Differences...

During a discussion about differences with my class, one student asked why everyone wasn't just born perfect and stayed perfect, never getting sick, hurt, or depressed. Another student answered, "Because if everyone was perfect, we wouldn't need to help each other, or need each other, and the world would be lonely and boring." 

We talked about the differences between all of us. The differences pointed out included deviations in height, age, shirt color, what types of pets we have, and our likes and dislikes, and the class determined that these differences are what makes us unique and should be celebrated. Never once was social status, skin color, belief system or disability mentioned in a class whose teacher uses canes or a wheelchair and whose students come from diverse backgrounds and ethnicities.

Toward the end of class came the inquiry, "Why DO people think they know what people are like just by looking at them?" As I was thinking about my answer, a student replied, "Because they look with their hate and not with their heart."

My class, or more accurately my homeschool co-op class, is comprised of three- to six-year-old students who could teach us all a thing or two about how the world should work. May they always see through eyes of love, kindness and acceptance - and may they continue to teach us to do the same.