I welcome this new edition of Anti-Bias Education for Young Children and Ourselves because we are still learning exactly how to support all children and families. This book is a master class on our professional responsibilities to lead issues of identity, diversity, justice, and activism. 

—Valora Washington, CEO, Council for Professional Recognition

Every early childhood educator needs to read this book. And we probably need to re-read it every year. Let’s talk about it with our colleagues. Let’s put it into practice. It is our professional responsibility to internalize the content and bring it to life every single day.  

—Megan Pamela Ruth Madison, Trainer, Center for Racial Justice in Education & New York Early Childhood Professional Development Institute

This book urges us to examine how we’re creating equitable and anti-bias educational experiences for young children. From cover to cover, it features voices from the field, real classroom scenarios, and resources that propel us towards action!

—Tonia Durden, Clinical Associate Professor, Georgia State University

As a teacher who has used the anti-bias goals and principles to guide my thinking for decades, I was thrilled to learn that the authors would be revising the book. Not only is this new book a resource for educators who are just beginning their journey into this lifelong work, it offers new insights and challenges for those of us who have been doing anti-bias work for years and need to be current in our thinking and actions.

The authors’ deep and genuine humility is evident as they provide a framework for seeing and taking a stand against bias in ourselves and the children in our care. The permission to make mistakes and suggestions for how to make reparations is inspiring.

On a more personal note, I am struck by the well-thought-out chapter on gender. Throughout the book and particularly in this chapter, the authors have updated not only the text but also their thinking. By doing so, they offer all of us an example of the flexible, open mindset needed to effectively do anti-bias work.

—Brian Silveira, Lead Teacher, Pacific Primary School

The pioneers of anti-bias education are back at it with this new edition, exemplifying the ongoing nature of the work through their evolving understanding and nuanced decoding of how social identities form in early childhood. Their work leads the way to a brighter, more just, and joyful future or all children—if we are smart enough to listen and enact the wisdom in this book.

Louise and Julie thoughtfully and lovingly guide us to look through the lens in which everything in early childhood education should be viewed, push us to examine ourselves, encourage us to stop and reflect, and empower us to support children to have a positive sense of self while navigating an inequitable world. Never has this work been more important.

—Anna Forgerson Hindley, Director of Early Childhood Education, Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture

Our future depends not on heroic leaders but on a generation of young people with the skills and commitment to recognize and challenge injustices. Anti-Bias Education teaches us how to get there with practical examples, research, analysis, and structured opportunities for teachers and caregivers to stop and think.

—Deborah Menkart, Executive Director, Teaching for Change

At the beginning of this second edition, the authors ask us directly: Why does anti-bias education matter? Because, more than ever, this work responds to the needs of our times by challenging our thinking and practices. The authors reaffirms that anti-bias work is not a passing trend, for it continues to evolve, inspire, and expand our work with children and families as well as with each other. The force of anti-bias education is a light of hope for a vision of fairness and human equity.

—Luis A. Hernandez, Early Childhood Education Specialist, TTAS/Western Kentucky University

Educators of young children have the opportunity to create a world where each child is valued as a unique human being. This book provides specific ways to achieve this goal, which is essential to our survival in challenging times.

—Ruby Takanishi, Senior Research Fellow, New America

Anti-Bias Education for Young Children and Ourselves does a superb job highlighting the contextual shift in education by consciously acknowledging and respecting every facet of identity. As you delve deeper into the book, you are challenged to become unsilenced by the same concepts that have been silent throughout the history of education. The significance of the book lies in its ability to seep relevant information beyond the walls of a classroom. 

—Garnett Booker, Pre-K Teacher, Eagle Academy Public Charter School

The practice of focusing on inclusive and equitable anti-biased learning opportunities helps move the field of early childhood education forward. This book lays a foundation for why anti-bias education matters for all children and their families. Throughout, it centers on children’s learning, providing examples that help all of us see the child in visionary equitable early learning environments that can be built by us, together!

—Tarajean Yazzie-Mintz, First Light Education Project, LLC