The children of today are growing up in a world that will be quite different than the one in which their parents grew up. A major difference will be the increasing diversity in the United States population. Race and ethnicity are not the only factors which make this country a very diverse society. Also, one in every seven Americans speaks a language other than English in their homes. An important responsibility of parents and child care providers will be to help prepare children with the attitudes, knowledge, and skills necessary to live and work successfully in a complex, diverse world.
Children begin to notice differences and evaluate others at a very early age.
Special efforts must be made to create a positive environment which acknowledges and values human differences, and that helps children learn positive, appropriate responses to differences. Most early childhood programs have an abundance of materials reflecting White, able-bodied children in traditional gender roles. We need to make the environment more inclusive, more reflective of the diverse society in which our children will live. The following are considerations that can be used to assess a child care environment. No show pictures of older people engaged in a variety of activities.