Reality, racism, and respect are fundamental to early childhood learning and essentially fundamental to the infrastructure of the United States of America. The three R’s were the focus of a conference sponsored by the department of education Tuesday. The conference, which was held to address fallacies being taught in the classroom and how to deal with racism, was attended by NIU students, faculty and staff, as well as members of other schools.

Students who participated in the event created methods for dealing with these issues through exhibits on display in the Holmes Student Center’s Duke Ellington Ballroom.

“My cohorts and I have come together to present many different aspects of early childhood development and how children will grow and prosper,” said Chastity Crowder, a junior interdisciplinary early childhood studies major.

Two speakers, June Gordon, professor of education at the University of California at Santa Cruz, and Joe Feagin, graduate research professor of sociology at the University of Florida, educated attendees on the topic of institutional racism in the classroom.

Gordon stated that there was a significantly low percentage of minorities entering the teaching field.

Feagin spoke about his findings in studying various daycares and how impressionable children can be. Feagan suggested that in order to combat this, educators must stop presenting a biased view of American history.

“We as white people have moved away from recognizing fundamental racism and are taught misinformation about the origin of racism in the U.S.,” Feagin said.

In his presentation, he discussed his observations.

Children as young as three were exhibiting racist behavior toward minority children, and he also found that these young children already knew at such a young age that being white was a privilege in this country. He spoke about a young white child who would not allow an Asian American child pull a wagon because “only white americans pull a wagon.”

Feagin went on to say that whites have been privileged because they have obtained wealth over the decades by the enslavement of Africans and African Americans. He then addressed ways current and future teachers could work to reverse racist views for children who grow up with sheltered feelings.

“With this event, we hoped to create awareness among students and teachers and create a forum to discuss issues,” said Moses Mutuku, assistant professor of teaching and learning.