Start Seeing Diversity

Start Seeing Diversity: "WE DON'T SAY THOSE WORDS!"

Preschooler’s questions reveal their power of observation, their curiosity, and their efforts to make sense of what they see (Sparks, & Edwards, 2010). The question asked by this four year old during a home visit was, “Why are you talking like that? Do you speak Spanish?” The parent with a long stare at the child whispered, “This is not so nice, don’t be rude.” The child was sent to her room and as we continued in our conversation the parent apologized for the child’s comments.

In my opinion, the messages communicated include:

It is embarrassing to observe, identify, and talk about differences among others. Also,   the parent is saying to the child that something is "wrong" with the question and with the person who is different.  I want you to be confused and uncomfortable with the differences among you because differences do not exist and I am not concern about differences.

Supporting the four year old:

 Before giving or answering the questions I would have asked the four year old questions like; “Do you understand your teacher when she talks with you?” “Do you talk Spanish too?”  Or, “Why do you think she talks Spanish?” Do you know anyone else who talks like your teacher? When talking to children, keep their age and developmental stage in mind. Use words and descriptions they can understand (Kupetz, n. d.). For instance, in this case it was important to make the child know that there are different languages in the world we live in. Further, different people speak different languages and thus may sound different from you.  Some people speak Spanish, some speak French, while others speak English and others speak Arabic. Your teacher speaks the same language (English) like you but sounds differently.  We are different in many ways; the way we walk, the color of our skin and hair. The way we talk is just another way we are different.     

References

Kupetz, B. (n. d.) Do You See What I See? Appreciating Diversity in Early Childhood Settings. Retrieved from http://www.earlychildhoodnews.com/earlychildhood/article_view.aspx?ArticleID=147

Sparks, L. D., & Edwards, J. L. (2010). Anti-bias education for young children and ourselves.

 National Association for the Education of the Young Child.

    Library of Congress, Washington D.C. 20005-4101