One of the reasons I LOVE teaching the young kiddos is that they look at a person and see inside them. If you treat them right they will love you no matter what you look like or what your beliefs are. They look at you and see your soul.
One year I taught a student in a wheelchair and another parent told me this story. Her daughter, I will call her Emily, invited Julia over to play. When Julia's mom called Emily's mom to arrange it she said this is awkward but do you have a lot of steps into your house because my husband will not be there to help lift the wheelchair. Emily's mom was stunned in the 1,000 conversations Emily had with her about her BFF she never once mentioned that she was in a wheelchair. It did not matter to her at all.
But we know that as most kids get older things change. I want to read them as many stories as I can about kids overcoming those differences so they don't become a problem later on. Here are some of my favorites:
This is a great series that I have been using for SEL practice this year.
Just because your friend speaks a different language doesn't mean you have to exclude them.
This a beautiful story of a little girl who talks about Asian traditions as she compares her eyes to those of her family.
Also a great short you can find on YouTube. A little girl's father tries his best to be the hairdresser while mom is in the hospital.
I have often overheard students making comments about what their friends bring for lunch. This story is about two friends who bring very different lunches-we always taste hummus ourselves when I read this story,
The picture book version that I actually like better than the original book. Talks about how we are all different and how great differences are.
A little girl is so proud of her sister's blue hijab.
It's important to expose students to a variety of traditions and cultures. My hope is that my students will never be the one to mock someone else for their appearance or beliefs, or worse yet hate them because of those differences.
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