They need to learn, as an important part of their heritage, that Disney versions and other widely available children's books and movies do not adequately represent the larger body of folklore that people of all ages have enjoyed for centuries. They unite children and adults. Many types of folklore have been reprinted and adapted in children's books in the past couple centuries, while older children and adults who don't read or hear folklore or picture books often lose touch with exciting parts of their own culture. Sometimes we are too literate for our own good. Usually there is no known original version or writer, and obviously folklore is often written down or retold using features of vernacular dialects, not in standard English.
Students often think myths or folktales from unfamiliar cultures are bizarre, or pagan.
Every culture has very strange, nonrealistic stories in its mythology and folklore. Insist that students realize this and respect the culture that produced the folklore, without using biased language when they compare unfamiliar and familiar stories or poems. Because people have strong emotional ties to literature they knew in childhood, they sometimes have trouble analyzing it objectively and don't want to critique their favorite stories or learn other versions. It takes some time to realize that we can keep personal memories and preferences of our own while also appreciating the larger social implications, variations, and methods of interpreting traditional stories and poems. Because so many people associate folk or fairy tales and nursery rhymes with early childhood, they assume that the content should be only entertaining and innocent, or that it should always teach lessons to children.