A common misperception in many early childhood environments is the idea that, as one teacher told me, “There’s no diversity in my classroom.” She, and many others, think that a focus on diversity is unnecessary in an apparently homogeneous classroom.
“Shouldn’t I focus young children on what is in their environment?” I’ve heard this many times at trainings and classes. Perhaps the classroom teacher or childcare provider lives in a rural community. Maybe children and families of primarily one racial background live in the area. So the teacher struggles to figure out how to teach children about diversity when there isn’t much of it in their lives. To their statement I say, “Think again.”
It is crucial to incorporate diversity in an early childhood setting, for several reasons. First, these children will grow and live in a global environment. It’s our job to get them ready for that. Their communities will change with time, as many communities already have. Many children will not live in the same place their entire childhood. Second, diversity is more than skin color. Children come from families that are diverse in many ways. They are diverse in income levels, family structure and traditions. Children themselves are diverse in size, hair and eye color and ability.
Teachers and childcare providers should display images of diversity. This will work to show children that people with different skin tones, gender, clothing styles, size and shape fill many roles in a community. These images will help children to avoid stereotyping people by their appearance.
Because children in early childhood learn through concrete experiences, materials that show a variety of people doing things like the children and their families do will be meaningful. Whenever possible, diverse guests can show children that people who look different do similar things that are familiar to children. In addition, materials like these should be chosen to expose children to diversity:
- Posters that depict diverse individuals doing activities with which children can connect;
- Books with diverse characters who share similar experiences with children in the classroom as well as those that discuss variety in traditions and activities;
- Puppets and dolls that are diverse;
- Parent handbooks, newsletters and other materials that illustrate diverse families and
- Activities that show appreciation of differences in children and others.
Here are some activities from Teaching Tolerance to try in the classroom. Many Shapes and Sizes offers ways to show appreciation of body sizes among children. To help children understand that people come in many colors, try What Can We Learn From a Box of Crayons? And to reinforce a child’s acceptance of their own and others’ abilities, try I Am Special.
When working with young children, remember that they will be exposed to many differences in others as they grow and explore the world. Help them to know that while their current environment and the people they interact with now may be one way, there are many exciting people and experiences that fill the world. The world will be their playground.
Benson is an early childhood program director in Michigan.
