ARE WE THE SAME OR ARE WE DIFFERENT? THE IMPORTANCE OF TEACHING DIVERSITY TO VERY YOUNG CHILDREN

Kristina Psotová

Figure1. Diversity. Retrieved from URL (https://cz.pinterest.com/pin/321725967115336091/

It is no longer just the United States but the whole world that is a melting pot of cultures, religions and people of different races. It is very important to celebrate this diversity and to teach our children to do so. Our children will grow up in a very diverse world, and they need to be prepared for it. We as teachers and parents need to guide our children towards understanding and respecting differences amongst people. The sooner we start the better. The best way to introduce diversity to our children is through language development, social skills and setting a good example. This can all be done through play at kindergarten and everyday situations at home.

           In recent years many bilingual kindergartens and nurseries have opened, and the children who attend these schools start acquiring a second language as early as the age of two. Learning a second language is a great tool for understanding diversity and other things besides. Learning a language from an early age provides children with great benefits, such as better reading skills, improved cognitive skills, easier acquisition of accents and phonetic parts of the language, open minds, greater confidence and cultural awareness. There are many more advantages to learning a new language at an early age, but most important of all, from the beginning of their lives children are open to new possibilities and the forever evolving, changing world.

Another important factor in teaching diversity is getting our children to understand, accept and respect differences amongst people. It helps develop their social skills, too. If children start learning a second language at an early age, they are on a great path towards better social skills before they know it. Knowing a second language opens up so many opportunities for them, and it makes them so much more receptive to different cultures. 

But not only language immersion is important. When we immerse our children in a culturally diverse class, introducing them to different cultures early on works as well as language immersion does. These children become more comfortable with different cultures, religions, races, customs and languages, and they grow up to be more open-minded and respectful towards others. 

How to incorporate diversity into your classroom 

Children are very observant, and they learn by example and observing adults. Therefore, it is very important for us to set a good example. In today’s world we are surrounded by so much negativity and hatred, not least in the media and on the internet. Very young children are very good at using tablets, computers, TVsand phones, sometimes without us even realizing it. So we need to be observant and careful. We as teachers and parents need to respond openly to our children’s questions. We need to reassure them that being different is OK, and we should provide them with as much positive cultural experience as possible.