Anit-Bias Activity

What can we learn from a box of crayons?

The Crayon Box That Talked activity

In this activity, the children will discover how they are each special in their own way, and together they are even more special! Teachers should read the book The Crayon Box That Talked by Shane DeRolf to their class and discuss how it relates to each of them. (if you are not familiar with the book, here's a short synopsis- its too cute) I chose this activity because this book is one where many themes and activities can stem from, and they are all ones that are easy for children be interested in and have fun with.

Materials: 

• the book to read 
• Colorful paper
• variety of colored crayons
• scissors
• glue

After having read The Crayon Box That Talked, spark a discussion about how we are all different from one another and how that makes our world interesting. Tell the children that they will be making their own "crayon" about what makes them special. Children will be given a crayon shaped piece of paper where they can write their name, draw themselves, and write one thing that makes them special. Then, the teacher will assemble all of the crayons together so the class can see everyone together. This activity is age appropriate because it addresses the idea that people are both similar and different, and that a variety of people make up our community and world. These are all multicultural concepts that young children are able to understand. (RW pg. 188-189) This activity will probably work for Pre-k through third grade, but could probably be expanded for older ages as well.

Teachers can focus on a variety themes while doing this activity. One goal that teachers can accomplish while doing his activity is that children will be able to "Recognize, appreciate, and respect the uniqueness, beauty, value and contribution of each child" (Anti-Bias Activity Goals handout) by seeing all of the different crayons together, Children will be able to visually see what they have in common with one another as well as how they stand out. Another Goal they will be accomplishing is "Promoting respect toward others." This can be done through discussing how the crayons must learn to get along and value how they are different, and relating that idea back to the children. Overall, teachers will be accomplishing the goal of "Provide children with a positive experience exploring similarities and differences" through this activity. By giving children a fun opportunity to discuss theses similarities and differences, they will be making positive discoveries.

Another book that would tie well into this activity is the book The Day The Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt,where the crayons tell their owner why they are upset about being used too much for the same things. This book encourages children to be diverse in their art and color things the "wrong" color sometimes, which shows how great all colors are in their own way.

Overall, this activity can be brought to life in many different ways. I think that utilizing something that children are familiar with and come in contact with every day is a good way to keep it on their level and relevant to them. Plus, this activity would visually be a great addition to a classroom as a representation of their community and something that children can constantly look at and remember what they learned.

References

•  Tolerance.org,. (2014). What Can We Learn from a Box of Crayons? | Teaching Tolerance. Retrieved 8 December 2014, from http://www.tolerance.org/exchange/what-can-we-learn-box-crayons
• profile, V. (2013). The Crafty Counselor: Kindness Class Projects. Craftycounselor.blogspot.com. Retrieved 8 December 2014, from http://craftycounselor.blogspot.com/2013/10/kindness-class-projects.html?m=1
• York, S. (1991). Roots & wings. St. Paul, Minn.: Redleaf Press.

Film Analysis

The Princess and The Frog (2009)

This movie is set in 1920’s New Orleans, where the main character, Tiana, grew up with her family. Her dream is to own her own restaurant, and works as a waitress, hard everyday to get there. But after Tiana kisses a prince who has been magically turned into a frog, she turns herself into a frog. Together the two frogs are on a mission to find a way to turn back into humans before time runs out. Of course, along the journey the two fall in love and live happily ever after.

Overall, while watching this movie, I feel that It was nice try on accurate portrayal of life in New Orleans during this time. I feel that this was good at attempting to be culturally diverse, but essentially it was not enough. With that being said, there was a lot of controversy regarding this movie when it first came out. Tiana became Disney's first African American Princess, (and if that is not already a problem in itself, I don't know what is)(Thesocietypages.org, 2014) What I really find shocking is how long it actually took for Disney to realize they were lacking in multi-cultural princesses. Disney's first princess, Snow White, was created in 1937 and between then and now there have been 11 princess created. So essentially, it took 72 years and 11 princesses for Disney to realize that they were completely missing an entire portion of the American society.

This movie attempts to depict 1920's era of New Orleans in a positive and fun way. However, what is really shown is that all African American people do is play jazz music, make gumbo and practice voodoo. These simple stereotypical images could make children confused about people's roles in society being determined by their race.




In another case, when this film was in the first stages of development, the title was called The Frog Princess the main characters name was previously called Maddy and she was to work as a maid in a rich, well-to-do white household. This raised concern for many groups; first, because the title of The Frog Princess was seen as a racial slur, which is why the name became what it is today. Second, some people felt that the name Maddy was too close to "Mammy" which is a negetive stereotype of African American house maids. Finally, Disney changed her position as a maid to a waitress. (Racebending.com,. (2009))

Further more, second main character, Prince Naveen, was originally supposed to be prince Harry, from Europe but since darkened his skin and changed his name. What is most troublesome about this prince is that he is made to be in all ways foreign and ethnic looking, which is is in the movie as well, but specifically made to not be African American. I can recall almost all other Disney Princesses falling in love with and thus marrying within their same race, why not Tiana? Having her marry outside of her race implies that she could not have her same happy ending if she married an African American. (Racebending.com,. (2009)).

