My daughters are10 & 11. We are from Louisiana (creole) and our family really don't identify with any particular "cultural" group. I always tell them that you treat people INDIVIDUALLY and not by the color of their skin. Their school is really diverse; and there are many problems with students getting along because of race issues. How can I emphasis that their are good and bad in all races? (besides the fact that we are all part of the human race!)
2007-10-30 17:22:46 · 14 answers · asked by 100% ♥Creole♥ 7 in Society & Culture ➔ Cultures & Groups ➔ Other - Cultures & Groups
Show them through your own actions. If you have friends of different races, this is usually the best example. Granted, we don't always become friends with people based on diversity, it is personalities, but if they see how you interact, they will get it.
2007-10-30 17:28:11 · answer #1 · answered by Smooch The Pooch 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Try discussing what some of the common elements are of people from any race (eg everyone enjoys kindness, being included, when someone is generous to them or helps them in some way, feeling special etc) and discuss how even people from the same race have differences (eg different tastes in foods, clothes, music, tv shows etc but that they can still get along). It is the fact that every single person is unique that makes this world such an interesting place and the fact that everybody has something positive to contribute to the world, no matter how small that thing may be, that makes a new culture despite of heritage.
It's not where or what you've come from but how you choose to act and interact that makes a difference.
The other suggestion is to learn more about the different cultures around you and this will help you all to understand and accept others more easily.
"Whoever You Are" by Mem Fox is a great book about cultural differences
2007-10-31 00:39:55 · answer #2 · answered by jenpink 1 · 1⤊ 1⤋
God bless YOU for asking the question! This will be such an important issue in their lives.
The best I can say, is that sadly, your kids are not always going to learn these things from the way they are treated because being bi racial, they will feel some heat. I can pray, and I do pray, that people will stop being racist and learn to accept that racism and other dividing ideology is evil. It's hard...because you want to protect them, but you need to prepare them...each I suppose in their own season.
What you can do is first, KEEP instilling this in your children, in word and in deed. The Bible says (don't know how much you believe in the Bible) "Teach your children the way they should go, and when they are old they will not depart from it." Basically this means that you are the strongest influence on your children, and as adults they will lean heavily on how they are raised. If you teach them and show them how to be tolerant, they will be tolerant. They are, however, in for a shocker if they haven't gotten it already, at the point in their learning when they discover that the whole world doesn't operate the way things are at their house.
The next thing you must do is make your best effort to surround your children with tolerant people, who will love them, help you nurture them, and who will accept them...they will help you teach your children these values.
You will also need to role model for your children by having diversity among your friends, professionals you trust, etc. Live a rainbow kind of life...where you interact with a whole lot of different kinds of people on a daily basis. Then "normal" becomes individual people, not a certain group with certain things in common.
One thing I can caution you about is...Don't teach your kids to be colorblind...this is so insulting to each person's culture, and it is untrue in the bargain. Of course we can recognize differences in appearances, and as we learn more about people, we learn more about other differences as well. Trying to homogenize everyone says nothing of celebrating those differences. Oversimplified phrases like "we are all the same" are definitely NOT true. The truth is that we are all different and that's awesome!
2007-10-31 00:36:21 · answer #3 · answered by musicimprovedme 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
You have done a great job putting them in a diverse school. I have found it helpful to teach my two kids(10 & 12) that racial hatred is taught. I would be doing them a diservice tryin to put one race above another(we are also mixed heritage). In order to keep them open to new people they must be exposed to as many different people as possible. We have a strong influence on how our kids act, so we have to be very conscience of our behaviour to others too.
2007-10-31 00:31:34 · answer #4 · answered by blaqisbaq 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
What I tell my son is that every race has people that do bad things, but you shouldn't base all the other people of that race on the bad ones. I ask him, if I did something bad would you want someone looking at you and assuming that you are bad also.
2007-10-31 00:26:27 · answer #5 · answered by Ms. Exxclusive 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I am from Louisiana (Cajun) as well. I not only accept the cultural differences in others but I embrace it. I try to learn as much as possible and expose my children to as much diversity as I can. In fact, we're going to get foster children and foreign exchange students to expose our children to other cultures and help others who are in need. Good luck. 2D
2007-10-31 14:35:07 · answer #6 · answered by 2D 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It sounds like you've raised them well so far and I doubt that they'll have any problems accepting those of other races, but if you want them to learn how to better accept others, then tell them extreme stories. Tell them about Hitler and tell them about America's Civil war, both of those were caused by intolerance. Good luck.
2007-10-31 00:30:04 · answer #7 · answered by Jessa 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Before I was an exchange student (twice), I would refer to other culteral differences as strange. What I didn't understand is that I was just as strange to them as they were to me. I learned that by opening my mind to new ideas and attitudes, my life was greatly enriched by those around me. At first I tended to see only the good in my culture and much of the bad in other cultures. But over time, many of my old (and maybe not so good) habits were replaced or repaired, and I was also able to enrich the lives of others by the good that I brought to them. Tell your children to be generous to others by emphasizing the good in them in their minds. When we view others with hostility or distrust or with any kind of negativity, others see this sometimes even before we realize what we are feeling. In our minds, we are doing them harm. But if we view others generously, they will see the goodness of our intentions in our eyes. This will help them not only make friends more easily with those of different cultures, but also with friends who share their own interests.
2007-10-31 00:37:58 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
Teach your children your values. Teach them to value and respect our law and order. That is what will hold them in good stead. Your values will show them what is right and wrong and respect for the law will protect them and the people who don't have your views. Our country is great because of our freedom to be different.
2007-10-31 00:31:49 · answer #9 · answered by Rudolph'sGrandma 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
accept the cultural differences in adults
2007-10-31 00:25:52 · answer #10 · answered by DonPedro 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