AGH!! – Some faith-based programs are nervous, even fearful about adding Multicultural Education (ME), or as I call it, Authentic Education (AE) aspects to their curriculum

Here are some FAQ’s that might help dispel that hesitance.

Aren’t preschool children too young for this?  No.  Children begin to see differences in people, objects, textures, etc., before they are two years of age.  Sometimes children fear things that are new to them.  If we begin early enough to show them that “different” doesn’t mean “bad”, we can alleviate the fear and any misconceptions and increase knowledge and encourage feelings of community.

Doesn’t celebrating diversity and pointing out differences encourage prejudice rather than reduce it?  No.  Although there is a normal human fear or hesitancy to immediately accept people who appear different from them, children learn overt prejudice from the reactions, actions, and words of adults who have either ‘inherited’ their feelings from others or have had unfortunate experiences which have engendered their feelings.  Showing differences in a positive light and introducing children to persons, objects, and expressions that differ from their own life experience without judgment creates tolerance and reduces prejudice.

Won’t some parent disapprove of this?  Yes. It may happen that parents who do not have a full understanding of the benefits of ME/AE to their child’s intelligence and social development may be hesitant to accept it.  Teachers need to educate parents, be clear in communicating the need for ME/AE and must be careful to developmentally and openly present FACTS about similarities and differences.

Isn’t this a politically liberal fad in early childhood education that undermines the belief in traditional family values?  No.  ME may have begun in response to the idea that early childhood education was not as inclusive as it should be for minority children, but after many years of study by educators it has been found that an ME/AE aspect added to any already valuable program only strengthens that program and strengthens the cognitive, social, and emotional skills of its children.

Doesn’t it cost a lot in time, effort and money?  No.  If a program is already meeting all other licensing standards, all that needs to be done is to train parents and teachers, use family input in creating appropriate experiences, review materials and classroom displays to assure the creation of a natural and real life view of the world, and possibly purchase, borrow, or create appropriate materials from existing resources.

So. . .

Me Like ME! – To me, your author, ME/AE is just plain right.  It encourages the values of pride, self-respect, respect for others, community, kindness, open-mindedness, empathy, fairness, and peace. As you can see by the last blog, the emphasis in the concepts is not on ethnicity and faith, but on authenticity. I like the children I teach to be prepared for the world as it is. No surprises!

Next Blog: How to Add ME/AE to your Learning Community