Along with this, for being the first of her kind, Tiana was only a princess as human at the very end of the movie for about a minute- the entirety of the movie she is a frog. Personally, I saw this as a very negative depiction whether from a racial standpoint or gender stereotypes, I thought it was very unfair that she did not get to be seen more as a princess instead of a frog.

Overall, I feel that this film had good intentions of trying to be diverse and culturally reflective, they forgot to consider the culturaly senstivitiy of others within the group be potrayed.




Resources:

• Racebending.com,. (2009). "The Princess and the Frog" & Racial Stereotypes: Fans Make a Difference. Retrieved 1 December 2014, from http://www.racebending.com/v4/current-diversity-highlights/out-of-sight-and-mind-racial-stereotypes-in-the-princess-and-the-frog/
• Thesocietypages.org,. (2014). Race and Gender in “The Princess and the Frog” » Sociological Images. Retrieved 1 December 2014, from http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2009/08/27/race-and-gender-in-the-princess-and-the-frog/

King & King

King and King written and illustrated by Linda De Haan and Stern Nijland Published in 2002

This book was originally written in Dutch and has since been published in over eight languages. The story follows a young Prince whose mother is trying to find him a princess to marry. He claims that he does not care for princesses much, but goes along with the process anyways. After meeting many princesses, the prince soon meets one of their brothers who he says is perfect for him and "At last, the prince felt a stir in his heart . . . It was love at first sight." The two get married and live happily ever after.

This story definitely goes against the normal fairy tale motif, where the prince must marry a princess. The main character of the book would therefore be outside of mainstream culture, because at the end of the book is it shown that the prince is homosexual and has found another prince. First and foremost, I think that this book is not about his homosexuality, but more about being able to love who you want, and not who you are supposed to. The prince is supposed to marry a princess! and every child will tell you that. But here is a new message: love who you want. I love that this is a different fairy tale and it shows children that there can still be a happily ever after when the situation does not go as they expect it to.

Although this story is primarily about a gay prince, there are no gay stereotypes in the text nor in the illustrations. The prince is a prince, and goes about meeting all of the princesses in say way. In the illustrations, he is not dressed in overly flamboyant attire like, but rather what any other prince might wear. The illustrations themselves are just as diverse as the story; there is a collage of materials used throughout the book, and every page is different. I think that the authors did a great job of not making this story inappropriate but also got their message across. In particular, the last page of the book shows the two newly wedded kings kissing each other. I feel that the authors took the safe route with this image, yet it is still powerful and their message of love is clear.

Another important aspect of this book is that it portrays a diverse array of characters. When the prince begins meeting all of the princesses, they come from all over the world. The different races are not portrayed in negative or derogatory way, but rather honest and real. The variety of differences shows that not all princesses must be tall, blonde and skinny- they all are different like we really are. I think that this is another important sub-message that the book delivers for young children. This book goes against many children's preconceived notions about how a princess must look and act.

Princess Dolly from Texas

Princess Rahjmashputin from Mumbai

    

Princess Aria from Austria  

Of course, there is much controversy surrounding this book because of the homosexual message. Many schools have tried to ban the book from being present in the classroom, and just from experience it was very hard to find! In some states, there were petitions to shelve this book in the adult sections of the library to that children could not access it. (Wachsberger, Ken (2006).pp. 198–201; 314; 321.)  Many of these petitions never made and progress, but the book continues to stir controversy regardless. The main reason for this is that social conservatives fear that children will become confused by the gay marriage as well as interfere with the beliefs that parents may be trying to teach their children. One site that I found from the opposition point of view analyzes this book strictly from a conservative stand point, and is very interesting (or frustrating, rather) to read.  On the other hand, this book has also helped make many gains in the LGBT community as a teaching tool for instilling acceptance at a young age. (Publishers Weekly. February 25, 2002.)

I personally would love to read this book to young children, and welcome their questions in order to prevent their confusion. As a teaching tool, this book could expose children to a different way of living that could help them understand differences in their future. This book can help them learn about the many different types of families that there are and can be also be coupled with a number of different themes.

Works Cited

• Bliss, Kellie. (2014). Evaluating Children's Literature. Retrieved    from https://sierra.instructure.com/courses/245205/assignments/2570955

• California Department of Education, Council on Interracial Book for Children. (1998). 10 Quick    Ways to Analyze Children's Books For Racism and Sexism. Sacrament, CA; Bill Honig.

• Haan, Linda De, and Stern Nijland. (2002) King & King. Berkeley: Tricycle,