In this assignment, you will use the following transferable skills: Communication Critical thinking Digital fluency Ethics and professional responsibilityYou will use these skills to contribute to

   Dear Martha McSally,

My name is ____________and I am writing to you because I feel that LGBT children and families are being unfairly treated in early childcare settings. These parents and families continuously go through rejection, disrespect, intimidation and exclusion. This is no way to treat children and families of any diverse background. I am asking you to help educate and produce resources for educators to include in their curriculum to introduce LGBT families in early childhood without the negative stigma.

I feel very strongly about this issue, as I have also endured negativity myself being in a same sex marriage. There is at least one child in almost every early childhood center who has a parent that is LGBT and they receive the message that they are not safe or welcome. This is staggering to me. Children start at a young age name calling and treating children different and they need to be taught the correct way to accept differences.

It’s important to acknowledge everyone’s commitment helping children in their care. Educators need to recognize parents’ rights to their own beliefs and consider other perspectives. It’s important for adults to be accepting about differences because they are modeling to the children in the classroom. It’s necessary for families to feel a sense of belonging and develop a cultural identity. Having a good relationship with the educator can help the family feel that they belong.

I believe that a lot of the barriers in early childhood education are attitudinal. Teachers are not accepting of LGBT families and that in turn puts a negative acceptance on the child without even realizing it. Teachers often encourage gender approaches to play and relationships based on heterosexual assumptions.  You would will never hear an ECE teacher watch two boys play together and say, “Oh, what a cute couple!” Supporting only heterosexism in early childhood fails to recognize how children’s identities are constructed and how the sexual identities play a role in social justice. Early childhood teachers need to gain confidence in establishing new ways in interacting with children  (Campbell, 2009). 

As I previously stated, the LGBT families in early childhood settings are being unfairly treated. The children don’t feel safe or welcome and that is something I am not able to accept. I am asking for support on this issue and help with changes that can be made. 

Would you be willing to meet me for a meeting to further discuss this issue on Friday, December 14th at 1:00pm?

Sincerely,