Learning about diversity is great thing. Living in the midst of diversity is sometimes a hard thing. For the purpose of this article we will discuss the diversity of races. This is something that I have learned very late in life.

I grew up in Montana. There just wasn't much diversity there. You talked about the kids who lived in town and the kids who lived out of town. That was pretty much the culture diversity we had to experience.

Although when I was in kindergarten we had some one from India come to our small community to do a project at the college. He brought his son along who came to attend our kindergarten class for a couple of months.

Now back in the olden days when I was in Kindergarten we had naptime. We each brought a terry cloth rug and laid down for a rest. The student from India, sorry, I can not remember his name, brought a most wonderful rug. It was beautiful. You guessed it, his prayer rug. He was embarrassed that his rug was so elaborate. So he traded for my very ordinary red rug. All was fine and dandy until Friday. You take your rug home to be washed. The prayer rug was still wrapped up in my bag when a very angry father came knocking at our door. I learned in a hurry; all rugs in all cultures are not the same.

So why did you need to hear this story? For many of you diversity is a fact of life. You see every day, for others it needs to be taught because there is no real exposure.

I have become fascinated with learning about other's backgrounds and differences. I think it teaches respect if you learn it correctly. I am finding that not all cultures appreciate that I am eager to learn. I am lucky enough to live in the country, but fairly close to a city that offers much diversity.

Some are concerned that learning about diversity somehow makes the culture more vulnerable to change. It may be true and we live in a melting pot here. It may be true that traditions are tweaked or watered down. I guess that could be considered a con for the purist. The fatalist would be fine with it.

So what is my real conclusion? Diversity is good. There are more pro's than con's. Respect it and enjoy it.

Learn more about this author, Trenna Sue Hiler.
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