It is extremely important to talk to young children about racial differences correctly to avoid the appearance of prejudices and misunderstandings. Robles de Melendez et al. (2019) suggest that “teachers <…> must carefully select child-appropriate materials, experiences and strategies, thus spending more time preparing to explore these in the classroom” (p. 153). It is partly made to avoid misunderstanding with parents who can react negatively to the inappropriate materials about racial differences. When younger children make some comments about racial differences, the teacher needs to listen carefully and adequately explain whether such a position is morally acceptable. In my communication experience, I was always tolerant and inclusive, but my statements were based on knowledge from liberal news sources and the Internet. For example, the case of Jorge Floyd’s murder inspired me to educate people around me about racial equity (Hill et al., 2020). It seems that my expertise should be more evidence-based and research-based in the future.
In my opinion, the issue of gender difference should remain in the status quo for several decades, as it is now. There is no reason to integrate many gender-neutral policies because some parents can strongly disagree with them. For instance, even in highly tolerant Norway, the research identified traditional gender stereotyping as prevalent (Meland & Kaltvedt, 2019). Instead, we should give children a chance to push gender boundaries by themselves. As for me, I learned about gender differences when I was in kindergarten. However, I realized the difference between boys’ and girls’ bodies only when I was 10 in school. It was absolutely normal for me, so I did not feel discomfort. The key idea is that children should realize many aspects of gender differences by themselves. In the opposite situation, if children know about gender differences early from adults, they can be biased and not communicate with peers of another gender.
References
Hill, E., Tiefenthäler, A., Triebert, C., Jordan, D., Willis, H., & Stein, R. (2020). How George Floyd was killed in police custody. The New York Times.
Meland, A. T., & Kaltvedt, E. H. (2019). Tracking gender in kindergarten. Early Child Development and Care, 189(1), 94-103.
Robles de Melendez, W., & Beck, V. (2019). Teaching young children in the multicultural classroom (5th edition). Cengage Learning.