How to Raise Child with Global Perspective/appreciation

Well, you can send them to colleges in Germany for about $7000 per year so they get good degrees/careers, and then get jobs, and their jobs can be off-shored to India after they are forced to train their replacements and then they can enjoy unemployment and jobs at McDonalds and Walmart.
Just about everything can be off-shored one way or another - so there's not too much reason to worry about whether we're suffering from a lack of diversity.

Community service projects lead to global service projects. Just collecting shoes for Buckner's knowing they are put on children overseas can be a wakeup call for the needs of others.

Do genealogy research. And not just a family tree kind of thing, with a list of relatives. Get the whole family involved in a project. For example, say that great-great-grandfather Simon left Bulgaria with his family. They left all behind - farm, belongings, friends. They only brought what they could carry. Why? What was happening in Bulgaria in 1807? Was there famine, religious persecution, war, etc? Were there dictators or an evil king or some reason that made they flee? What ship did they sail on and where did they settle? Or did they leave out of a sense of adventure, or for reasons other than suffering, like to start a business or because other relatives had already settled in America? What were their trades? Make scrapbooks. If you find that one of your kids is interested in the military history, another in the political history, another in the food history, another in the fabrics or lace or another skill, get them to pursue that. Build a real history of great-great-grandfather Simon, not just a tree with names on it. Doing this for all the grandparents can take years and it adds so much to your kids' view of the world.

Ancestry.com can lead you to so much information, and there are ships' manifests online and much more. Ellis Island and Castle Gardens (that was the port before Ellis Island opened) are full of information.

It might spark an interest in a particular country or region that you could eventually plan a trip to. My mother-in-law took a tour to the Czech Republic that specifically takes people to their ancestral towns. She saved and planned for several years, and corresponded with some people in the town prior to coming (it was a tiny village and everyone basically has the same last name). My MIL was able to see her grandparents' church and gravestones and see the town and meet some current residents. After researching, you might all realize that everyone wants to see Ireland, or wherever the most interesting relative is from.

Planning a genealogy research trip can take quite a long time, so you'd have lots of time to plan and make the most of your trip. That's not a limited perspective - that's connecting with their own past.

I can see how this can be a concern for you, living in Lone Tree, CO (I'm going to assume that your location is correctly stated). But there's nothing wrong with loving where you grew up and wanting to stay there your entire life. You can still give your kids a global perspective even while living in the most un-diverse place.

Start with food. Visit restaurants with something other than "cheeseburger" on the menu. Talk about what you're eating, try some new exotic dish, etc. I think there are a couple of Ethiopian restaurants along Colfax in Denver...try them. There's a Moroccan place on University Ave (at least there used to be...). There are plenty of choices in Denver, so this is an easy place to start. Visit some Asian markets. If I remember correctly, there are a couple off of Federal and Alameda in Denver, and HMart is closer to Aurora. A bit of driving for you from Lone Tree, but certainly not impossible. Visit the Italian markets and the markets in the Latino neighborhoods. I think there are also Indian and Russian markets in Denver. I KNOW there's a Halal market somewhere (my MIL bought lamb from them once and it was awesome). Check them all out.

Learn about other religions. There's a mosque in Denver. There are several Jewish Temples. I bet the Imam or Rabbi would be happy to learn you're trying to expose your kids to other cultures and give you helpful suggestions. My FIL is Muslim. When he used to visit us, he'd take my son to the mosque with him. My son isn't Muslim, but they were very welcoming of him.

Have your kids learn another language. This might be required in school anyway, so whichever language they have to learn, build on that and learn about the cultures that speak that language. I would guess that Spanish would be the most likely choice in Colorado. So that's Spain and almost the entire continent of South America (minus Brazil), some tropical islands, even the Philippines used to be a Spanish colony. Cultures galore. Read about them. Watch documentaries about them. If you meet people from another place, TALK to them.

Travel. Travel. Travel...if affordable.

As the kids get older, consider hosting an exchange student in your home. Consider sending your own kids on an exchange program. Let them spend a semester (or two) abroad during college.

Basically, just keep exposing them to something other than your (really nice) suburb of Denver. It will take effort, because, you're right, your area isn't very diverse. And if it turns out that your kids simply love Colorado and never want to leave...well, that's ok, too. That just means you gave them a great childhood and they're happy, content people.

I don't think living in a diverse community actually helps kids see diversity. I mean look at your own community, how many different European countries are represented there, I bet you don't know. I would also bet growing up you saw black, white, Hispanic, Asian without any understanding of the diversity within those groups.

