A child's undeveloped sense of self and the world around him is often considered a disadvantage as he struggles to fit together the many confusing pieces of life. However, there are times when this naivete benefits the child's ability to disregard social stigmas and behave without prejudice, which is apparent when kids ignore different ethnic backgrounds and interact with the innocence and open-mindedness of an untainted worldview.
Watching children freely interact in the daycare setting without the slightest inclination toward cultural intolerance illustrates how the preschool environment is often the best place to learn about multicultural relationships and acceptance of other cultures.
Diversity Builds Bridges
The positive impact of diversity in the daycare setting is such that children don't learn to hate people because their skin is a different color, they have funny accents or they practice unfamiliar religious rituals. For example, a Muslim child who prays while at daycare will likely elicit curious glances from other children; once they are taught what their friend is doing and why, they accept it as being different but not something to fear or hate.
Children are blissfully ignorant of cultural intolerance; it's only when they're introduced to other mindsets from external environments that they start to form biased attitudes. Kids are not only products of their immediate environment (family) but also the highly influential elements that reside beyond their periphery (media).
Cultivating a Broad Worldview
Analyzing how children cultivate certain behaviors, have certain experiences and ultimately establish certain interactions with social networks speaks to the powerful force behind worldviews. The cross-cultural aspect of this reality lends itself to a number of implications that create harmful beliefs that prevent harmony among different populations.
The good news, however, is worldviews are not static; just as global society is a constantly changing entity, so too is the potential for people to modify their attitudes in a more positive and proactive way. In short, a child's social identity is inextricably connected to his level of cultural competence; if he doesn't cultivate a broad view of such aspects as race, color, religion, national origin and gender, he will struggle to embrace a multicultural worldview.
Watching children freely interact in the daycare setting without the slightest inclination toward cultural intolerance illustrates how the preschool environment is often the best place to learn about multicultural relationships and acceptance of other cultures.
Diversity Builds Bridges
The positive impact of diversity in the daycare setting is such that children don't learn to hate people because their skin is a different color, they have funny accents or they practice unfamiliar religious rituals. For example, a Muslim child who prays while at daycare will likely elicit curious glances from other children; once they are taught what their friend is doing and why, they accept it as being different but not something to fear or hate.
Children are blissfully ignorant of cultural intolerance; it's only when they're introduced to other mindsets from external environments that they start to form biased attitudes. Kids are not only products of their immediate environment (family) but also the highly influential elements that reside beyond their periphery (media).
Cultivating a Broad Worldview
Analyzing how children cultivate certain behaviors, have certain experiences and ultimately establish certain interactions with social networks speaks to the powerful force behind worldviews. The cross-cultural aspect of this reality lends itself to a number of implications that create harmful beliefs that prevent harmony among different populations.
The good news, however, is worldviews are not static; just as global society is a constantly changing entity, so too is the potential for people to modify their attitudes in a more positive and proactive way. In short, a child's social identity is inextricably connected to his level of cultural competence; if he doesn't cultivate a broad view of such aspects as race, color, religion, national origin and gender, he will struggle to embrace a multicultural worldview.
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