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"Can there be diversity without conflict? I doubt it. Woodstock nation never came to pass. Little creatures of the forest haven't come together. We don't have many models of diversity functioning without conflict. The Cosby show isn't real; that life doesn't exist in very many places." This view was expressed by Jim Greenman in the Exchange book, Places for Childhoods: Making Quality Happen in the Real World. He observes...
"There are places, but not many, where diversity really works and greatly enriches the organization. Based on appreciation and understanding grounded in respect, these child care centers have a basic belief that good care and education comes in different forms — that what is good care is allowed to be arguable. There is a high tolerance for difference....
"For a person or a program, the key to understanding and respecting differences is having a good sense of who you are and knowing the boundaries of what you are. Not too many child care programs are that self-aware, and there is a reason for this. In child care, you have no time to talk, so you really don't talk about things that may lead to controversy. You don't thrash out what exactly you are, what you believe. What are the boundaries of how much language you need to have in your program? If you really believe that classrooms have to be incredibly verbal, it's going to limit the kind of cultures you have in that classroom. If you believe that all children process information the same way or use the same social behavior, it's the same thing. Knowing whom you are, being comfortable with that, and knowing the boundaries of your ideology and the program will reduce conflict....
"Diversity is the spice of life. It also makes us sneeze a lot. If we believe in it, we have to take the time to think it through for our programs."
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