I of course could be wrong but you asking this question when you probably do in fact live in a diverse community kind of shows me you don't understand that there a many cultures that make up every check mark on your census form.

I am third generation American, 100% of my family are directly descended from Sicilian immigrants. Of course if you look at the history of Sicily and my 6'5 grandfather that doesn't actually mean we are descended from 100% Sicilians. My ex is 1/4 Greek, 1/4 Bohemian, and 1/2 everyone else over there. That is how I taught my kids diversity. They may look like everyone else around them but they are different, they came from different places and they were taught to respect that this is a fact for everyone they meet.

I guess I am saying if you live in a community where there is the proper amount of different looking people you probably don't understand diversity. If you want your kids to understand different cultures teach them that everyone has a different story even if they look the same.

So how I taught my kids to appreciate diversity was telling them about their past so they understood how diverse they are and this made them very interested in learning the stories of others.

everyone's perspective is limited. my kids went to a semi-rural 99.5% white christian elementary school in a small town, and their early childhood was utterly lacking in diversity.
what they gained in return was the closeness, safety, warmth and charm of living in a close-knit community where kids bike and skate and sled together, and everyone knows everyone else (at least by sight) when they see each other at our awesome ice cream shop. very mayberry.
but even in the pre-internet days we had books and videos and libraries and museums, cities within driving distance, friends and relatives with various shades of skins, and most of all, we talked. we discussed. we researched. our boys never labored under the delusion that our little town is all there is.
kids who live in diverse communities and travel a lot also have limited perspectives. they never get to experience the deep sense of roots and belonging that come from really spending time and getting to know an area and its culture.
a good parent will appreciate what their living circumstances have to offer their children, and take the time and trouble to make sure their kids are aware of what's going outside their direct purview.
for our family, homeschooling after elementary school was a direct and immediately impactful way to broaden everyone's horizon. you'll find your way if look for it.
khairete
S.

It's easy to expose your kids to other cultures, even when you live in white-ville lol!
Most importantly, TRAVEL. As much as you can, and you can afford. I'd much rather spend money on experiences than things. New York City is a great place for a cultural family vacation.
BOOKS. Growing up I kept some great DK books on the coffee table. There were books about different religions, cultures, art/history, you name it, all geared towards kids, with plenty of great photos. We also had a subscription to National Geographic for several years. Even though the kids didn't really read the articles they always looked at the pictures and we'd often talk about them.
FOOD. This is so easy! Food is a great way to expose your kids to other cultures. Even though I live in a pretty white area we are lucky to be a short drive to Oakland and San Francisco which has every type of food you can imagine. If you don't have that luxury just get creative in the kitchen.
And of course music, movies, museums, art, dance, just expose them to all of it, those kinds of experiences are so entertaining and eye opening.

Where they live, now or later, is less of a problem than what they experience.

Travel can provide a good exposure, or a limited one - it depends on how you do it. But understanding the rich fabric of the community in which you live is more important. Look into the various festivals that occur within a 2-hour drive of your home. In our area, within an hour's drive, there are Italian festivals, Celebrate Israel Day, Armenian festivals, Latino programs (and not just the bar serving margaritas on Cinco de Mayo….), Greek cultural programs, the India Society open house, and many more.

There are a million restaurants of every nationality and I agree it's great to try many of them. That doesn't mean ordering Chinese take-out which is often Americanized versions that would be unrecognizable to people who really live in that area.

Get DVDs from the library - National Geographic covers many things beyond lions and marine iguanas. Get out the world map, figure out how people might travel to those countries. (Kids today, and many adults, think you just set the GPS and you arrive - but look at how people really travel, where ships would dock, etc.)

Remember that you can't always see the differences in people. What people "appear" to be is not always what they are.

I was teaching Spanish in a Jewish day school, with kids born in the US, Israel, Russia, Tajikistan, etc. For many, it was the 3rd language and sometimes the 4th. I took them to a Latino market (with prearrangement with the store owner) and did a scavenger hunt with them - just having to find foods from different parts of the world or surprising animals (e.g. canned octopus) was an education, but in a fun way). We then went to a Latino service center to learn about the countries that funneled new Americans to this area, saw the food pantry (we collected donations), learned about the furniture and housewares pantry and the clothing pantry as well.

