The AMAZE Curriculum

Students learn best when they are known, seen, safe, and valued; and their critical-thinking skills increase when they are taught to view history, literature, and current events from multiple perspectives. This curriculum approach gets underway in junior kindergarten.

Even though our youngest students are just five and six years old, parents and teachers alike ask ourselves, “What skills do we want these children to leave Country Day with upon graduating?” It is certain that we all want our children to come away with strong reading comprehension and writing skills, deep math and science literacy, and a strong knowledge base of past and current events, along with a host of other tangible abilities.

A “softer” skill set, but no less important, falls under the umbrella of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). In fact, our Affirmation of Community calls on us to develop curriculum that equips students to think critically, to act respectfully, and to show sensitivity to the needs and feelings of others in preparation for success in local and global communities. That’s because when we create a learning environment in which every child feels known, seen, safe, and valued, they are more willing to take risks. That leads to a greater depth of understanding, builds critical thinking skills, and improves the academic experience.

A meta-analysis of research published in the journal Child Development showed an 11 percentile gain in academic achievement for students who participated in a well-implemented social/emotional learning program versus students who didn’t.

Mirrors and Windows

Children are naturally curious, and at a very early age, they recognize similarities and differences. What they don’t do—at least at first—is ascribe a value to those differences. The intentional DEI and social/emotional learning work we do in the junior kindergarten and kindergarten classrooms lays the groundwork for continued openness to and respect for difference in developmentally appropriate ways.

“Over the past two years, we have fortified our classroom culture and settings with the AMAZE curriculum,” explains junior kindergarten teacher Amy Ilfeld, who helped pilot the program for the Lower School. “In a nutshell, the AMAZE program provides children with dolls, conversation, and high-quality literature that mirrors their own likes and dislikes, physical features, and home life. The program tools also provide a window into differences such as family structure, socioeconomic status, or heritage.”

The role of play to explore human differences and reduce bias is a newer addition to the curriculum that is proving very powerful. As anyone with young children knows, at this age, they still view inanimate objects as having real personalities and real feelings, so the dolls become “classmates.” For instance, during a recent lesson, Mrs. Ilfeld introduced “Rahma” to the class, which she summarized this way:

“I told the children that Rahma lives with her mom, and her sister, her ‘aunt,’ and her aunt’s two children from Somalia. Rahma is shy and loves books. I shared with the children that Rahma wears a hijab as part of her Muslim religion and that in order to respect her beliefs, they shouldn’t tug on the hijab or take it off her head. The curious children asked all kinds of questions and were delighted to learn that, just like many of them, Rahma loves macaroni and cheese and reading books about elephants. Because we had been learning about building, I finished the lesson by asking the children to create a space that would feel comfortable and safe for Rahma using various mediums, such as building blocks and crayons. One child showed me her drawing of a house and added that she was going to draw a Christmas tree for Rahma. This created an opportunity for an age-appropriate discussion about holiday traditions that addressed awareness of, and respect for, Rahma’s values.”

When we create a learning environment in which every child feels known, seen, safe, and valued, they are more willing to take risks. That leads to a greater depth of understanding, builds critical thinking skills, and improves the educational experience.

Launching Discussion

The dolls are complimented by powerful picture books to help launch discussions and give children a foundation for understanding themselves and others. Young children often think that if someone is alike in one way, they must be alike in another way. This “transductive reasoning” is often applied to gender—“I am a girl and I like dancing, so being a girl makes people good at dancing.”

To disrupt this pattern of thinking and teach children to think about people in more complex ways, discussions take place about stereotype, and teachers read books that dismantle a single perspective on what it means to be a girl or boy.

“The incredible conversations we have with young children would astound you,” says Mrs. Ilfeld. “They have formed fixed perceptions; and yet, they are open to change through discussion. The objective is not to teach a value judgment about difference, but rather to recognize and respect the difference.”

A Foundation to Grow On

At all grade levels, Country Day teachers develop curriculum with intention and purpose to guide our students to be leaders, thinkers, and doers. “As our students define a healthy sense of self, they develop a strong identity, and strong identities have strong voices,” sums up Mrs. Ilfeld. “Whether in the next grade, in college, or the workplace, these are the voices that ask questions such as ‘Why is it like that?’ ‘What can I do?’ One could argue that social and emotional skills empower students to make change. And that will be important for our students to navigate a complex, integrated world.”

– Contributors Lee-Anne Black, Amy Ilfeld, and Adele Paynter

These are a few of the persona dolls used to teach anti-bias to our youngest students.