Like courtesy and grace, tolerance and acceptance are key parts of Montessori preschool education. Patience, understanding, and caring are given equal time with practical life experiences because these things are fundamental to a well-rounded individual who will mature into a responsible member of society. Everyone Has DifferencesTeaching a preschool child that everyone is unique takes time. Children don’t have an instinctual recognition of race or gender, but they will begin to recognize differences by about age 3. Even people of the same race have distinct traits that make them different from others and learning about differences can be an exciting way to discover a larger world.
Gender, Race, and Culture Unlike older children, preschoolers rarely notice differences in gender, let alone color or cultural aspects. In the classroom, they can learn about these differences by playing games or doing activities. The important thing is to teach that even though we are all different in many ways. All human beings are basically the same in mind, body, and spirit. Learning Early Builds Foundations By learning about diversity at an early age, children are better equipped to relate to and be tolerant of differences in others as they get older. This helps dispel racial and gender prejudices that they may encounter in their home and neighborhood and shows them that we all have more similarities than differences. We All Need A Little Patience At the root of being tolerant, patience for the behavior and actions of others is something that works best when learned early. Since being judgmental is a learned trait, the Montessori Method makes it a practice to include tolerance as a standard of how we see the world. We really are one human family, and the earlier that idea can be planted in young minds, the easier it will be for them to accept others for who they are instead of who we want them to be. Recognizing and embracing diversity in the human spirit does not end in the classroom. At home, parents can encourage tolerance and the benefits of diversity in all human beings. Because parents are the most important role model for children, their role in teaching diversity is vital to the growth and maturity of their kids. Comments are closed.
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