The school did a year-long cultural arts celebration with food, music, history, dance, art and crafts and other aspects of different cultures within different parts of the world. Our local public school (grades 4-6) does a major world cultures unit with exhibits and food, plus kids dressing in clothes from a different culture - not necessarily their own (and frequently not). Encourage your children's school to do something similar.

Discuss current events in an age-appropriate way. For example, there was so much hoopla and negativity surrounding children crossing our southern borders, with the buses being blockaded by chants of "English only" and "go home!" Discuss with your children why people come to this country and how - 400 years ago, 100 years ago, 5 years ago. How do they travel, and why? What's involved in the decision to leave your homeland? What happens once they get here?

Museums are great resources - whether it's art or history or environmental science/climate change, we're all part of the world community where these issues are concerned.

Move beyond national origin to achievements by other communities: the ADA requiring companies and municipalities to make buildings and sidewalks accessible, stores and restaurants being required to admit service animals for all kinds of issues (blindness to war vets with PTSD), mainstreamed classrooms for those with developmental disabilities (there are probably quite a few people employed at your local stores who would have been marginalized or isolated 20 years ago), pressure to dress/act "like a boy" or "like a girl" and what that means (from blue/pink nurseries to gender-speicifc toy aisles to schools not allowing gay kids to go to prom, or the recent valedictorian speech shut down by the administration because the boy came out as gay), religious differences (think about the Christmas music that starts in October or the debate about not being allowed to say "Happy Holidays", whether schools close on other holidays and what that means for students and staff) and many more examples of daily tolerance that should, but often don't, occur.

If you can host an exchange student for anywhere from 3 weeks to a school year, do it. We have lots of summer programs that bring students (often with limited English) into the community for a few weeks. It's not a financial stretch for most families to help out in these.

Do your family tree through Ancestry.com if you can. I have a very detailed one from my great-uncle (it's a several hundred page published volume that he compiled in the days before the internet) but now it's easier.

Have them learn a language! While there is value in any language study, I think at least one should be a language that is commonly spoken in your area. I studied Spanish and have used it for decades, from reading store signs to speaking with grandmothers whose 5 year old grandchildren are trying to translate for them with a cashier, to working in medical and nutritional settings. Watch kids' shows that feature another language.

Look into the rich native American tradition and history of your area. There's not an area of the US that didn't once belong to someone else, so for kids to realize that their own neighborhood wasn't always white and English-speaking can be very enlightening.

Our city puts on a two week cultural festival with pavilions around the city representing every country/culture around the world. Each pavilion features food, entertainment and information pertaining to the country/culture. It is certainly a fun way to immerse yourself in culture. We try to go to a few different pavilions each year. While I want my kids to travel and experience many different cultures I do hope they choose to live here, as it is a great place to live and raise a family!

We have friends that used to plan a trip every summer, out of the country.

They visited and lived a month to 6 weeks in these countries and their kids learned so much.

South America and Europe. Even while she was pregnant or had an infant!

The mom researched all types of places to live. They rented from homeowners. They rented an apartment. They lived with another family. She found some great deals. The kids loved the travel.

They welcomed people that visited our city from other countries. They took in exchange students, High school and college kids.

They joined a Quaker Church? The diversity was cool. They had people join them in their home for many Sunday meals.

Last summer, my friend's daughter went to Guatemala (With a supervised group) for a month and taught the citizens there...And passed out water, toothbrushes, etc...

I met a woman who grew up in India. We became good friends.
I went to her house (About 50 minutes away) for a long weekend....WOW...I learned to cook foods her Mom made for her when she was a young girl....I can tell you that I did not eat spaghetti and meatballs that weekend !

What about an international cooking class? Learn a new language!

You can start with something as small as posting world maps on the living room or your kids' rooms and look up information about different places. The internet opens up LOTS of possibilities, as does a public library. Get books with stories and illustrations from various societies and read them with her; find music CDs from Putamayo or other world music companies and listen/ dance to them. You could also look for recipes/cookbooks from various countries and make different foods once a week.

As for whether she will grow up with an interest in learning about other places, the home environment is part of the picture, her peers are another part, the wider community, and finally her particular temperament. I grew up in a fairly homogenous suburb (with an immigrant mother), however ended up a professional anthropologist married to a man from East Africa. My brother also married a Japanese-Chinese-American gal, so it would seem that we both developed an interest in other cultures without living in a diverse community. Great thing to think about, however!

