Photo by Artem Kniaz on Unsplash
When adults, conscious and aware of other’s feelings, can still be discriminatory, teaching children about diversity can be challenging but never impossible.
Inclusivity is a glue that holds people together with peace. It allows them to respect and consider each other’s emotions and opinions, creating a harmonious world. However, no matter how requisite this skill is to life, it’s still pretty challenging to practice.
Humans can be visual and tend to categorize. They’re fond of moving and removing things depending on how comfortable and alike they feel with them. The more similar they are, the more aligned they feel energy-wise, the more they culture a sense of affinity with them. When there are billions of people on earth and countless things in existence, why do people do this?
Nitpicking and categorizing may be exhausting, but this gives them a sense of order. In a chaotic world, being together with people who share a level of sameness allows them a glimpse of certainty and familiarity against the unknown. This affinity is the body’s intrinsic means to gain control over the complex world, seeking certainty and a stable environment. Hence, it’s a given they may naturally veer and prefer those who practice preferential treatment towards them.
Yet, This Cultures A Discriminant Society
Humanity should be deemed as a large family, and as family members, everyone should be given an equal space at the table. They should be treated equally without biases and preferences blurring behavior and motivations. Nobody should be marginalized or left out and treated differently simply because they appear and live with a different culture.
Instead of categorizing and examining for similarities and differences, people should learn to embrace these and look at them as a common trait: being human.
Humanity thrives in belonging. In fact, this is among the reasons why they’ve naturally veered towards categorizing and seeking similarities in everything. However, this pattern has pulled them apart instead of bringing them together. It’s through connection and comfort that people thrive. But in seeking a sense of resemblance, they end up isolating others. And in an increasingly diverse society, this can end up in conflict and discord.
Diversity and inclusion always go hand in hand – a positive correlation. When diversity increases, so should people’s inclusivity. People will encounter those who are very different from them, without similar values, beliefs, and highly distinct appearances. Hence, they should comprehend how to interact and respond to these differences that allow inclusivity rather than isolation.
Teaching Children About Diversity, The Key To Peace
For the longest time, inclusivity has been observed as a moral responsibility. It’s something they must consciously choose and practice. However, it should come naturally. This way, it becomes more engraved and included in people’s character, a natural trait they embody.
When teaching this skill, society must approach it: the earlier, the better.
Teaching children about diversity and the proper way to be inclusive is crucial. They won’t have any trouble welcoming the concept with their innocence and pure motives regarding the world. Instead, they would love to have more friends regardless of similarity, with kindness still strongly present in their lives. This unbiased kindness fosters better communities and kinder adults.
When they’re taught at younger ages, they’re raised to be more empathetic and understanding. Teaching children about diversity encourages them to place themselves in other people’s shoes, better comprehend and acknowledge differences, and know how to react to them. By learning about diversity at earlier ages, people are molded to be tenderhearted, not wanting to hurt or isolate others, regardless of the situation.
Author Dora Przybylek writes about the importance of teaching children about diversity. In one of her children’s books promoting inclusivity, she highlights the happiness this skill provides and gives to children. She emphasizes how this doesn’t only benefit the receiver but also eases and gratifies the individual practicing it. Hence, to be inclusive doesn’t only strengthen communities. Instead, it is also vital for people to find peace within themselves, helping them become happier humans.
However, when discrimination is prevalent in adults, how can they successfully teach children to be inclusive? Although they can be kindhearted, children can also be stubborn.
What is the best way to approach this?
To Be Inclusive Is To Support Individuality
As ironic as it sounds, the most effective way to foster inclusivity is by highlighting and teaching children about diversity. The more people’s uniqueness is observed, the more children will learn to value others. They will begin to see that everyone brings something to the table, and it’s not only themselves that are valuable and worthwhile. Highlighting how different people are will make children love other people more, recognizing their beauty.
When they’re reminded that people are different, living separate lives and practicing different beliefs, it becomes easier to understand they’re also living different circumstances. No two people are alike. Hence, what children are experiencing varies. This teaches them to be careful and considerate when interacting with other people.
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