Difference is something that can be hard to pin-point especially, I think, in hindsight. The first encounter with something unfamiliar can easily be remembered in the context of what was learned following the meeting. To some extent this is true of my first conscious experience of meeting someone who was different from me. When I look back and consider my age, my mindset at the time and the way the meeting was treated by those closest to me; it is not surprising to find that the experience feels incredibly normal. The first time I remember encountering someone who was different from myself was when I was in Kindergarten. My family had just moved from Snoqualmie Washington to Raymond Washington. Not a drastic change really, still within the …show more content…
I remember them telling me that: “Things were bad at home, so we left.” It made sense to me, and it made sense to them when I told them that my Grandfather had gotten a new job, so we moved. I don’t remember the majority of our conversation, I do remember that they asked me some questions about English and I told them that their language sounded really pretty. One or both of these girls were my classmates for the next eight years and we were always on friendly terms, so I would say that the encounter was a positive one. The reaction from my family, was also …show more content…
These kids were just kids to me, and as we grew up, they were just people. I would say that my first encounter with someone different from me and what my mom told me did leave me with the engrained idea that I didn’t need understand someone’s situation perfectly, and my imperfect understanding didn’t give me license to ask probing questions. All I had to do was treat everyone I met, no matter where they came from, what they looked like or what language they spoke,
Within the few minutes of meeting, my cousins and I were treating each other as if we had lived together for years. We were sharing crazy memories and laughing like old friends. Just in the car ride to my grandmother’s house, we shared secrets among ourselves and sang our hearts out to our favorite tunes. Once we arrived, I met my grandparents for the very first time in person, and they embraced me as if I was their own daughter.
Recognize that children are best understood and supported in the context of family, culture, community, and society
I also noticed that I had a tendency to group people together and had the mindset that one person of a certain race can relate to all
On the day the drug film was to be shown in Mr. George's science class, I took my assigned seat at the rear center cluster of desks, directly across from a girl named Maria. She was at least a head taller than I was, with a few freckles, and long brown hair that covered most of her face. Like all the girls in my seventh grade class, she wore skirts or casual dresses over a contrasting leotard. She was not especially pretty or popular, not that I had any right to evaluate her. She never smiled, and for however many months she sat directly across from me I don't remember us ever speaking. Her face seemed to be in a permanent scowl, and like most girls, she looked at me with pure hatred.
The first realization that my gender identity may be different than what I've been living as was around the age of fifteen. Puberty was making my mind and body transition and being in a high school setting, I became aware of how prevalent gender roles and stereotypes were. It was social settings where I was supposed to wear dresses that made me quiver in corners, and seeing myself in a dress shirt and tie created less discomfort and more confusion. Over time, I ended up chopping off my hair and presenting more masculine.
Me? I never thought I would face that. I was that kid in school that had all the friends, and did everything. My friends were all different colors, I was in theater my whole life, in french classes my whole life, played football a good amount of my life, and believe it or not KI was a boy scout for a bit.
The beginning of the development of my education started in Kindergarten. The surrounding was new to me and I felt out of place by having various cultures around me. At the beginning of class, my teacher Ms. Pinto asked me for my name. I didn’t comprehend what she was asking me, therefore I didn’t respond. When she asked other children for their names, one of the english speakers said “Juan”- a traditional name for a Mexican then I understood that she had tried to ask me for my name. While the teacher was explaining what we were going to do in class, I wanted to ask her a question. I did not know the language she was speaking and she did not know mine, therefore I felt as if I couldn’t communicate. I found out that the class contained students from two races which included a smaller amount of American’s and mostly Hispanic. Whenever the teacher asked for answers on the material; only the English speaker children would be able to answer and I was ashamed that even if I wanted to answer I couldn't. The spanish speaking children didn’t seem to mind that we were academically behind, except for me. When the teacher would ask any of the sp...
My family was the first Russian family to move to an all Italian neighborhood, I was told to go back to where i cam from "damn rooskies", the children used to yell and taunt my sisters and myself. They would scream go back to Russia eventhough we had never been there. But soon I made freinds with a local girl who accepted me for me, not for being Russian, but for being Diana. My parent's didn't want me to get involved with the wrong kids and they also feared my friendship with people of different backgrounds. But our families began to talk and then we went over to each others houses for dinner and pretty soon, we were having block parties and backyard BBQ's.
The children couldn’t accept what they thought was so horrible. There was a lot of ignorance and carelessness portrayed throughout this short story. The theme of ungratefulness was revealed in this story; The author depicted how disrespecting someone can inturn feed you with information you may wish you never knew and how someone can do one wrong thing and it immediately erases all the good things a person did throughout their
...n relate to these experiences in life, and come to the realisation around the age of 4, that not only are they themselves individuals, but everyone around them is also an individual with their own mind.
different situations. As well, it is important for children to see all types of perspectives as it will help them understand how to behave, and make the choices they would like to make. It is important however for children to have many different experiences, in order to learn about themselves. Also, the more children will interact with their peers, the easier it will be for them to empathize with others. An encouragement should always be provided to the children in order to learn more about themselves and others.
My sister Amy went on to tell me about her friend who dared to do such a feat.
I did not immediately think of myself as any different compared to my colleagues, but I soon began to
Without warning, the lights went dark. This was the moment I had been waiting for. My adrenaline went through the roof. The time had finally come that I would get to see and hear my first live concert.