Children’s Museum of Houston Employees Take Miller Early Childhood Initiative Workshop

Date: October 20, 2009

Thirteen employees of the Children's Museum of Houston and two employees from Cathedral House Montessori participated in a recent workshop of the Miller Early Childhood Initiative of the A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE® Institute.

The two-day workshop provided scenarios, experiential activities and other tools to help early childhood educators and caregivers the ability to recognize their own prejudices.  The educators also learned how to avoid transferring those prejudices to young children, and how to prevent and respond to bias in pre-school age children. 

"My goal in facilitating the workshop," said Pam Autio, Southwest Region Assistant Project Director for the Miller Early Childhood Initiative, "was to provide information about diversity and terminology for them to examine their own biases, and to provide them with the tools to ensure a better environment for the children for whom they care."  Autio facilitated the workshop along with Dawn Mays Floyd.

Participants in the workshop overwhelmingly gave it high marks in evaluations.  They seemed especially grateful for pamphlets and written materials they received that will help remind them of what they learned.  One wrote, "I love the activity books," and another said she would be able to use them "later in life, maybe for my future children."