Publication Date
10-1-1992
Abstract
Parents are children's first teachers, and in this capacity the home provides the foundation for their later literacy development (Vacca, Vacca and Gove,1987). Parents also transmit values and shape attitudes about people who function as the core for children's socialization in the school and larger community. Therefore attempts at multicultural education should, ideally, entail the active participation of parents. Thomas Sobol, Commissioner of Education and President of the University of the State of New York, believes that young children at home or in preschool need help at home and school in order to understand diversity. They must be helped to develop self-pride and to respect differences among people. It is my belief that the joint involvement of parents and teachers can provide support for a multicultural school curriculum and effective instructional practices, and data for subsequent research. Sobol (1990) seems to concur by stating that "teaching young children about the differences and similarities between people will not singularly ensure a more gentle and tolerant society, but might act as a prerequisite to one" (p. 30).
Recommended Citation
Walker-Dalhouse, D. (1992). Fostering Multi-Cultural Awareness: Books for Young Children. Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts, 33 (1). Retrieved from https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/reading_horizons/vol33/iss1/5
