When a child goes to school, they begin to learn not only the content taught in the classroom, but also how to interact with other people. This second point is, above all, an indication of why it is healthy for children to go to school rather than study alone at home, for example.
School is an environment for interaction, learning, and social development. It’s where children learn that not everyone is the same, that there are different opinions, different ways of looking at life, and many other cultures.
Diversity in schools is fundamental so that a child grows up without prejudice, with an open mind and, consequently, with a healthier social life.
Many people may think that issues such as prejudice and racism don’t affect children and that they should be shielded from them, but the truth is that all types of discriminatory thinking are in large part built during childhood, and the influence of school in preventing these thoughts from turning into something worse in the future is immense.
For this reason, today we are going to address the topic of diversity in schools, its importance, and how it affects children nowadays.
Diversity Needs to Be Valued
The earlier a child learns that different people share the same spaces every day, the healthier it will be for them. When a child is deprived of this exposure to what is different, they may end up feeling uncomfortable with it in the future, which can cause social problems.
Inside classrooms and from a very young age, children should learn to deal with these differences, both in what is taught and in practice, doing group work with different children, playing during recess with kids from other classes, and so on.
Racism and Prejudice
Racism is a reality that exists in our country, unfortunately. But for this to change, our attitude toward this problem must also change. This does not mean you should try to force your children to be friends with kids of another color, for example, but simply that your child should grow up with the idea that skin color does not influence a person in any other aspect of their life.
How to Deal with Diversity in Schools?
When we talk about diversity in schools, we are also talking about encouraging the integration of students of all colors, religions, and social classes present there. In Brazil, this can vary greatly depending on the school a child attends or even the region of the country. However, the idea that needs to be planted in everyone’s mind is the same.
At school, children should also learn that discrimination is something negative. One of the best ways to do this is to prevent “cliques,” which are very common, from looking down on other students for any reason at all.
It may seem trivial, but it is essential both for the child who bullies and for the one who is bullied that this kind of behavior is stopped as soon as possible. As we’ve mentioned, the earlier a child learns to deal with differences, the healthier it will be for them.
All these points are part of the role of an educator. Whether a teacher at elementary level or a subject-specific teacher in later years.
It is of utmost importance that all professionals involved in children’s education are attentive to how they deal with diversity at school. It is the duty of all these professionals to correct mistakes that are common among children, but that should not be carried into adulthood.
Parental Involvement is Essential
The presence of parents makes a total difference and is fundamental for a child’s social development. Knowing this, following your child’s experience and knowing how they deal with diversity at school is an obligation that must be fulfilled.
Remember that children learn much more from their parents’ example than from what is said; in other words, showing acts of good coexistence with differences is an important attitude so that they can mimic this behavior at school.
The opposite is also true: When parents display racist or discriminatory attitudes in front of their children, even unintentionally, they end up letting the child absorb this as normal or correct, which can harm their understanding of diversity.
Of course, there is a generation gap between what many parents learned in childhood and what is taught nowadays, but it is necessary to understand that diversity is an important topic and that some attitudes that were socially acceptable in the past are no longer seen positively today.
Unfortunately, we live in a society where racism, prejudice, and discrimination are real issues that do not only affect adults. And the bigger problem is not just that these attitudes affect children, but that they may end up internalizing and passing on similar behaviors because of how they were raised.
That’s why dealing with diversity in schools is one of the most powerful tools to prevent these problems from persisting in the future. Of course, this is not a job that yields results overnight, and no school can, on its own, turn the world into a better place. But every small action we take is one more step toward a better place for children to grow up.
Also Read: Controversial Topic: Children of Gay Parents
Photo: Cade Martin, Dawn Arlotta
