The Importance of Diversity in Kindergarten

Over the weekend, I took my Darling Daughter 1 (DD1) shopping for some new clothes.  Due to the early onset of spring as well as the fact that she seems to have been growing like a weed, my DD1's wardrobe had lately begun to consist of a single pair of jeans, a tattered skirt, and several pairs of leggings that were functioning as capris.    As we embarked on our shopping expedition, my daughter commented; "Mommy, can we go shopping where Danielle* gets her clothes? She always looks so pretty at school."  Her comment echoed a series of remarks that have cropped up in the last few weeks about her favorite classmate, Danielle.  For example, as I was combing out my older daughter's hair recently, she mentioned that she wished her hair were a darker brown like Danielle's.  Additionally, in a another exchange my DD1 also noted that she hoped she would be able to get some earrings like Dannielle's when the waiting period for her new pierced ears was  over.  My readers may be wondering why I would dedicate a blog entry to sharing stories about my daughter's "crush" on one of her classmates?  Before I seemingly digress further, I will acknowledge what touched me about my daughter's characterizations of her classmate:  her classmate, Danielle, is African American, who is brown-skinned with brown, curly hair like my daughter.

What am I coming to appreciate more and more about my DD1's experiences in her local elementary school is the fact that my daughter's teacher looks like her this year, and that all of the other girls in her class are brown skinned, too.  Moreover, I appreciate the fact that the principal of the school is African American, as are the guidance counselor, the family coordinator, and my daughter's two favorite paraeducators who supervise lunch and recess.  No longer is my daughter  the only brown skinned girl in her school peer group; instead, she is now among a sea of children whose ancestors hail from parts of the Caribbean, Latin American, and Africa.  And thus I wonder: How does and will the racial makeup of my daughter's peer group influence her sense of herself?  Of what is "normal"?  Of what constitutes "pretty"? Given that what is notable about my DD1 in her current context is not her race or her skin color, will this environment provide her with greater freedom to discover how she is unique?


Psychologist and identity theorist Beverly Tatum suggests that our identities are shaped, at least in part, by those parts of us "that other people notice and reflect back to us . . often it is what sets us apart as exceptional or 'other' in their eyes" ("The Complexity of Identity"). In an earlier entry I asked about what the importance of diversity in kindergarten is, and now I wonder if my previous question missed the point.  As an educator, I can espouse that for all children the experience of attending public school with a mix of students from a range of ethnic and cultural backgrounds is important because it provides the rising generation with an opportunity to discover their common humanity and pluralist identity as Americans.  Yet as a parent, I wonder more about how the composition of my daughters' peer group will influence her identity development and her aspirations for her future.  And thus I wonder:  Is it, at least in part, because of her current peer group at school, that my daughter's conception of who is pretty revolves around the features of an African American classmate, and not around a blonde haired, blue-eyed, Caucasian ideal?  Do I have our local public elementary school to thank for this aspect of my daughter's healthy identity development?

My wondering continues:  if my daughter had white skin like me, would I be ready to embrace her place in a school and in a kindergarten classroom in which she were the only white child?  Or would I worry that this distinction would prove to be somehow undermining to her?  Conversely, if my daughter were the only or one of a very few brown skinned children in a class of predominantly white students, wouldn't I worry that she would be marginalized?  As an educator and as a parent, it is my deep hope for all children to feel a sense of belonging at school. And so I close with a revised line of inquiry:   How does diversity influence students' understanding of themselves and their sense of belonging in school?  


*Please note that the name Danielle is a pseudonym.