As part of my assignment this week, I am to “remember a time when I witnessed an adult (or yourself) reprimand or silence a child after he or she pointed out someone they saw as different (e.g., “That lady talks funny,” “That man only has one leg!” “Why is that man so pretty!”) and include what the child said and what the adult did or said in response. I don’t reprimand or silence children when they point out that someone is different. I simply answer their questions. I have never witnessed a child being reprimanded for asking these kinds of questions, neither has any of my friends or family members.
Children are naturally curious and wonder about many things. I have had many students ask why someone is wearing glasses, why someone is a different color or dresses funny. I teach in an all Hispanic environment. Last year, one of my students seemed overly curious and was constantly asking these kind of questions. One day, he looked up and asked me “why are you so white?” My response was that I am not white. I quickly pulled out a piece of white paper and put it up to my skin to show that my coloring is not white. It started a discussion amongst the students about the different peoples of the world and all the different colors of skin. The students wanted paper, and so I pulled out all colors so they could compare them to their own skin color. They soon began to discover that we are not all the same. Someone then pulled out their crayons and we began comparing crayon colors. It led to a rich discussion of diversity and how we are all different and all alike. We spent several days investigating books about how people are different and began drawing pictures. The message this kind of discussion sends is just as stated, we are all very much different and all very much alike. If a child is reprimanded for curiosity, it is sending the message that there is truly something wrong with being or looking different.
As an anti-bias educator, it is my job to react with understanding. Having posters in my classroom or reading books that show a rich diversity of all kinds of people sends the message that we are all important, no matter who we are. Children are always going to be curious and ask questions. It is up to the adults in their lives to respond with caring and kindness. The only way to do this is to truly believe what you are telling children. You must know and believe that we are all created for a purpose and that every person is special in his/her own unique way. It is also important to celebrate these differences. If we were all the same, the world would be a very boring place!
