“Dad? Why’s that guy wearing that funny hat?”

When I began reading this article by Jason Avant, I knew the reference would be to the Sikh turban – I’ve heard the question so many times.

“I want Mexico, Japan, India, the world itself to be more than a picture on a map to him. At his new school, that world is made real.”

Jason furthers the discussion about raising a global citizen beyond the Sikh community in his article talking about Teaching Kids About Stereotypes which I believe is so vital in the shrinking face of the world. He shares an anecdote about a crossing guard connecting a 15 year-old boy wearing a black hoodie and a black baseball cap to looking “scary” and “mean”. I felt for that boy right away because the experience connects to people from many diverse backgrounds. To look different attracts labels.

How do people connect such images to negative stereotypes? This particular boy was black. I have a feeling the crossing guard’s reaction may have been very different had he been white. Children begin creating preconceived ideas about things they see and hear as young as three years old. That gives many years for these ideas to either shift or remain ingrained in the mind set. Incidents like the ones experienced by Jason and his son should not be ignored. We see signs that say “Don’t feed the ducks” near ponds to remind people about the consequences of such an action. It’s quite sad to think we may need a similar sign to remind some people not to feed these hidden or unconscious biases.

Jason is thankfully an informed Parent and so was able to not only answer his son’s question about the Sikh turban but may have also provided some reassurance to the Black child that not all people think alike. The sense of danger occurs when adults have no idea about different cultures and hidden or unconscious biases play rampant. It is so important to ensure that every moment is valued and that we never become so caught up in the pace of life that we forget to show respect to another human being or lose a teachable moment. Kudos to Jason for shifting his child’s mindset early on.

Tags: Black experience, diversity, hidden bias, identity, media literacy, multicultural, multiculturalism, sikh, stereotype, teaching kids, visible identity

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 30th, 2011 at 2:55 am and is filed under Teaching Kids about Stereotypes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.