I hear what you're saying. We wanted our kids to go to a good school and bought a house in a highly rated school district. We're very happy with the school, but we've noticed it is about 99% Caucasian. Oops!

The summer has brought some great opportunities for diversity. I've signed the boys up at camps at the YMCA and VBS's at different churches not in our immediate area. That's been a great experience for them.

When I was in junior high, high school and college I did a lot of volunteer work. That really showed me how life is really like for many people in out world and just how fortunate I was.

I wouldn't worry too much about them not being interested in living anywhere else. My brother and sister and I had fabulous, loving parents and a great childhood and we still couldn't wait to strike out on our own and live somewhere else. I believe our exact words were, "Anywhere but here." I think it's normal for teens, especially, to want to see the world and experience things away from home.

My brother and I both ended up moving back to our hometown, but that was partly due to our spouses' jobs (funny, right), and neither of them are from the Springfield area. It also took both of us more than 15 years to come back. So we really did achieve our goal of striking out on our own.

Keep exploring opportunities in your area, and don't shy away from things that are uncomfortable. The will follow your lead.

My parents greatly influenced my world view with travel every summer. They didn't have much money so we camped we went. My mom would find a campground near the place we were going and we would drive stopping at all sorts of places on the way.

We didn't go internationally - it wasn't feasible for them. But it instilled a love of travel that I still have and I go anywhere in the world that I can now. I know my siblings feel the same way and two of them did a year abroad during college which further broadened their perspectives.

I had the same concerns when we initially moved to the suburbs and into a primarily caucasian area, but then realized that half of our neighbors are from different countries. Our old neighborhood was the same. It turned out we had 3 out of 6 families from Asia, India and Germany. In school, I'm sure you'll find the same. Our children are also in a language program which exposes them to many other cultures. They also do an annual cultural travel week that selects one country to focus on and they expose the kids to the sights, foods, customs, etc for that area.

Also, just from my own experience, I was raised in an area that wasn't very diverse at all, but it was a college town. Living there offered a general acceptance of all races and religions and our family instilled the same in us. I didn't travel internationally until I was out of high school, but I had respect for other cultures and beliefs. We also had foreign exchange students in our home, which was a great experience, but I also remember how challenging it was for my routine as a kid.

I also think some people are wired for travel and adventure. Some people leave their hometowns and never look back. Others enjoy a sense of community and history and stay close to home.

It seems like travel is the best way to impart a global perspective. You could have her do an exchange in high school.

I was glad we moved to a diverse community halfway through my kids' lives. I don't think they would have become fully developed individuals in our first community. When we first moved here, I remember my 8 year old daughter returning from school, crying and wailing about her new school, "There are people in WHEELCHAIRS!" (Lol thank god we moved.)

Is there a charter school in your area where your daughter might encounter a more diverse community?

Do you have cable? Consider looking for English language news broadcasts from China, Germany, Russia, or elsewhere. These are available on our public tv stations here too. If you are in the habit of watching domestic world/ national news, and also catch the international news, you can get some insight into global perspectives on the same news issues, or at least a taste for that which is important abroad.

Best,
F. B.

My husbands family are big travelers & I would say that they use food as a starting point in lots of their cultural explorations...& the kids still talk about things they've seen & eaten while here or there...

That's an easy way to keep the idea alive even if you have to be still while at school.

Hi R.
As you mention, traveling is one source. My son LOVES to travel and we have taken him abroad but also on many road trips throughout parts of the United States. You can find diversity anywhere if you look... example, do you travel to other neighborhoods.. I mention this because in our town, while one area might be Chinese, another might be Latino and then another a vast mix. however, in each area, what you will find are stores that cater to each ethic group... My son LOVES to cook so if he wants to make something Chinese, we go to a market that specializes in Chinese ingredients.. cooking is also another way to help your children learn about other cultures. Another things we have always done is listen to different types of music, in our house, it's not unusual for us to listen to a lot of Italian music, but also Chinese, Mexican, French.. just anything that appeals to us, which is just about everything.. also... have your kids watch programs in another languages.. my son's grandmother's watches Rai (Italian TV) and therefore, my son has watched it along side her for years...
culture is made up of many things, food, travel, stories, language and much more.. take your kids to different restaurants, expose them to international cuisine.. you could really have some fun with this..
good luck

Exchange students, church missions, & travel sports are all good ways for kids to learn from others and travel. Our daughter attends the YMCA during her summers and that gives her a very great perspective of other experiences. She goes to private school and diversity is a concernt of some parents.