This chapter was actually very surprising for me. In the text it stated "although young children are just beginning to distinguish between racial and ethnic groups, they have already formed some racial biases and preferences" (p. 410). I have always thought that these ideas didn't form until much later in a child's development. I have always loved the fact that the younger children are the more innocent they are and this goes along with the fact that I have always seen young children as being unbiased. Since the book also mentions however "for many children, their first opportunity to interact with someone from a different ethnic or racial group will occur in a school setting (p. 407). With this being the case it makes sense to me that teachers definitely need to know how to deal with and address differences in a way that will produce adults that are open and accepting of others.
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I also thought that this was interesting. I thought that children form their racial biases at an older age. In thinking about this I guess that it make good sense because children learn alot in thier earlier ages from thier parents. If they are around and hear different racial profiles alot then since they are children they may start to copy and imitate what they see and hear. I grew up in an Italian neighborhood in NY and from the time I was 3 to until I was 14 I went to school with only Italians. High School was a big change for me to see other races intercating. It was definitely a good change, not really a big deal for me, but for some of the other students I had gone to school with it was a big change. So I agree that teachers need to know how to deal with it.
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