Fourth-grader, Aryan, questioning a pilgrim during their trip to the Plimouth Plantation 

Holiday Envy 
(a yearly seasonal reminder)

The Lower School Chorus at the All-School Thanksgiving Assembly

We are fortunate to live in one of the most diverse areas of the country and to be members of an intentional community that prides itself on reflecting the rich diversity of our surroundings. Along with the promise of educating students in an environment with so many ethnic, religious and racial roots comes the challenge of helping them to understand, respect and value the differences of those around them.

Macri, Ally and Ben  as our King, Queen and Turkey
 at the All-School Thanksgiving Assembly

Preschoolers with their fifth-grade buddies
at the All-School assembly

The months of the fall and early winter present special challenges for young children in a setting such as ours. For most, there are special times full of traditions, family gatherings, and PRESENTS! Even though some of the holidays of the major religions within our community are really not parallel or directly comparable, most, at least in the context of the American experience, involve the giving of gifts to children.  As their friends share their excitement, students discover that different holidays are celebrated differently. This invites comparisons, followed often by assumptions that the traditions of their family, religion or culture are better than others. Christian students can be envious of their Jewish friends because Hanukkah is celebrated over eight potential gift-giving days rather than only one. Jewish students are sometimes envious of their Christian friends, because Christmas seems so pervasive. And so the comparisons

Buddies on their way to the assembly

 begin. There is also Diwali, which many of our families celebrated two weeks ago and shared with students at several grade levels, Kwanzaa and Ramadan.

As these challenges arise, it is important for teachers and parents to take advantage of teachable moments. It is natural for young children to see what is most familiar as best and the only way that things can or should be done. Our environment provides the setting to teach them otherwise. It is up to the adults in their lives to help children learn to understand, appreciate and embrace the unfamiliar. Instilling the notion there are many valid world views, traditions and ways of expressing spiritual faith is essential in preparing children for their futures.

Preschool Thanksgiving feast

As it came time for my four children to make their college choices, having grown up in this area and had the benefit of a Dwight-Englewood education, each one made it clear that they were not interested in institutions where everyone looks too much alike. As parents, my wife and I feel that their Dwight-Englewood experience has helped prepare them to be citizens of an increasingly diverse world.

How can parents help children see the benefits of our rich diversity?

• Always look for opportunities to discuss with your child the value of having differing points of views.
• As their most important role models, be careful what you say. Young children reflect the opinions of their parents. They are both sponges and parrots, soaking up anything that they hear you say and then, like a parrot, repeating it. Things said in anger or in jest are often 

  

  Kindergarten Thanksgiving feast

  taken seriously.
• Take time to challenge and discuss statements that are made by children and others around them that reflect intolerance for the views, opinions, religions, traditions or backgrounds of others.

Choose books, stories, movies and TV shows that expose 
children to different cultures and points of view.

Together, we can happily enjoy a holiday season that reflects the remarkable diversity that we are fortunate to have within our own community.

***

Coming soon: The Winter Explorers Booklet

The Winter 2013 booklet and inserts for Explorers will be in your child's backpack this week.  

A young buck on Mr. Rocky's Field