Today, it is more important than ever to be aware of the people around you. With it being 2019 people are encouraged more and more to express their true selves to society.
Not everyone is raised the same and it is important in this day in age that we start teaching kids from a young age to accept others that look or act differently than them. We need to encourage elementary school kids in the United States to break out of their comfort zones and try new things. This will eliminate the awkwardness of racial bias and make kids more comfortable with cultural differences.
The importance of other cultures and how to appropriately respect them is not well taught throughout the United States public school systems.
An article from pbs.org sad that informing kids from a young age about different cultures will reduce embarrassing moments for parents and inform kids making them less ignorant. The article states “For example, “Mommy, why does that woman look like that?” The typical parental reaction is to attempt to quiet the child and move on as quickly as possible. As adults, we’ve been taught not to ask such questions (at least not out loud). In contrast, children are not yet conditioned to refrain from sharing what they think or asking what they want to know.”
The obstacle to intercultural understanding is that properly communicating is harder than we think. An article from oureverydaylife.com states “Even within the same culture, communication isn’t always easy. Whether you’re a student, businessperson or traveler, knowing the barriers to intercultural communication is the first step to overcoming problems.”
Any new concept outside of our norms and comfort zone comes along with fears and anxieties. Ahmed, The Affective Politics of Fear says that “Fear is the here and the now.” Fear can be a pain because it is an unpleasant form of intensity. Anxiety is more of a feeling while fear is more of an object. For young children not knowing or understanding why someone is wearing a certain thing or doesn’t look a certain way sparks not only fear but anxiety.
Another problem that sparks anxiety and fear is children hearing people talk in different languages. Anzaldua, how to tame a wild tongue Anzaldua says that our tongues have become dry and we have forgotten how to speak. He is saying that the relationship between the two depends on the person that you are talking to. Because when Anzaldua is with his siblings he talks in his “home” tongue and language.
If native children were encouraged to speak with other native children in their native tones then others would be comfortable from a young age making them more aware and not scared when they are older
To fix kids ignorance and prevent them from asking rude questions the school board should implement a curriculum change. This curriculum change would add a section to discuss diversity and why it is important to understand and respect.
By implementing a curriculum change in elementary school across the nation focusing on teaching kids about different cultures and encouraging them to branch out we could reduce the fears and anxieties that make kids unsure.
Expanding children’s international perspectives from a young age will make them aware going forward the rest of their lives. An article from accultra.com said “it is impossible to exist today without interacting with other cultures.”
Overall we need to teach children how to overcome stereotypes. Teachers need to engage their students with positive and effective ways to respect cultural differences.