How to educate children so that they are not racist: 4 tips

It is important to prevent the effects of racism as early as childhood education.

Racism is still a reality that is present in practically all aspects of society. Virtually all countries suffer from this phenomenon, the result of irrational beliefs rooted for centuries, and fighting against this type of discrimination is necessary to be able to socialize well.

On the other hand, racism is not just a matter for adults. Its symptoms appear already in childhood, and in this vital stage it can lead to episodes of cruelty and suffering without any sense: school bullying, marginalization, mockery, prejudice, etc. In this article we will look at some advice on how to educate children not to be racist..

Educating children to reject racism

It must be taken into account that racism, in order to exist, does not require the prior internalization of highly developed concepts about what a race is, or about how the black population, the white population or similar, is supposed to behave. It is based, fundamentally, on prejudices that arise from the interpretation of certain aesthetic features..

This means that children can already begin to develop racism almost spontaneously, without the need to "memorize" anything, simply by being exposed to dynamics of interaction between people that have a racist content. Passively, they begin to learn that those who look a certain way, dress a certain way, or talk a certain way, behave a certain way.

Knowing this, let's see what to do to educate children away from racism.

1. Don't pretend that racialized people don't exist.

The first step in combating racism is to recognize that there are recognize that there are a number of characteristics on the basis of which certain groups of people are discriminated against because of on the basis of factors related to their appearance or family background. It is not feasible to make people see, for example, that there is no such thing as "black people" or "white people".

The key is, however, that from the rejection of racism these differences between people are seen as cultural constructs, something that has arisen from how we interpret reality, and not as something that is present in human biology regardless of whether we think about it or not. That is to say, although the concept of human races does not make sense for biology, it does make sense for the social sciences, it does make sense for the social sciences.

Thus, expressing without complexes that racialized people exist (i.e., those who have historically been discriminated against because of characteristics such as their skin color) is necessary to move towards the next steps in educating awareness of the condemnation of racism.

2. Teach why there are groups of people with different traits.

Evidently, it is not possible to explain to very young girls and boys It is not possible to explain the intricacies of genetics to very young children, but it is good to make it clear that there are groups of people with different traits.But it is good to make it clear that those traits that are given a racial interpretation are just like any other physical trait, such as being taller or shorter, having bigger or smaller teeth, etc.

This is important for them to understand that appearance does not tell us anything about someone's personality, interests, language, etc.

3. Explain that there are conflicting views

It is useless to talk to children about racism as if there were not a social problem linked to it. That is why we must warn them by explaining that some people do believe that the characteristics associated with races add or subtract value to people or even describe their way of thinking and feeling, and at the same time we must show why they are wrong.

Fundamentally, the idea to be defended is that anyone, regardless of how they look or whether they fit more or less racial stereotypes, can be good or bad, shy or sociable, suspicious or warm, or in any other way in terms of the way they are and how they behave. Racism does not arise from people's bodies, but from situations of injustice that occurred long ago (slavery, conquest, etc.) and whose effects are still felt in many people's beliefs.

It is true that racism is not only belief-based in origin and that there are other material factors that feed it (e.g., certain types of borders), but it is better to dispense with such complex explanations so that the main message is better understood.

It is also good to give examples of common arguments used by racist people to try to defend their attitude, so that they will be able to recognize some of them in the future and, at that moment, remember the explanation related to why what is said is not true.

4. Do not link races to regions

It is important for children to be clear that territories do not have races, and that races do not have territories. For example, a person with slanted eyes is not "Asian," since many people who do not have slanted eyes live in Asia and many people with slanted eyes live outside Asia.

However, to make him understand that these traits are more common in certain areas, you can teach him some very basic notions about how life does not remain static, but changes through time (evolution) and space (migrations).