Common themes such as seasons, hunting, beginning a New Year, liberation periods as well as important individuals in the liberating situations, all make holiday topics more real. Incorporate holidays through universal themes to provide occasions to experience cultural diversity within the context of human commonality. The idea of not making pilgrim and Indian hats but rather participating in planting and harvesting a school garden is such a meaningful alternative to Thanksgiving. Holidays have been reduced to commercialization. Multicultural holidays can help children see commonality among many religious responses to basic caring.
Children begin to view differences with interest and respect rather than mistrust.
Explore your own understandings, values, and beliefs about diversity. My involvement with the New England Equity Assistance Center has reinforced my feelings that the most important thing we can do as teachers is to explore our own understandings of diversity. We should begin to ask ourselves questions. In order to create inclusive classrooms that model social justice and equality we need to first understand and challenge the effects of our upbringing. This will allow the world to become a place where the things that unite us are more important than the things that divide us, a place where we rejoice in our differences and respect people's choices.