Hate Hurts: How Children Learn And Unlearn Prejudice
Noticing differences among people is biological. At six months, an  infant can distinguish skin color, hair texture, and facial features. But  forming attitudes about differences is social, say Caryl Stern La Rosa and Ellen  Hofheimer Bettman in this perceptive and practical book developed by the  Anti-Defamation League,Hate Hurts. The authors offer a clear and  compelling guide to understanding the way children learn and unlearn prejudice,  suggesting hundreds of strategies, role plays, and sample dialogues for parents  and teachers to shape the way children value the differences they perceive.Prejudice--an all-too-common response to dealing with differences of race,  religion, ethnicity, or sexual orientation--is contagious, the authors warn.  They offer both the theory and the practice to teach children to "turn the fear  and pain of prejudice into the courage and cooperation of understanding and  respect." Insightful chapters illuminate how children see differences at various  ages, from toddler to teen, and detail the tough questions they may ask.The most powerful segments of the book are devoted to true stories that describe  how to respond to children of all ages who have been the initiator or the object  of hateful words and actions. For example, one section redefines "big words"  (prejudice, stereotype, and discrimination) for "little people"; another tackles  adolescent name-calling, exclusion, and "zooing." Specific tools for countering  bias in schools, media, books, and online are underlined with conviction and  clarity. Parents and teachers could not wish for a wiser guide to confront and  conquer prejudice in our children and ourselves.--Barbara Mackoff