Teaching "Diversity": A Place to Begin
We all want children to grow up in a world free from bias and discrimination, to reach for their dreams and feel that whatever they want to accomplish in life is possible. We want them to feel loved and included and never to experience the pain of rejection or exclusion. But the reality is that we do live in a world in which racism and other forms of bias continue to affect us. Discrimination hurts and leaves scars that can last a lifetime, affecting goals, ambitions, life choices, and feelings of self-worth.
How can we best prepare children to meet the challenges and reap the benefits of the increasingly diverse world they will inherit? We can raise children to celebrate and value diversity and to be proud of themselves and their family traditions. We can teach children to respect and value people regardless of the color of their skin, their physical abilities, or the language they speak.
Very inspirational. Early childhood professionals should be required to have diversity training to help our diverse families and children. I also like what Louise Derman-Sparks has done in the field.
ReplyDeleteTruly inspiring. Thank you for sharing your blog. Thank you for touching on the subject of diversity. I have been in several Child Development Centers and a Anti-Bias Curriculum is something that most wished they did more of. Like they mentioned, we just do not want to recognize only holidays and celebration, we want to celebrate and respect INDIVIDUALITY.
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