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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The Importance of Cultural Diversity in Daycare

Increasing diversity is the norm for today’s society. Culture generally refers to the different types of traditions, beliefs, and values within a group of people. Children may live in a household with one culture or numerous integrated cultures. Entering into a daycare environment introduces children to more cultural diverse peers and, caregivers and educators.

Since children are born with a natural curiosity to learn about the world around them, cultural diversity should be part of the daycare curriculum. Introducing cultural diversity may provide children with the idea that everyone is different but still share many common traits. With the right approach, daycare providers have a chance to teach children to value and celebrate the uniqueness of living in a diverse society.

The Importance of Cultural Diversity

By incorporating cultural diversity into daycare routines, children will understand the importance of being a citizen in a multicultural environment. Children as young as two years of age begin to notice physical differences in people. Daycare providers can introduce cultural diversity as a way to improve social behaviors.

• Set an Example: Educators can lead by example. When young children view adults acting positive toward others, children will mimic the actions.
• Answer Questions: Provide truthful, simple answers to cultural diverse questions. Pointing out differences and sharing similarities can help raise self-awareness. As young children begin to learn and ask more questions, the educator has a chance to promote self-esteem within the day care setting.
• Vocabulary: Help children build a positive vocabulary for cultures and society differences. Sharing correctly pronounced words builds a broader vocabulary.
• Integrate Cultural Diverse Activities: Supply numerous types of activities and projects with various types of cultural differences.
• Books: Read books and fill the bookshelf with different cultural stories and backgrounds. Even younger children can look at the pictures and notice the differences.
• Introduce Cultures: Explore different cultures around the world. The simplest lesson or project can introduce the value of being part of a global citizenship.
• Music: Use songs and musical instruments to experience music from around the world. Daycare educators are in the unique position to encourage, support, and highlight cultural differences.  By promoting cultural diversity, children become self-aware of the differences within the classroom environment.  The positive reinforcement of celebrating differences while recognizing similarities promotes cultural diversity awareness.

Montessori Children’s Center embraces cultural diversity into their curriculum. If you would like more information on the value of a culturally diverse classroom, contact us to set up a tour of the school. Our friendly educators are more than happy to answer all of your questions.

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Cultural Diversity In The Preschool Environment

The Right School

It is difficult to choose which preschool will offer the best opportunity for your child to learn. The formative years are very impressionable so there is a lot of pressure to make the ‘right’ choice. Children thrive in a preschool program that will not only help with academic learning, but also experiential learning.

Whatever type of school environment you choose, they will share a classroom with children who come from diverse cultures and backgrounds. This gives your child the opportunity to learn about others as well as how different cultures and religions perceive similar situations.

Diversity in Preschool

One of the best programs available for preschoolers is at a Montessori school. These schools concentrate on helping a child learn through discovery. Instead of having children memorize lessons and take standardized tests, the instructors work with each child individually so that she can learn more from her surroundings.

Montessori schools respect the individuality of each child as she discovers the world on her own terms. During this discovery, children learn how to interact with others who have different backgrounds. Montessori programs welcome the diversity that comes from each child. In fact, the core principle of the school is accepting diversity as a way to gain better knowledge, understanding and acceptance of those cultural variances.

Any differences help a Montessori school grow. The more a child is exposed to other cultures and upbringings, the more they will learn about themselves and the importance of interacting with others in the school. Effective schools can encourage children to:

• Build an environment of peace, equality and justice
• Support inclusion and teamwork
• Embrace curiosity about differences in others
• Recognize and discard prejudices

Schools with this kind of cultural diversity are found throughout California. Montessori programs are offered in all nine Bay Area counties. We welcome you to contact us to schedule a tour to see for yourself how the children learn and respond to this type of environment and curriculum.

Every Montessori program is instilled with the same fundamental principles of:

Self-respect

•      Respect for Earth and humanity
• ·      Integrity in everything
•     Patience in child development

Your children will come to know the importance and benefit of cultural diversity through their own involvement rather than from a book. Contact our school in Fremont today to see this process in action.

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