Diversity is a crucial aspect that children need to be introduced to early in their lives. The world would be a better place if children could further develop their skills to include everyone. Furthermore, the current state of the news in the United States reflects a lack of empathy. Our goal is to help children understand others who are different. Children must learn to include people of various colors, cultures, genders, religions, etc. In addition, children who are exposed to more diversity will help them feel comfortable in any environment that is new or different to them. 

Moreover, children start forming opinions and biases early in their childhood. Children start noticing differences such as race and skin tone as early as the age of 3 or 4. In addition to this, A site called Anti-Bias Leaders ECE has a video that dives into how diversity affects young children. For example, the video states, “Children at this age (3 or 4) are constantly looking at what’s different, what’s familiar” (2:42). Clearly, a young child at the age of three or four needs assistance going through diversity. It’s crucial that educators and parents must inform children that differences are good. Educators must teach children that everyone should be respected and included, no matter how different they might seem. 

Furthermore, educators must do activities with children that promote and include diversity. Very often, children will unintentionally exclude other children without knowing it. For example, a teacher decided to explore and talk about the Day of the Dead, a Latino holiday. However, many children who don’t celebrate this holiday decided it’s not worth listening to. At this point, an educator must step in and explain how this holiday matters to a lot of students. In addition, an educator should try to help those students be more empathetic. They should help by telling those students to imagine being their peers and see things from their point of view. The aftermath of this should help all students understand each other better and help them accept different cultures. Once again, the site called Anti-Bias Leaders has a similar take on this stance. In the video, an educator called Barbara Obrain states, “ Inclusion is the best way for every child to learn” (2:48). This teaching strategy is crucial. All educators should make sure they are teaching children to include everyone. 

Moving on, educators and parents must also strive towards acknowledging their implicit biases. Doing this will help them and how they educate students. Doing self-reflection as an educator is significantly beneficial. Doing a personal reflection will help with professional growth, improved practices, and a deeper understanding of one's own teaching philosophies. Once again, an article titled NAEYC has a related view on this matter. Within the article, it states, “Like all people, early childhood educators also have and must recognize the ethical and moral obligations they have to themselves and their own well-being” (p. 2). It cannot be stated enough that self-reflection is pivotal for every educator. Doing this will greatly help you teach children about diversity and acknowledge the implicit biases that we all have.

References:

LeeKeenan, Debbie, et al. “Reflecting on Anti-Bias Education in Action: The Early Years.” Anti-Bias Leaders in Early Childhood Education, 2021, www.antibiasleadersece.com/the-film-reflecting-on-anti-bias-education-in-action/.   

NAEYC. “Code of Ethics.” NAEYC, 2024, www.naeyc.org/resources/position-statements/code-of-ethics.