Here at Richland Academy, we are open minded. “We critically appreciate our own cultures and personal histories, as well as the values and traditions of others. We seek and evaluate a range of points of view, and we are willing to grow from the experience” (IB). Our SK students love to learn, value and celebrate other cultures festivities.
This week we celebrated the Chinese New Year in our classroom.
Knowing other cultures allows us to broaden our perspectives and fosters our empathy and curiosity. Here are other reasons why learning about other cultures is essential for our development.
Stimulates creativity: Especially during childhood, exposing the child to other cultures helps foster their creativity and stimulates their learning process.
Broadens our view of the world: Knowing other cultures helps us realize that reality goes beyond what we see around us. This is fundamental for our construction as a human being and our personal development.
Develop empathy: Something that is never enough to learn is to put ourselves in the place of the other, empathize with their situation and react in the appropriate way is something that only knowing new cultures can give us.
Improves our understanding of the present and possibilities for the future: Knowing history, not just our own, helps us better understand the present and the possibilities of the future. With so many cultures and nationalities it is practically to know them all, but thanks to technology we can know them through their music, literature, art and television.
Understanding that we are all part of a historical and social construction is essential to better understand the society in which we live.
Happy Chinese New Year!
-From Kindergarten class (2021-2022)