From Nerdy Book Club:
Remember when picture books gave us a simple view of family, neighborhoods and the world at large? As readers we felt safe, cocooned between the pages of that one view, it was comforting.
Fast forward twenty years, an elementary school librarian in a small rural town that is made up of vast social economic disparities. School population of 100+ students from surrounding hill towns. I share these details because our school is a homogenized population, where most of the children are related to each other, have never traveled outside the general area and come to us with that simple view of family, neighborhoods and the world. Is that a bad thing? Yes and no. On the no side they feel confident and vocal to judge, what to them not may not be the “normal” picture of family. On the yes side, many of our students struggle emotionally and physically when their families don’t fit that simpler view. With little knowledge of the wider world and diversity they become more closed in mind, body and words. How do we help our students see a more modern view of themselves and the world? The school library and books!
. . . .
I have found that after reading books on diversity and compassion the Library Club students start to share their growing knowledge of diversity outside of the club, during lunch time, while chatting with friends, in their art and especially during library book check out. With exposure to books on diversity and compassion students stretch their comfort zones into new and wider reading adventures.
Link to the rest at Nerdy Book Club and thanks to Ron for the tip.
I’ve started to switch off and wander away at the first mention of such words as diversity, racism and multiculturalism. No one likes being hectored and lectured at all the time. Nagging doesn’t work, as any parent will confirm.
Both this post and the one above on Anthony Horowitz’s experience of being the “different” kid show exactly why it’s important for kids– and adults– to get exposure to other people, other ideas and other ways of doing things than their own.
Humans are already inherently tribal. Enhancing that tendency doesn’t do us any good as a civilized society.