This week I had the opportunity to ask two phenomenal kindergarten teachers how they, as teachers, help their students celebrate and learn from the cultural similarities and differences within their classroom communities.  They shared many wonderful literacy resources and activities they have done with their students.  They always begin with connecting with each other first in the classroom… where the child is at the moment…and then, through looking at maps, where they are in the town(s) and community in which they live. Traditions, favorite foods, hobbies, and many stories are shared within the classroom.  You can well imagine!  We are talking about five year olds!  At conferences or during back to school nights, parents are invited to visit the classroom to share something that is special about their family…

All of these strategies are ones we have encouraged as teachers.  However, what these teachers said at the end stood out to me.  We, as educators, need to continually model that acceptance and respect as we celebrate all of the similarities and differences within our classroom communities.  The final agreement in the kindergarten class was that they decided they wanted everyone to treat them with kindness. So, shouldn’t we do that for everybody else?

As we continue celebrating those aspects of our own cultural identities that are similar or different from others in our classrooms or in our connections with anyone …it always seems to come back to treating each other with kindness….

I stopped writing notes at the meeting…. so thankful that there are such wonderful, wise and caring adults at the helm.  Thank you, all of you, who model more than tolerance…. We need to be kind to each other! Celebrate and learn from all..

Jan