My husband and I were delighted when we learned that the student body of our local elementary school was very diverse, with students from many different countries. We believed this was going to be a wonderful learning experience for our two sons, but we weren’t sure exactly what to expect. We have many memories from those years of international dinners, field trips and friendships that have remained strong. However, what I remember most vividly was a valuable lesson my younger son, Lawton, learned in kindergarten. He came home complaining that the some of the other children didn’t pay attention when his teacher, Mrs. Bennett, read a story. This bothered him and he wanted to know why. I suggested that maybe the children didn’t understand the story because they spoke a different language. Again, he wanted to know why and I could tell my explanation didn’t really satisfy him. He thought that maybe they just didn’t know how to behave, but he wasn’t really sure. He found out the next day.
lisa
Mrs. Bennett was an astute, sensitive teacher, and she saw that a divide was developing in her classroom. She decided to try to help the children bridge their differences with a common experience. She knew enough Spanish to read La Gallinita Roja, or The Little Red Hen, to her class. My son and many of his English-speaking classmates couldn’t understand the words and they were frustrated. He was amazed to see that the children who hadn’t paid attention the day before were totally engrossed. This realization was the dawning of a new awareness of how big the world really is.
We very much wanted to raise our children to become compassionate young men. As they grew older, we saw that these early relationships with children and families from different cultures were having an impact on how they viewed other people in general. Today, they are wonderfully nonjudgmental individuals that truly appreciate and value differences in others.
At Primrose, the school year begins with four weeks dedicated to celebrating cultures with curriculum about children, music, sports and animals around the world. Children learn about diversity and gain an awareness of how people and customs around the world are different and alike. Another way we do this is by incorporating Spanish vocabulary and “polite conversation” into Circle Time every day for children three and older. Here are a few tips you can try at home to teach your children to value and celebrate cultural similarities and differences:
• Understanding others begins with an understanding of yourself. Show pictures of family members and talk about each person. Children love and remember stories, so share a favorite story or something you personally remember about that person. This builds a child’s awareness of family history and culture.
• Share your family’s cultural heritage through music. Play music from your family’s country of origin, your region of the United States, or favorite songs you sang as a child. Then play music from other cultures or parts of the country. Can you hear the differences? What are they? How are they the same?
• Seek out opportunities for your children to interact with children from different countries and cultures. Getting to know families that are different from your own can increase your family’s appreciation of cultural similarities and differences. The world our children will inhabit as adults will be one that requires an acceptance of diversity and a willingness to search for shared values.
• Research has shown that reading to children has the largest impact on their future success in school. It is also one of the best ways to introduce them to different types of families, children and people from all over the world. Book characters and storylines are great starting points for discussions on cultural diversity. Look for books that have characters your child can identify with even though they might have different customs. Some suggestions include:
o It’s Okay to Be Different by Todd Parr
o Children from Australia to Zimbabwe: A Photographic Journey Around the World by Maya Ajmera and Anna Rhesa Versola
o The Crayon Box that Talked by Shane Derolf
• Remember, a preschooler’s concept of the world is relatively small and concrete. It is limited primarily to family, neighborhood and school. Help them expand their ideas and create a bigger concept of the world by finding ways for them and your whole family to experience and celebrate cultural similarities and differences. Visit museums, festivals, ethnic restaurants and other places that will help your child learn about various customs, cultures and lifestyles.
We are our children’s first and most influential teachers, and they learn so much from watching us. They notice our verbal and nonverbal responses to other people. As parents, we have to develop a whole new self-awareness of our own attitudes and actions. Decide what kind of example you want to set every day and let that be what your children see. You may not notice the impact these early experiences have on them immediately, but they are likely to have lasting effects.
