Tuesday, January 17, 2017

Reinforcing the Importance of Diversity in Middle School

By the age of 11 or 12, adjusting to the diversity of life is a necessity for children. In America, we share cultural roots with every country on Earth, including racial differences, spiritual belief systems, and having different abilities in many ways. Human diversity is a fact of life, and addressing those differences in an important aspect of education in middle school.

Cultural Diversity

Whether your origins are English, Japanese, or Haitian Creole, your household has cultural customs that may not be practiced by your neighbors. In middle school, understanding the cultural heritage of many people helps students interact and be more accepting of others.

Ethnic Attitudes

At the core of many disputes in the world today are ethnic attitudes and bias against our fellow human beings. In middle school, children should be investigating the similarities of all people, learning how our differences in appearance and attitude have come to be. More importantly, focusing on how all of our ethnicities combine to make this a strong nation will add to the richness of classroom activities.

Spiritual Acceptance

A cornerstone of the United States Constitution is our separation of church and state. This does not mean that we should all practice the same faith system or ignore them all completely. It means that everyone’s spiritual beliefs should be accepted equally, and we must all practice tolerance for others. This is a difficult hurdle for many young people to cross, but doing so will open their minds to exciting new horizons.

Differences in Abilities

Most students are physically and mentally similar, but there will always be those who have special needs or difficulties. From dyslexia to missing limbs, the fact that some people are not as able bodied is a good place to learn about tolerance. The classroom is a good place to investigate ways to be helpful and courteous to everyone, even those who are different.

Addressing Bullying

The root cause of bullying lies with the perceive differences between one person and another. Whether it is because of silly differences such as height or weight, or more complex diversities such as cultural misunderstandings or physical disabilities, students need to learn to work together for the common good. It may be tempting to draw artificial lines between those who are like us and those who are different from us, but doing so is more likely to cause problems than to solve them.

The world is filled with diversity. That is what makes our planet an amazing and exciting place. Learning to understand and work within the bounds of our human differences will lead to a more satisfying and successful adulthood. By teaching middle school students the importance of caring and sharing regardless of aesthetic differences, you are enabling them to integrate better in society, and that is a lesson they will benefit from for the rest of their lives.

The teachers and staff at the Montessori School of Flagstaff Cedar Campus encourage students throughout middle school to accept diversity in its many forms. Teachers foster teamwork and focus on teaching the student as a global, well-rounded citizen. Call us today to schedule a tour and learn how our middle school can have a positive impact on expanding your child's understanding of the world.
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Author: verified_user