Miles Cortis

2/12/15
ECE 1404 Intro to Early Childhood Education
Article Review
Democratic Life Skill 4 Accepting Unique Human Qualities in Others
 The article I chose covers one of the 5 democratic life skills. It was written by
Dan Gartrell, EdD. He has written a few other books which include The Power of Guidance, and
What the Kids Said Today. The democratic life skills are: finding acceptance as a member of the
group and as a worthy individual, expressing strong emotions in nonhurting ways, solving
problems creatively – independently and in cooperation with others, accepting unique qualities in
others, and thinking intelligently and ethically. The Article explains the 4th democratic life skill
which is accepting unique human qualities in others. It also briefly touches on the 5th thinking
intelligently and ethically. I find the 4th to be one of the most important life skills, especially
when trying to create an anti-bias classroom.
The article initially gives a scenario about a 4-year-old boy named Martin who does not
want to sit next to his classmate Brandon because he is an American Indian. He complains “he
has dirty skin” (104). The student teacher, Becca, immediately responds by giving Brandon a
hug and assuring him “people have different skin colors, and that’s a good thing” (104). She
explains to Martin “he just has more color in his skin (104). She then guides Martin to his chair
and asks Brandon to pass the milk to Martin who replied thankfully. Later, Martin and Brandon
are seen playing with one another. The lead teacher Karla was very impressed with Becca’s
response to the situation. Becca spoke with Martin’s dad about the situation “so he could
reinforce what [they] tell the children in class: people…with different skin colors [is] natural,
and what’s important is that [they] are all friendly and get along” (104). This is a great example
of how to handle a situation to ensure an anti-bias education.
They take it a step further by expressing the idea that anti-bias does not just include race
but also psychological and behavioral characteristics. I believe this is very important to reiterate
because we live in a diverse world. Many learning disabilities are recognized today that were not
addressed in earlier years. It is the educators’ responsibility to bring awareness to the many
differences in today’s world and to teach children it is okay to be different. They need to help the
children understand the importance of respect. A child that is teased or treated differently as a
result of a cultural, or behavioral differences can miss out on developing key social skills.
In the article, Gartrell explains this a little more in depth by stating a “teacher helps the
child learn from the consequences [which] directly impacts the child’s growing ability to find
acceptance, express emotions, solve problems creatively, accept others, and act intelligently and
ethically” (105). Which is in direct correlation to all 5 democratic life skills.
As was mentioned earlier, Becca spoke with Martin’s father. Karla, the lead teacher, was
a little reluctant on how Becca approached the father but found it was the right thing to do and
that it helped enforce the 4th democratic life skill in Martin’s life. One thing that was mentioned
by Gartrell was the “power of silence” (105) which is described when one does not have the
courage to speak up in a situation. Since Becca did speak up, it gave strength to Karla “to
overcome the power of silence issue” (Gartrell 105) in the future and has even increased the 5th
democratic life skill, thinking intelligently and ethically.
The next scenario that is brought up, takes place in Cindy’s classroom, a lead teacher of a
Head Start program. Derrick, a 5-year-old boy, who is allowed to use the computer but only if he
asks other children to join him. He asks four other children to join him, two of them are 3 years
old, one 4 years old, and another that is 23 months old. The two 3 year olds only stay briefly
before going to find something else to do. The 4-year-old, Jerrod, plays with him for a longer
period of time before he loses interest. Derrick then teaches the 23-month-old, Alayna, the basics
of the game very patiently and helps her play until she was more interested in watching him play.
The point is made that individual attention is as equally as valuable as teaching others to work
together in a group. This helps to increase diversity between sex as well as age to further help for
an anti-bias classroom.
Gartrell shares a statement “by NAEYC and Fred Rogers Center for Early Learning and
Children’s Media” (105) which states that it is important children “engage in digital activities…
with other children rather than predominantly alone” (105). They explain that with the
continuing digital era, children tend to become a victim of “extreme individuation” (105). Cindy
gives a great example of how to avoid children becoming so isolated by technology making
Derrick involve his other friends. In the process of him teaching and working with his classmates
he is gaining crucial social skills as mentioned earlier that may not be gained if diversity is not
brought into the classrooms. As Derricks social skills are being developed through diversity with
different ages and sexes it is also improving the 4th democratic life skill.
At the end, Gartrell brings a very strong conclusion together sharing research of the brain
stating how difficult it is to learn the democratic life skills. That is why it is imperative that it be
taught at such a young age. As you can see with both scenarios, they were directly related to the
4th democratic life skill. In the process of teaching or experiencing accepting unique human
qualities in others, it has also enhanced all of the five democratic life skills.
I believe that the 4th life skill is so important because without it, the rest become very
difficult if not impossible to learn. Finding acceptance as a member of the group and as a worthy
individual would be very difficult without being able to be comfortable with those around you.
Expressing strong emotions in a nonhurting way may not be able to be done as you can see in
scenario one. Martin may not want to have hurt Brandon’s feelings but making him feel dirty
because the color of his skin can be very hurtful to Brandon. Solving problems creatively,
independently and in cooperation with others would not come easily if one could not think of the
problem from different approaches which becomes natural when someone begins to accept the
people around them. Thinking intelligently and ethically goes hand and hand with the 4th life
skill. In order to be ethical, one must be able to accept the unique human qualities in others. The
4th life skill must be taught and learned in order to grasp any of the other life skills.