In your effort to open your child’s horizons in all directions, the way it learns to deal with and approach others is particularly important. In a society that is now multicultural and a world full of inequalities, a child must learn everything and perceive it as equal parts of the whole. After all, no one is the same as another. Diversity is a term known to all of us that is used in advertisements, equality campaigns, human rights.
The well-known French fashion designer Coco Chanel has stated “to be irreplaceable one must always be different”, while Maya Angelou, a well-known African-American poet, has said “we should all know that diversity embroiders a rich carpet and we must understand, as all the knots of the carpet have equal value from their color” (Γνωμικολογικόν, χ.η.).
All forms of diversity are not equally visible. The term introduced by the World Health Organization (Άλκηστις, 2008), is the term visible diversity and refers to the phenomenon of differentiation of the individual, who is visibly different in terms of his physical structure. Visible diversity is a constant obstacle in the individual’s attempt to integrate into society. The reverse phenomenon, invisible diversity, is again a difficulty. This happens because the person does not suffer stigmatization or marginalization, since the problem is not visible, but the person himself experiences its difference as something that sets it apart, creating unbearable pressure to be like others. For example, sexual orientation is often an invisible form of diversity (Smith & Chowdhuri Tyler, 2019).
Diversity starts with the difference we have between us in the area of our external appearance, because we may have different hair color and style, have many tattoos or earrings on our body. We may be different, because we dress differently, some of us learn differently. There are those who have been diagnosed with learning difficulties, autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit disorder with or without hyperactivity, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, rare genetic condition, mental retardation and sensory problems (hearing or vision). There are also those who experience the difference after a tragic event, a car accident, or a rare disease. There are the children who come from a certain minority or children of immigrants. Children who can come from low, medium or high socio-economic backgrounds. Those who grow up with both parents, children who grow up with one parent or with single-parent families, from different religions and with different skin color and those who are gifted (Χατζηχρήστου, 2015).
Bibliography
Άλκηστις, (2008). Μαύρη αγελάδα-άσπρη αγελάδα. Δραματική τέχνη στην εκπαίδευση και διαπολιτισμικότητα. Αθήνα: Τόπος.
Γνωμικολογικόν, (χ.η.). Retrieved March 16, 2023 from
https://www.gnomikologikon.gr/authquotes.php?auth=104
https://www.gnomikologikon.gr/authquotes.php?auth=1319
Smith, D.D. & Chowdhuri Tyler, N. (2019). Εισαγωγή στην Ειδική Αγωγή και Εκπαίδευση, Φέρνοντας την Αλλαγή. (Α. Γρίβα, Μτφρ.). Αθήνα: Gutenberg.
Χατζηχρήστου, Γ.Χ. (2015). Πρόληψη και Προαγωγή της Ψυχικής Υγείας στο Σχολείο και Την Οικογένεια. Αθήνα: Gutenberg.