic of LGBT families raises concerns for educators because some may not feel comfortable with the topic alone due to personal beliefs, or because of the misconception that this topic warrants the discussion of sex. As Burt et al. stated, “it important to examine this discrepancy, explore where it comes from, and understand that in both instances , we are simply talking about families” (XXXXXXX). However, when it is all said and done, it is vital that all educators are supportive of …show more content…
However, as the article comes to a close Burt et al. offer many recommendations for educators to reference such as the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) publication Anti-Bias Education for Young Children and Ourselves and the NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct, as support for teachers to use to help address personal and program biases within the classroom (XXXX). Additionally, Burt et al. offer many classroom experiences that can be utilized to provide visibility and opportunities to discuss LGBT children and families, such as finding children’s’ books that incorporate LGBT families and posting family boards or families pictures within the classroom, to name a few …show more content…
Additionally, the article references many sources of additional information and direct examples that educators can utilize to start the journey of gaining a greater understanding of how to support LGBT families. However, I do feel that this would simply be that of a starting point, and for educators who would want or need a more comprehensive understanding of the importance of the topics, I feel that more in-depth research articles would be more beneficial. Nonetheless, the article does provide great information and examples for a practice article through the use of additional material and providing examples for educators to implement within their