McCormick Institute for Early Childhood

BY Melinda Young | May 10, 2021

This document may be printed, photocopied, and disseminated freely with attribution. All content is the property of the McCormick Center for Early Childhood Leadership.

Inescapable images of horrific violence, protests, and social injustice urged me to engage in deeper conversations, conversations during which I have felt scared, tired, angry, vulnerable but ultimately empowered to continue. It is important to be self-aware and willing to reflect on our implicit biases in order to move forward. Implicit biases can breed microaggressions and relationship barriers that impact how we interact with one another as educational leaders and how we engage with families. Ultimately, this affects the relationships and environments of the children we serve.


Over the past 16 years, I have reflected on my experiences in the education field. When I was an assistant director, I remember addressing a parent’s concern that their Black son might not be nurtured in the same way as the other students because his teachers were white. Their concerns were valid. I had a choice to blindly defend the teachers or use this concern as feedback to reflect on the experiences of children of color within our program. This is where my journey truly began to shift. To achieve transformational change, we must TEAR down our biases by doing the reflective work of facing our Truths, Evaluating our systems, Aligning our behaviors with our beliefs, and developing authentic, collaborative Relationships.


TRUTH & TRUST


Reflective Question: Do I Have Biases? The Truth is Yes.


To start tearing down implicit biases, I had to take an honest look at myself, my actions, and my attitude. To start tearing down implicit biases, we have to see the truth (our perceived truth and how others see us). Implicit biases guide how we categorize people according to cultural stereotypes. This unconscious categorizing occurs as we allow our past experiences and influences to shape our assumptions of others. In the book, So you want to talk about race, Ijeoma Oluo discusses “checking my privilege.” She talks about how we can be both privileged in some areas of life and underprivileged in others. According to Oluo, when we identify where our privilege intersects with somebody else’s oppression, we’ll find our opportunities to make real change.


As an African American woman raised by a single mom trying to care for three children on minimum wage for a portion of my life, I was underprivileged. Yet, at the same time, I recognize that I also benefit from the privilege of being raised by my dad and step-mom in my latter years and having the opportunity to go to college. Recognizing that these experiences impacted how I communicated meant that through self-reflection, I examined my bias with single mothers, my interactions with parents from different socio-economic levels, and my views on fathers and male staff members. This allowed me to meet all parents and staff where they were and not where I assumed they would be.


Not only did I need to recognize the truth of my current understanding and behavior, but I also had to trust the process. Over the years, my understanding of systematic thinking grew. Change comes first by seeing the truth in the role you play in enabling bias within your current system and breaking down those areas into actionable goals that tie back to addressing equity in the larger system. You may ask, “How can I build my practice as a leader for equity, starting with who I am and what I bring because of who I am?” Change also requires building one’s capacity to trust. You need to have trust in the reflective process and in the people around you. I had to trust that just as I embodied the capacity for change, so did my co-workers, staff, and the families we served. Truth and trust are the beginning.


EVALUATE


Reflective Question: Who Are My Biases Affecting, and How?


To answer this, you need to begin evaluating your program, from the administration to teacher-child interactions. Reflective practices should be built on a foundation of research-based, valid and reliable assessment. Assessment tools should support the setting of objectives and targeted goals. I have used tools like the Business Administration Scale for Family Child Care and the Program Administration Scale to examine systems and management practices. By evaluating the data around items like staff orientation and supervision and performance appraisal, we began to think about our current systems for onboarding and the continuous development of our staff. Other assessment tools that guided us were the Environment Rating Scales and the Classroom Assessment Scoring System.


You may ask: What data stands out? Within what areas? When? And is this across multiple areas? After you form your questions, look at your professional development practices and how they support determining answers and gaining strategies. When addressing areas of change, and especially when uncovering biases, this needs to be a parallel process. As leaders support teachers on their journey, we need to do the same work on the administration level and use assessment tools designed to look at the quality of leadership and management practices that can impact equity in the work environment.


ALIGNMENT


Reflective Question: Where Do I Start?


Revisit your mission and vision as an educator and an organization. Compare this with the data you have collected from the evaluation process. How are they aligned? Where are there discrepancies? How do diversity, equity, and inclusion play a role? Think of this process as a tune-up. Like a car, we need to have an alignment. We need to check and see if our actions match what we say we believe. As you look at your systems and compare practices to the data, continue to ask questions: Do I have an automatic feeling about discrepancies found in the data? What is that about? Is there a pattern across assessments? How can I become more conscious of these patterns in order to change them? Who can support me and hold me accountable?


RELATIONSHIPS


Reflective Question: How Are My Relationships?


Job-embedded professional development is learning that occurs in action. There are many contexts for professional learning to happen (e.g., knowledge development, collaboration routines, reflective supervisory dialogue and feedback, and transfer to practice supports). All of the formats require teachers to be open to critical feedback and willing to share.


You may ask: How do your organization and your teaching teams support reflective practices? Who will be your accountability partner and brainstorm with you? Are your work relationships inclusive, authentic, and honest? Do you engage with people different from yourself and expose yourself to positive role models within that group (community)? How do you create spaces where you can learn from their expertise and lived experiences?


If you are in a homogenous environment, connect with and learn from resources, organizations, and communities that differ from you. Go outside your normal boundaries and invite people you don’t usually talk with into conversations. Be an active listener to what they want you to know about them and their culture. Relationships are necessary for unifying our communities. As stated in an old proverb, “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.”

Connecting and creating relationships may cause friction at times, but it fortifies both people in the end. As we strive to build a future that values diversity, equity, and inclusion, we must be willing to do the reflective and sometimes messy work of tearing down our biases.


