Seeing Diversity Blog: Week 6

Seeing Diversity Blog: “We Don’t Say Those Words in Class!” This is such an interesting blog! I could write volumes!!! I have had this happen so many times. However, I must say that the reaction of the adults in the situation set the tone for the child. For example, while waiting in line at Wal-Mart one day my oldest son asked, “Why does the man behind us have on sunglasses in the store”. The man behind us was blind. I told Noah that God makes everyone special and that the man could not see. Noah just shook his head and said, “like how you don’t make sugar (his reference to my diabetes), his eyes don’t work”. I told him that his statement was true. The man smiled because he had heard our conversation. He asked Noah if he wanted to look at his dog (which was standing on the other side of the cart). Noah was thrilled. The man told Noah that since his eyes did not work, his hearing was extra special. Noah told him that he liked his “extra special power” and because it was snowing outside (and Noah is fixated on Christmas), Noah asked the man if he could hear snow falling. The man told Noah that he never tried, but would when he got outside. This was a very pleasant conversation. However, the interaction could have happened very differently. I think that it is important for the adults to acknowledge the statement and not ignore it. While the adult may not have the exact answer, the adult speak to the child about what they saw. If I would have told Noah to be quiet, he may have thought that he did something wrong or that being blind is something to be ashamed of. The man’s response was also very important. He was very polite and informative. He was very matter-of-fact about being blind. He provided information that helped Noah process the information without bias and promoted acceptance. As an early childhood educator, it is important to acknowledge questions or statements. It is also important to ask questions about the topic (such as why do you think they are different). These questions can start conversations that promote acceptance. I understand that not everyone believes in God and in a public school setting, it is important to remember that. In these instances, one can refer to science as the reasoning for some differences. I think that the misconception about "only teaching white children about diversity" if they are in a group that is diverse is a very important statement (Derman-Sparks & Ramsey, n.d., p.43). What if a child is never in a class with a person who is blind? Should that class not learn about this form of diversity? The fact is diversity is everywhere and teaching children to see the beauty in differences is important.