Diversity important in early childhood curriculum

LaDonna S. Powell
junior, early childhood

Dear Editor:

I am writing to help raise awareness about the importance of cultural diversity in early childhood curriculum. This issue is important to me because as a future teacher, I believe that cultural diversity is something children should learn early rather than later.

I think that if we teach our children while they are younger - like in preschool-to accept differences in the way that people look, dress and act, then it will help them to be better people and help to make the world less hostile. Children would understand that everyone may not all look and act the same and that it is okay for people to be different.

Especially today, where the average classroom consists of more than one group or race of people, schools are more diverse. Take Carbondale, for instance. There is so much diversity here. On the college level alone, there are more than eight different cultures that I see on a daily basis. Now not all, but some, of these people have children, and everyone's children go to school together. Children are either going to asks questions about or make fun of what they do not know.

Cultural diversity should be taught in the schools. There are many places that have started this idea of teaching about diversity in the classroom and built a whole curriculum about it. It is now being called multicultural education. I think that including multicultural education, children's play and academic curriculum will make them better well rounded as people.

We have to get the message out about how teaching diversity earlier will help the success of the world as our children will know it in the future. I think that this idea alone has the potential to make the world more peaceful and less violent.

LaDonna S. Powell
junior, early childhood

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