If you would like to hear some of my journey, check out this video: Tearing Down Implicit Bias Through Embedded Reflective Practices.

Melinda Young, M.Ed., is an Assessor and Training Specialist and a member of the McCormick Center for Early Childhood Leadership Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Task Force. She is an experienced preschool teacher, center director, mentor, and trainer for early childhood educators. Melinda’s mission is to teach and encourage teachers to be reflective in their practice, so they can take steady steps of action to impact children’s lives positively.

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The Ants Go Marching

By Cara Murdoch • February 16, 2026
In early childhood education and care (ECEC), we know that some of the simplest ideas can carry the biggest lessons—and many of us have been singing “The Ants Go Marching” for years without realizing it might also be a leadership guide. Ants may be tiny, but their colonies run on teamwork, communication, flexibility, and a clear sense of purpose—all things ECEC programs rely on every day. By taking a closer look at how ants work together to support their colony, early childhood leaders can discover practical and familiar ways to strengthen teamwork, value every role, and lead programs where everyone is marching in the same direction for children and families. Ants are busy creatures; they work with a purpose and know their jobs in the colony. Ants exhibit teamwork and collective effort. Ant colonies demonstrate intelligence, division of labor, communication systems, and cooperative behaviors. They can recognize and respond to the colony's needs. They overcome their challenges through trial and error, learning from their experiences, and sometimes even develop innovative strategies. In the ant colony, individual ants work together as a unit, each with a unique role that determines the colony's survival and success. The ant colony functions just like a superorganism, where the actions of each individual ant are a part of the highly efficient system that supports the whole colony. This concept of collective action is closely related to human teamwork! Ants have a lot to teach us, as we work in ECEC. teamwork Just as ants collaborate, relying on their communication and coordination to complete tasks, humans thrive when working together, as each individual brings their own unique skills and perspectives to their “colony.” Ants depend on each other. Each ant has a specialized job, and the colony relies on the cooperation and coordination of all its members to thrive and survive. Each ant’s contribution, no matter how small it may seem, is vital to the success of the colony as a whole, and the strength of the group is built on the cooperation of each individual. Similarly, in ECEC programs, teamwork — working together and helping one another —leads to better results than trying to do everything alone! When we collaborate, we pool our strengths, share our knowledge, and support each other, which can lead to more creative and efficient solutions. Each person in the program brings unique skills and perspectives, filling gaps and helping compensate for one another’s weaknesses. This shared effort allows your program to tackle tasks and achieve goals that would be difficult, if not impossible, for one individual to accomplish on their own... just like in an ant colony! Adapting to face challenges Ants are highly adaptable creatures. Have you ever watched a disrupted colony hurry to move the uncovered eggs to a protected space? They respond quickly to changes or disruptions in their environment. Their ability to quickly assess new situations and adjust their behavior will help the colony continue to function efficiently, even when the unexpected happens. Their adaptability is the key to their survival, allowing them to overcome obstacles and thrive. Early childhood programs also need to adapt to challenges. When unexpected changes occur, each person needs to be flexible and find new ways to contribute to the program's success. Just as ants adjust, programs must reassess their strengths, collaborate, and develop alternative solutions. Adaptability is essential for proper teamwork! honoring individual roles In an ant colony, different ants take on very specific roles. There are worker ants, soldier ants, and the queen ant. Each ant’s role is crucial to the success and survival of the colony, and all roles are interdependent; they work together to achieve common goals. This division of labor that exists in an ant colony can be compared to the different roles and unique talents found in an ECEC program. Just as ants rely on each other to perform specific tasks, each ECEC team member brings their own expertise and skills to the program. In a project or workplace setting, one person may excel at brainstorming creative ideas, another might be skilled at organizing tasks and managing timelines, and someone else may be particularly adept at technical skills or problem-solving. This diversity of roles within a team ensures that every aspect of a project or goal receives focused attention. In center-based programs, there are the director, teachers, kitchen staff, and other roles as needed. The diversity of roles in a program helps to ensure that the program is successful and thrives. clear purpose and goals In an ant colony, survival is the common goal. The colony’s success depends on each member performing its specific role. Their unwavering focus on the survival of the colony is connected to their success. It demonstrates the power of their collective action, driven by a clear and unified goal. ECEC programs thrive when they are aligned around a shared and clear purpose and goals. When program members understand and commit to their common goals, the well-being and growth of children and families, their efforts will become more effective and coordinated. Just as ants bring different strengths to the program, each person brings different strengths to the program. It is alignment around shared goals that enables the program to overcome challenges and succeed. When everyone in the program is clear on the goals and helps work together toward them, the whole program becomes more focused, resilient, and motivated - just as an ant colony becomes stronger when every member is working toward survival! Ants work together harmoniously to achieve their common goals; they set aside individual competition in favor of colony cooperation. Each ant focuses on its specialized task. This spirit of ant cooperation is key to the colony's survival and success, as it enables the colony to accomplish more complex tasks than any single ant could manage alone. ECEC programs can benefit from adopting a similar approach that emphasizes collaboration and shared goals over individual achievement. In an ECEC program, when members support each other and work together, they can leverage each person’s strengths to accomplish more than they could individually. Instead of competing for recognition or resources, each member can focus on the program’s success, fostering a more positive and productive environment. learning from ants Ants have so much to teach ECEC programs when it comes to cooperating and working together as an effective team. Whether it's knowing your own role and abilities, supporting each of your fellow team members, communicating clearly and effectively, being flexible, or avoiding competition, the ant colony is an excellent example of these qualities! Let your ants go marching!!! Ant Life, author unknown I am just an ant, A small life is what I live, But I have dreams for bigger things And so much more to give If only I could grow A foot or two would do I could live a life That others look up to.
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