They Ve Got To Be Carefully Taught Konig Analysis

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Should children remain “color blind,” or should they be taught about cultural differentiations? Today, it appears young children do not notice racial prejudices until they are explicitly pointed out. Adolescents can only be sheltered from society for so long; therefore, it’s beneficial to explain the differences amongst various cultures and ethnicities. In “They’ve Got to Be Carefully Taught,” Susan Brady Konig writes about the innocence of children being taken away because they are becoming culturally aware. It was Cultural Diversity Month at Susan’s daughter’s school, and the preschool teacher, Miss Laura, wanted to know more about each student’s heritage. Susan stated that Sarah, her daughter, was American. Miss Laura was unaccepting of this answer. She wanted to know “where are your people from?” Susan hesitantly told Miss Laura her family is Irish and her husband’s family is from Czechoslovakia and the Bronx. Over the course of the next month, Miss Laura tried to teach her students about different skin colors, but they had a hard time grasping …show more content…

A majority of young children grow up “color blind,” meaning they don’t see various skin tones. Parents use this technique to prevent racism. It’s a great idea because they will be unalloyed and innocent as toddlers, but eventually society will ruin their pureness. The fact that these people are ignorant to different ways of living may cause some issues later in life. For example, someone who is “color blind” may make a derogatory statement towards someone of a different race without realizing it was offensive. Although the “color blind” person did not mean to be disrespectful, they still insulted the other person. I believe if everyone was knowledgeable about various cultures and ethnicities, we would have a better understanding as to why people act the way they