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How to Teach Your Children About Diversity in a
Non-Diverse Community - TV as a Tool by Lisa
Smith
In many communities across America the complaint
is the same; "I want to help my children learn
about other races, religions and cultures, but
my community isn't very integrated & my circle
of friends is not diverse, what do I do?" It's
true that although we are a country of diverse
backgrounds, most people tend to seek out groups
of friends of the same race, religion and/or
ethnicity. It is easier to find common ground
and the language barrier is not present when
spending time with others who share in our
culture. However, parents would like their
children to be accepting and tolerant of other
cultures even though they may not be exposed to
them on a regular basis, what's a parent to do?
Enter the wonderful world of children's
television programming. With the choices our
children now have, you can expose your children
to multiple cultures, languages and traditions
all in the same afternoon. A new study released
recently from the American Academy of Pediatrics
reveals that high-quality educational
programming can have a positive effect on young
children. These programs assist in the
acquisition of general knowledge and improve
cognitive learning among children ages six and
younger. The report also states that educational
programming which emphasizes cultural and racial
diversity can improve children's attitudes to
those subjects. So, the television now becomes
the ultimate cultural teacher & not the "boob
tube" that parents once thought it to be. The
one possible drawback to this seemingly perfect
answer? There must be culturally diverse and
age-appropriate shows for children to view &
learn from. Luckily for us parents searching,
children's programmers have responded. There are
any number of shows on television today
featuring characters of different races, with
disabilities and even those that speak different
languages. Three child-oriented stations are
leading the pack with their high-quality,
diverse and educational television programs.
PBS, the trailblazer in this category features
Sesame Street, which has taught generations of
children around the world their ABCs and how to
count. Much more than that, since the inception
of the show 35 year ago, there have been
racially diverse characters & characters with
disabilities & they all work together to promote
the overall the message of acceptance and
togetherness. Even today, there are strong
female characters, multi-lingual characters that
teach "words of the day," & they have featured
adopted families, non-traditional families &
characters in wheelchairs all enjoying their
time on 123 Sesame Street.
Nickelodeon has been the big winner in viewer
share and profit with their introduction of Dora
the Explorer and it's spin off, Go Diego Go.
These educational cartoons feature
multi-lingual, Hispanic characters that teach
about animals, letters, numbers, counting and
Hispanic traditions. The real innovation with
these programs is that they also focus on
teaching Spanish to non-native speakers. The
repetition and interactive nature of the 30
minute shows make learning fun and also get
children up off of the couch to participate in
the actions that Dora, Diego and their friends
instruct.
Nick is also launching a series in February with
an Asian-American leading lady. The show, "Ni
Hao, Kai Lan," was created by a first generation
Chinese American. It targets 2- to 5-year-olds
and follows bilingual five-year-old Kai-Lan as
she learns about her inter-generational
Chinese-American family. The curriculum focuses
on social and emotional lessons, multicultural
values, cause-and-effect thinking, and basic
Mandarin Chinese language skills.
Finally, we have NOGGIN TV and the show, Little
Bill, the everyday adventures of an
African-American boy. The show is based on Bill
Cosby's popular book series and is developed
through research and in consultation with
educational experts. The show is designed to
help kids celebrate their everyday experiences
and the people who share them. Little Bill shows
kids that what they do makes a difference in the
world. By dealing with conflicts encountered in
everyday life, the program encourages children
to value the love of their family, to increase
self-esteem, and to develop social skills.
These programs are just the first in a long line
of diverse and unique shows that will help our
children to see that different is just different
and we are no better or worse for not looking,
speaking or dressing like "everyone else."
Congratulations to PBS, Nickelodeon and Noggin
TV for being innovators and addressing the need
that we as parents have for teaching from the
comfort of our own homes.
Nothing replaces the human interaction and
relationships that are important to helping
children understand cultural differences; it is
still important to try to get involved and meet
other families that are different from us. In
some circumstances however, that proves
extremely difficult and given the choice between
not exposing them to these differences at all,
or spending an hour watching any of the
children's programs that were created to teach
and enrich their experiences, I'm picking up the
remote control.
About the Author
Lisa Smith is the Owner/CEO of Regionz Kidz, a
multi-cultural infant & toddler clothing line
featuring ethnically diverse characters and
designs. She publishes a blog on her website
http://www.regionzkidz.com that discusses
cultural diversity & children & is a frequent
guest blogger on other blogs and websites
regarding parenting and children's issues. She
is also a monthly contributor to Educated Mommy
Magazine.
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