Research and Articles

Research & Articles: Celebrate Diversity!

Marilyn Lopes
Extension Specialist, Family Life Education
Cape Cod Extension
University of Massachusetts

Children are growing up in exciting times. We live in a diverse world. Just think about the different languages people speak. Think about the many ways people fix their hair. Listen to the variety of music styles and instruments. It is isn't necessary to travel to another state or country to find differences. Diversity is all around us. It is as close as the nearest TV, magazine, home, school, or store.

To live joyful, interesting lives and to be at peace with each other, people must appreciate each other's differences, as well as their similarities. Children are learning to do this today in family day care, their own homes, and everywhere they go!

Communities are more multicultural. Many family day care providers care for children with diverse backgrounds. As a result, we are getting to know more about other ethnic groups and cultures.

In some family day care programs, all of the children are from the same ethnic or racial group. If your community is not very diverse, you have an additional responsibility to the children in your care. They will soon be going to school with people from other backgrounds. Right from the start, it is important for you to make opportunities for them to celebrate diversity.

At first, children will notice differences among themselves. You should help them appreciate how wonderful it is that Rhonda has curly, black hair and that Amy has long, brown hair.

As they grow, they will begin to understand the greater diversity that exists in the world. This is the beginning of a multicultural, anti-bias curriculum.

A multicultural approach to working with young children is based on appreciating many human differences. The obvious ones include culture, race, occupation, income level, age, gender, religion, sexual orientation, and physical ability and disability.

Sometimes it is easier to get a handle on an idea when you know what it isn't as well as what it is. An anti-bias multicultural approach is NOT:

• Reading a book about Chanukah each December

• Cooking tortillas for lunch during Mexican week

• Taking a field trip to the Chinese New Year parade

• A lesson once in a while on not hurting each other

• Making maracas for the musical instrument collection

• Covering the children's eyes so they can feel what it is like to have their vision impaired.

Activities such as these can be valuable if they are just some of the ways your program appreciates individual differences. If anti-bias, multicultural activities are scattered about the year or are seen as a quick way to get in some multiculture, they can be harmful. Children may not understand how the ideas connect to their lives. Diversity should be celebrated every day in many different ways.

DOCUMENT USE/COPYRIGHT
National Network for Child Care - NNCC. Part of CYFERNET, the National Extension Service Children Youth and Family Educational Research Network. Permission is granted to reproduce these materials in whole or in part for educational purposes only (not for profit beyond the cost of reproduction) provided that the author and Network receive acknowledgment and this notice is included:

Reprinted with permission from the National Network for Child Care - NNCC. (1993). Celebrate diversity! In M. Lopes (Ed.) CareGiver News (July, p.3). Amherst, MA: University of Massachusetts Cooperative Extension.

Any additions or changes to these materials must be preapproved by the author.

COPYRIGHT PERMISSION ACCESS
Gretchen May
Draper Hall
Univeristy of Massachusetts
40 Campus Center Way
Amherst, MA 01003-9244
VOICE: 413-577-0332
FAX: 413-545-1002
E-MAIL: gmay@umext.umass.ed