I just finished my turn teaching my son's preschool co-op. It was a great month for us. Very busy, but great. We started the month out with a unit called "I am special." It was a great way to have the boys introduce themselves to each other and it also covered the topic of diversity and being unique.
Now, I support the "diversity" lesson. I truly do believe that there is intrinsic value in having things be different. I rejoice that there are so very many different trees and plants and animals and people. I think it is good for the fact that differences add beauty to the landscape and to people. This lesson however, which was so much like many other lessons I have been a part of, seemed to lack something.
If the whole point of the diversity lesson is "look at us and how different we are!" it seems sort of pointless to teach this to small children. They look at you and you can see in their eyes the response yeah I already knew that.
The missing link came to my mind while I was teaching Sunday school to my daughter's class. The lesson was "I have talents." We had talked about how everyone has different talents and that makes us so unique and great. I was thinking how very similar this lesson was seeming to Greg's preschool diversity lesson. The kids seemed to already know everything I was saying and all the "right" answers. Then I asked them, "So why do you think we all have different talents? Why don't we all just have the same talent?" I got a whole slew of answers on the level of to be happy and unique. Now I don't discredit those reasons, but there is a much more important reason that I think, I for one, seem to have overlooked. These kids certainly didn't know the answer.
So that's when it came to me. The reason that our uniqueness, our special talents, our diversity is so important and wonderful is that we are supposed to use those talents, strengths, perspectives to help everyone around us. The strength that comes from diversity whether it be in nature or in people is when all those differences come together to make a stronger whole. It is only when you take into consideration all the view points of a certain object that you can really begin to get a clear picture of the whole.
It is not just our differences that are important. It is what we chose to do with them. Our diversity makes us stronger only when we chose to use our strengths to help those that need it.
That is the lesson I wish all children were being taught today.
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2 comments:
You are very insightful in your analysis & very right. Far too often, "diversity" is sought out not for any intrinsic good but simply to show "inclusiveness" without any real effort to actually learn from those differences. Great post.
Good post Mags.
And, for me, totally highlights why we need to respect, seek after, and appreciate people who have different view points/experiences/backgrounds than our own.
Especially during this intense political season I feel that the value in seeing someone else's viewpoint is largely ignored. No?
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