Post by Jacque Joy on Nov 25, 2016 10:48:15 GMT -8
Im my preschool classroom we havent really had very many cultural differences, but we do have many religious views and differences in family values. Some of our families are christian, and have very open views and some are very conservative. Sometimes even this simple diversity can lead to issues between families and it can be difficult to navigate the hurt feelings as the teachers are often the middle ground in these instances. I have had a family that didnt want their child to play with another child because the girl was allowed to say gosh in her home life, so in order to stop the animosity the mother had been feeling for the child I set a clear guideline with the children about expressions and how to verbalize things such as frustration or surprise, we now say "Oh, peanuts!" we have also had a family that ONLY celebrated Pagan holidays and was extremely offended when the other children spoke of their own religious views at home or what they were excited for when a holiday was coming up. At our center we do not celebrate holidays or religious views, We have a policy to respect each families values and our staff works hard to make sure that everyone feels included and we try very hard to respect the things that our families believe. So in order to accommodate everyone we posted a reminder that our center was full of diversity and that we celebrate diversity, but it is also important to remember that the children are still learning the skills to know how to keep the peace between differences. Individuality is very important to teach to children, and to show parents you have a firm understanding of when it comes to teaching about keeping the peace. I truly believe that one of the best lessons I am teaching my students is that you can be strong in your own beliefs and still have love and respect for other values and cultures.